/fɔːrˈnɒl.ɪdʒ/
A combination of the prefix "fore-" (before) and "knowledge." From Old English cnawan, "to know."
In Scripture, God's foreknowledge is not merely His knowing of events before they happen. It implies a relational and intimate knowledge. When Scripture says God "foreknew" His people, it means He set His saving love upon them beforehand, choosing them in an intimate and determinate way, not simply observing their future choices.
Knowledge of a thing before it happens; prescience. The foreknowledge of God is a branch of his omniscience, and is an essential attribute of his nature.
Modern interpretations, particularly in Arminian theology, often reduce God's foreknowledge to simple prescience—a passive observation of future events. This strips the term of its biblical weight, which connects foreknowledge with God's active and loving choice in election and predestination.