When God comes to know: The verbal root j-d-a as the predicate of God in Pentateuch and its comperhension in Rabbinic and Patristic literature

This Diploma thesis deals with two main issues. First, it explores the verbal root yadaʽ (know, learn) in the Pentateuch on places where God or the Lord is a grammatical subject, and second, how this verb has been interpreted by the rabbinic and patristic literature. The first part of the thesis focuses on general characteristics of the verb in contexts where it can reliably testify about God as the subject matter. The second part inquiries into exegesis of two particular cases of appearance of the verb yadaʽ in the so called intransitive form which occurs in the Pentateuch only twice, in Gen 18:21 and Ex 2:25. These two incidences are interconnected not only by the use of the verb yadaʽ but also by the complexity of explication and a number of other motives, especially the term of groaning. Both of the cases represent a groaning cry of the suffering people which is followed by God's response. While in Gen 18:21, the groaning comes from Sodom, in Ex 2:25, there are the sons of Israel crying from Egypt. However, God's knowledge does not precede these situations, it is a response to the resounding crying. The third part of my thesis analyses how the two given contexts are interpreted by rabbinic and patristic literature which can be regarded as sisterly traditions of interpretation of the first centuries of..