Meaning
"to know before" (pro, "before," ginosko, "to know"), is used (a) of Divine knowledge, concerning (1) Christ, 1Pe 1:20, RV, "foreknown" (AV, "foreordained"); (2) Israel as God's earthly people, Rom 11:2; (3) believers, Rom 8:29; "the foreknowledge" of God is the basis of His foreordaining counsels; (b) of human knowledge, (1) of persons, Act 26:5; (2) of facts, 2Pe 3:17.
"a foreknowledge" (akin to A.), is used only of Divine "foreknowledge," Act 2:23, 1Pe 1:2. "Foreknowledge" is one aspect of omniscience; it is implied in God's warnings, promises and predictions. See Act 15:18. God's "foreknowledge" involves His electing grace, but this does not preclude human will. He "foreknows" the exercise of faith which brings salvation. The Apostle Paul stresses especially the actual purposes of God rather than the ground of the purposes, see, e.g., Gal 1:16, Eph 1:5, Eph 1:11. The Divine counsels will ever be unthwartable. Cp. FORESHEW.
