1. Acts 19:15 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the difference between the two words the evil spirit uses for “know”?

Acts 19:15 (ESV)

15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

The spirit in the possessed man answered and used in relation to Jesus and Paul two different words for “to know” that are difficult to distinguish from each other. But the second one in this context probably has to do more with being “aware of” or “having a general knowledge of,” thus a knowledge inferior to that denoted by the first word.1