The First Disciples - Educated or Not

[SilverRope]

Long time ago I had a brief debate with my father. Although it was not fully discussed with possibilities or probabilities, I thought it would be an interesting discussion on this board.

My father’s position was in regards to the disciples of Jesus, specifically the first twelve disciples, that they were simple and uneducated men. He made assumptions that they did not know how to read and write. His conclusion, or point, was that the majority of the first disciples were uneducated men and did not know how to read or write.

My counterpoint to that was also an assumption. Although they were simple men and their education level may not have been deep in studying the Scriptures, they were of the Jewish faith which required them to read from the Scriptures when they became of age (bar mitzvah). Second, some of the first disciples had their own businesses, which required them to write. It could also be argued that a couple of them were students of scripture. Third, in order to relate to the lessons Jesus taught them, they had to have some knowledge of what was written in the Scriptures. Jesus knew how to read and write and, although the Pharisees marveled and wondered where He got his education, did have some form of education. Therefore, my counterpoint to the argument was that the majority of the first disciples were educated in some form and knew how to read and write.

What do you think? Do you agree on the first point or the counterpoint, and why? Of the first twelve disciples whom do you consider to be educated when they were chosen, and who was not?

 

[reba]

Some where in the back of my mind... i am remembering that Jewish men in general had two occupations available to them selfs. One was with their brains one with their hands so to speak.... This shows very clearly in Saul/Paul the lawyer/tentmaker.

Men of simple occupations can be well educated. Educated men can be simple. My guess those guys were the average guys of the day.... Well versed in scripture, as you say.


And Welcome to the forums

 

[Vaccine]

Hi SilverRope and welcome to the forums!
I think at least Matthew and Luke were educated. Matthew being a tax collector would probably have some education with reading/writing and math.
I don't know much about Luke other than he was very detail oriented. He listed names and places and with such detail many archaeologists have used his Gospel and Acts as a kind of roadmap to piece together places to dig and things to look for.
I think that's a good reason to think he was writing things down not long after the resurrection.
I doubt all could read/write, but I think some of those fishermen were very good at expressing themselves verbally.
I'd give my vote to Luke being the most educated though.

 

[PrivateTimm]

If you mean the 12 apostles, they were men of varying backgrounds; some like Matthew probably had a lot of formal education, others like Peter the fisherman may not have had a lot of formal education, but I think in Jewish tradition, even when they were in a culture where they spoke different languages they still were able to read Hebrew or to recite large passages of the Torah and Talmud.

 

[SilverRope]

Hi SilverRope and welcome to the forums!
I think at least Matthew and Luke were educated. Matthew being a tax collector would probably have some education with reading/writing and math.
I don't know much about Luke other than he was very detail oriented. He listed names and places and with such detail many archaeologists have used his Gospel and Acts as a kind of roadmap to piece together places to dig and things to look for.
I think that's a good reason to think he was writing things down not long after the resurrection.
I doubt all could read/write, but I think some of those fishermen were very good at expressing themselves verbally.
I'd give my vote to Luke being the most educated though.

“Disciple means pupil or student, and the disciples were people who chose to follow Jesus and to listen to his teaching. They called him rabbi, or teacher. The twelve disciples were followers of Jesus whom he had chosen to become his core group,the people he talked things over with and depended on.

Simon and his brother Andrew were the first disciples Jesus chose. Next Jesus called James and John, then Philip, Nathaniel(also called Bartholomew), Matthew, Thomas, and James, son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas, son of James, and Judas Iscariot.

According to the Gospel of John, Andrew and one other of the disciples had first been disciples of John the Baptist.

The disciples were more interested in telling Jesus' story than in telling their own, but we do know a few things about some of them.

Jesus nicknamed Simon Peter, and the nickname stuck.

Peter, Andrew, James and John were commercial fishermen. They (or their families) owned their own boats. James and John were the sons of Zebedee, and this John maybe the person who wrote the Fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John.

Andrew and Philip have Greek names and spoke Greek to the travelers who came from Greece to hear Jesus preach. They may have had Greek relatives or Greek orRoman educations.

Matthew had been a tax collector, a disrespected way of earning a living in those days. Tax collectors were not allowed to testify in court, because everyone believed they were totally dishonest.

Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot may have been political activists, belonging to some of the many groups that wanted to overthrow the Roman government. The Jews at that time wanted very much to have a Jewish king and Jewish courts that understood their beliefs and the way they observed the religious laws.

We only know Thomas's nickname: both Thomas in Aramaic and Didymus in Greek mean twin. He may have had an actual twin brother - or he may have looked so much like Jesus that everyone joked that he was Jesus' twin brother.No where in the Gospel accounts does anyone mention that Thomas had a twin brother or sister.

What we know for sure about all the disciples is that they all left their livelihoods and commitments to follow Jesus as he traveled around the country,preaching, teaching, and healing.

SimonPeter- Fisherman, son of John

Andrew - Fisherman, son of John and Peter's brother

James - Fisherman, son of Zebedee, son of Boanerges (thunder)

John - Fisherman, son of Zebedee, Boanerges (thunder), brother of James

Philip - From Bethsaida

Matthew - tax collector,son of Alphaeus

Nathaniel(Bartholomew)- from Cana, a "true Israelite"

Thomas

James,son of Alphaeus

Simon,the Zealot- Guerrilla fighter

Judas,son of James

Judas Iscariot- Guerrilla fighter, son of Simon”/><o:p></o

Quoted from“Sunday School Lessons” <o:p></o

http://www.sundayschoollessons.com/disciple.htm

<o:p></o
FYI, Luke was a writer of a gospel and the book of Acts. He was considered to be a physician and a traveling companion to Paul. However, he was not one of the first disciples Jesus selected.

Still looking for an answer to the question if you consider the majority of the first disciples to be educated or not, and why.

<o:p></o

 

[farouk]

Peter seemed like an ignorant and unlearned man.

Paul had sat under the feet of Gamaliel.