Knowledge of the Bible is extremely limited in this part of the world, especially among young people. I saw a girl working on a crossword puzzle, and when she asked a group of five adults for the name of the first book of the Bible, none of them knew the answer.
This archaic use of "know" is thoroughly forgotten here. I can't imagine anyone making a joke that required a person to understand the old term.
We do use many expressions that came originally from the Bible--things like "How the mighty have fallen."
regards
edward
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim  Thanks Baqara131 and Rewboss. Oddly the dictionaries don't say anything about old fashioned: know - OneLook Dictionary Search
I heard somebody say: it is said as a joke using the body langauge to make your intention clear. Again there is no information given in the dictionaries I consulted. The modern German word erkennen doesn't have any associations with that sense. But as Rewboss said it is a literall translation from the Bible, limited to its Biblical use. OED might provide some more help. |