In Genesis 18:21 towards the ending of the verse, God says “if not, I will know” when concerning the people of Sodom’s sin.  Also, in Genesis 18:21 “I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”  Does this refute the notion that God is omniscient? Why is he asking the question if he already knows?

Answer:

This is an example of what is known as an anthropomorphism.  This means it is an example of Bible writers metaphorically assigning to God human traits in order to make his words accessible to human understanding.  In the Bible we have such phrases as “See, I have engraved you in the palms of my hands.”  God does not have hands and your name is not literally written in the palms of hands that he does not literally have.  Many other examples of God speaking of himself in human terms in order to make himself understood by humans can be mentioned.  When “the Lord” (actually an angel) in Genesis 18:21 says “If not, then I will know.” he is speaking figuratively.  In fact, the one who will truly know is Abraham, not God.  A possible interpretation of the phrase “then I will know.” is “This is when it will become obvious to everyone.”  There is plenty of evidence from the Bible that God is omniscient.  These passages are not refuted by Genesis 18:21, although I can see why someone might ask this interesting question!

Here are a few scriptures in which God claims to have omniscience.  These passages are NOT disproved by Genesis 18:21 (although, like I said, I can see why someone might just possibly see it that way).

John Oakes