The Council’s Response:
The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13
Ordinary, Untrained Men
What does [agrammatos] and “common” mean in this context?
Does it contrast with the reference to “untaught” or “uneducated” or is it used in another way?
καὶ καταλαβόμενοι ὅτι ἄνθρωποι ἀγράμματοί εἰσι καὶ ἰδιῶται, ἐθαύμαζον,
and perceiving that men unlearned being and common {they marvelled}
What does Luke mean by the use of these two very interesting words?
[ἀγράμματος] agrammatos “untrained, without grammar, unlettered, illiterate, unlearned” [ἰδιώτης] idiotes “ordinary, ignoramus, ignorant, rude, unlearned”.The versions handle these two words in the following ways:
- (ABP+) And viewing the open manner of Peter and John, and taking it in that [men illiterate they are] and common people, they marvelled;
- (AMP) Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages],
- (ASV) Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled;
- (BBE) Now when they saw that Peter and John were without fear, though they were men of no education or learning, they were greatly surprised;
- (CEV) The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men and not well educated.
- (EMTV) Now when they observed the boldness of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled.
- (ERV) The Jewish leaders understood that Peter and John had no special training or education. But they also saw that they were not afraid to speak. So the leaders were amazed.
- (ESV) Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished.
- (GNB) The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education.
- (GW) After they found out that Peter and John had no education or special training, they were surprised to see how boldly they spoke.
- (ISV) Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and found out that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed
- (KJV) Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled;
- (LITV) But beholding the boldness of Peter and John, and having perceived that they are untaught and uneducated men, they marveled.
- (MKJV) But seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were unlearned and uneducated men, they marveled.
- (MSG) They couldn’t take their eyes off them–Peter and John standing there so confident, so sure of themselves! Their fascination deepened when they realised these two were laymen with no training in Scripture or formal education.
- (Murdock) And when they heard the speech of Simon and John, which they pronounced confidently, they reflected that these were unlearned and plebeian men, and they were surprised at them,
- (NASB) Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed,
- (NLT) The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures.
- (RV) Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled;
- (TLV) Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and figured out they were lay men, without training, they were amazed.
- (WEBA) Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled.
- (YLT) And beholding the openness of Peter and John, and having perceived that they are men unlettered and plebeian, they were wondering–
Agrammatos means literally to be a (without) – grammatos (letters). To be unschooled in language.But the word grammatos is the word from which we get the word grammar. The concept of how the words go together to form sentences. In other words – grammar. In the Greek papyrii, the word agrammatos was used to mean one who was illiterate. Literally to be without letters – without the ability to form and use letters – i.e. unable to read and write. In Classical Greek the word was used to mean “lacking the technical training gained in the schools”.
So there are two meanings for agrammatos –
- Illiterate, unable to read and write, uneducated.
- Untrained, without formal training, hadn’t completed Rabbinical school.
Rabbinical school began with Beth Sepher (The House of the Book). All Jewish children were expected to attend the first level before their Bar Mitzpah (a son of the commandments) or Bat Mitzpah (a daughter of the commandments). But not all continued on to higher levels –Beth Talmud (The House of Interpretation) and Beth Midrash (The House of Allusion). Students who dropped out after Beth Sepher returned to a trade or in Peter and John’s case, to fishing.
The term agrammatos used here by the Council was not just a general description of Peter and John. More than likely, it was meant as a derogatory statement, meaning more than just untrained in the Jewish Rabbinical schools, but inferring they were illiterate, ignoramus fishermen. What authority or training did they have to be teaching these scholars from the rabbinical schools?
Idiotes has a number of possible meanings too:
- Layman, untrained, non-professional, tradesmen without academic skills,
- A commoner, not an officer, a private person, an ordinary person, a plebian, someone who is not in an official role, who had nothing but their own personal affairs to deal with.
- ignorant, not well informed about life, common and without public knowledge.
Note how both of these words replicate the meaning of the other. Hence, in the translations above, the idea is repeated a number of times. Uneducated / untrained, untaught / uneducated. In short, the combination of both words emphasises the idea of their lack of training, specifically in matters related to the Scriptures. Putting that together withthe idea from the previous Gemsof their willingness to talk openly about all topics and being well versed in what the Old Testament Scriptures meant, was a surprise to these members of the Council.
Couple that with questions related to the segment “Recognised as being with Jesus”
- Is there any significance to the closing statement of this segment by Luke? “And they recognized them, that they were with Jesus.”
- How was it that the members of the Council just “now” recognise them as men who had been with Jesus?
- What do they mean by “being with Jesus”?
- Are we to think that the Council didn’t know who these men were before this?
- Did they suddenly recognise these men as being the ones who were with Jesus, at this point in the proceedings?
This construction suggests there is a degree to which these men just began to recognise the fact. I don’t think the idea is that they didn’t recognise them before this. I think they knew full well who they were. The indication in their choice of words related to being untrained is a put-down related to the disciples being Galileans. They knew them alright. What is going on here in them recognising they had been with Jesus? Are the members of the Council making the connection at this point in time, having just observed their eloquence and their ability to articulate a clear message, with them being trained by Jesus. In other words, they realised what being with Jesus had done for these men.
There is more to come in the next Gem but now is the time to stop. This Gem has already grown too long.
An authentic relationship with God will be the transforming difference between you and every other voice people hear.
Phil Pringle
The chief enemy of creativity is ‘common’ sense.
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Being learned is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.
Margaret Thatcher
Our major problem is that we don’t discover for ourselves the secrets of God’s Word.
Ian Vail
There are two rules for success: 1. Never reveal everything you know.
Anon