Does God Forget?

Does God Forget? (Genesis 9:15)

In Genesis 9:15, it states: "And I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh," (Genesis 9:15 NASB1995). Some have stated this shows God is not omniscient, however, this is a misunderstanding of the text. The phrase, "I will remember my covenant" is seen throughout the Bible (e.g. Leviticus 26:42-45, Ezekiel 16:60, Luke 1:72); and unfortunately, it has lost its meaning.

In The Pulpit Commentary, it states: "And I will remember (cf. Genesis 8:1). An anthropomorphism introduced to remind man that God is ever faithful to his covenant engagements (Calvin). "God is said to remember, because he maketh us to know and to remember" (Chrysostom)". What seems to be happening in the passage is a sort of anthropomorphism, i.e. when someone places human qualities onto something nonhuman. The Bible is not stating God literally forgot something; rather, this is metaphorical language (Turek) to mean God will know or keep his promise.

References;

The Pulpit Commentary, Volume 6. United States, Delmarva Publications, Inc., 2015.

Turek, Frank. “How Can an All-Knowing God Forget Our Sins?” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Feb. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_P8Gr5ynN0.