Like so many common verbs, the meaning of "know" in the Bible is varied and dependent on context. And in some cases -- when it is connected to ideas or objects -- its spiritual meaning and natural meaning are essentially the same. When the Bible talks about people knowing each other and especially when it talks about the Lord knowing people, the meaning has more to do with the states of love within people than it does with any factual knowledge. This makes sense if you think about it. When we really "know" somebody, what we mean is that we know what kind of person they are, what their motivations are, what they love, what they hate, what makes them tick. Those things are far more important than knowing their parents' names, where they were born or what year they graduated from school. Most often then, especially applied to people, "knowing" has to do with the perceptions we have about other people's loves and the conjunction that can exist between those with similar loves, not just a collection of facts.

8317. 'All the inhabitants of Canaan melted away' means a like feeling on the part of those belonging to the Church who adulterated forms of good and who falsified truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'the inhabitants of Canaan' as those belonging to the Church, also as those in it who adulterated forms of good and falsified truths. The reason why 'the inhabitants of Canaan' means those belonging to the Church is that the Lord's Church had existed in the land of Canaan since most ancient times, see 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6516. The reason why it also means those who adulterated forms of good and falsified truths is that the nations in it which the children of Israel were to drive out represent evils as well as falsities of faith, see 8054. They have this representation because they were formerly part of the Church.