Acts 4:13

The context

Acts 4 follows the healing of a man lame from birth and the arrest of Peter and John. They are brought before the rulers, elders, and scribes, and are asked by what power they acted. Verse 13 records the council's reaction: they observe the men's boldness and note that they are ordinary and untrained, and they recognise the connection to Jesus.

What it establishes

It establishes that the authorities regarded the apostles as laymen without formal schooling, and that the recognition of them was tied to their association with Jesus rather than to credentials.

What it does not establish

It does not mean they were illiterate. The term describes a lack of rabbinic training, not an inability to read, and the verse reports an opponent's assessment. What the council concluded from the connection to Jesus is stated in the next verses, not in this one.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• The Bible is a collection of fairytales written by illiterate goat herders back in the Bronze Age. The Catholic Church cherry picked which fables to include to mind control non-thinking tithers.

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.