KJV: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
YLT: And beholding the openness of Peter and John, and having perceived that they are men unlettered and plebeian, they were wondering -- they were taking knowledge also of them that with Jesus they had been --
Darby: But seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were unlettered and uninstructed men, they wondered; and they recognised them that they were with Jesus.
ASV: Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
| Θεωροῦντες | Seeing |
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Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: θεωρέω Sense: to be a spectator, look at, behold. |
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| δὲ | now |
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Parse: Conjunction Root: δέ Sense: but, moreover, and, etc. |
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| τοῦ | - |
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Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| Πέτρου | of Peter |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: Πέτρος Sense: one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. |
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| παρρησίαν | boldness |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular Root: παρρησία Sense: freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech. |
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| Ἰωάννου | of John |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: Ἰωάννης Sense: John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, the forerunner of Christ. |
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| καταλαβόμενοι | having understood |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Middle, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: καταλαμβάνω Sense: to lay hold of. |
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| ὅτι | that |
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Parse: Conjunction Root: ὅτι Sense: that, because, since. |
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| ἄνθρωποι | men |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: ἄνθρωπος Sense: a human being, whether male or female. |
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| ἀγράμματοί | unschooled |
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Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: ἀγράμματος Sense: illiterate, unlearned. |
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| εἰσιν | they are |
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Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural Root: εἰμί Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present. |
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| ἰδιῶται | ordinary |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural Root: ἰδιώτης Sense: a private person as opposed to a magistrate, ruler, king. |
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| ἐθαύμαζον | they were astonished |
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Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural Root: ἐκθαυμάζω Sense: to wonder, wonder at, marvel. |
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| ἐπεγίνωσκόν | They recognized |
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Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural Root: ἐπιγινώσκω Sense: to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly. |
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| τῷ | - |
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Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| Ἰησοῦ | Jesus |
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Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular Root: Ἰησοῦς Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor. |
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| ἦσαν | they had been |
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Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural Root: εἰμί Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present. |
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Greek Commentary for Acts 4:13
Telling it all See also Acts 4:29, Acts 4:31. Actually Peter had turned the table on the Sanhedrin and had arraigned them before the bar of God. [source]
Second aorist middle participle of κατα katalambanō common verb to grasp strongly Present indicative retained in indirect discourse. Unlettered men without technical training in the professional rabbinical schools of Hillel or Shammai. Jesus himself was so regarded (John 7:15, “not having learned letters”). And ignorant Old word, only here in the N.T. and 1 Corinthians 14:24; 2 Corinthians 11:6. It does not mean “ignorant,” but a layman, a man not in office (a private person), a common soldier and not an officer, a man not skilled in the schools, very much like ιδιος agrammatos It is from εταυμαζον idios (one‘s own) and our “idiosyncracy” is one with an excess of such a trait, while “idiot” (this very word) is one who has nothing but his idiosyncracy. Peter and John were men of ability and of courage, but they did not belong to the set of the rabbis. They marvelled (επεγινωσκον αυτους ethaumazon). Imperfect (inchoative) active, began to wonder and kept it up. Took knowledge of them Imperfect (inchoative) active again, they began to recognize them as men that they had seen with Jesus. [source]
Present indicative retained in indirect discourse. Unlettered men without technical training in the professional rabbinical schools of Hillel or Shammai. Jesus himself was so regarded (John 7:15, “not having learned letters”). [source]
Old word, only here in the N.T. and 1 Corinthians 14:24; 2 Corinthians 11:6. It does not mean “ignorant,” but a layman, a man not in office (a private person), a common soldier and not an officer, a man not skilled in the schools, very much like ιδιος agrammatos It is from εταυμαζον idios (one‘s own) and our “idiosyncracy” is one with an excess of such a trait, while “idiot” (this very word) is one who has nothing but his idiosyncracy. Peter and John were men of ability and of courage, but they did not belong to the set of the rabbis. They marvelled (επεγινωσκον αυτους ethaumazon). Imperfect (inchoative) active, began to wonder and kept it up. Took knowledge of them Imperfect (inchoative) active again, they began to recognize them as men that they had seen with Jesus. [source]
Imperfect (inchoative) active, began to wonder and kept it up. [source]
Imperfect (inchoative) active again, they began to recognize them as men that they had seen with Jesus. [source]
See on freely, Acts 2:29. [source]
The word, meaning originally to seize upon or lay hold of, occurs frequently in the New Testament in different phases of this original sense. Thus, to apprehend or grasp, Ephesians 3:18; Philemon 3:12, Philemon 3:13; Romans 9:30: of seizure by a demon, Mark 9:18: of something coming upon or overtaking, John 12:35; 1 Thessalonians 5:4: of comprehending, grasping mentally, as here, Acts 10:34; Acts 25:25. [source]
Or, very literally, unlettered. With special reference to Rabbinic culture, the absence of which was conspicuous in Peter's address. [source]
Originally, one in a private station, as opposed to one in office or in public affairs. Therefore one without professional knowledge, a layman; thence, generally, ignorant, ill-informed; sometimes plebeian, common. In the absence of certainty it is as well to retain the meaning given by the A. V., perhaps with a slight emphasis on the want of professional knowledge. Compare 1 Corinthians 14:16, 1 Corinthians 14:23, 1 Corinthians 14:24; 2 Corinthians 11:6. [source]
Or recognized. See on Acts 3:10. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 4:13
It is important to understand the precise sense of this word, because it goes to determine whether Jesus intended an antithesis between Moses' writings and His own words, or simply between Moses ( ἐκείνου ) and Himself ( ἐμοῖς ). Γράμμα primarily means what is written. Hence it may describe either a single character or a document. From this general notion several forms develop themselves in the New Testament. The word occurs in its narrower sense of characters, at Luke 23:38; 2 Corinthians 3:7; Galatians 6:11. In Acts 28:21, it means official communications. Paul, with a single exception (2 Corinthians 3:7), uses it of the letter of scripture as contrasted with its spirit (Romans 2:27, Romans 2:29; Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6). In Luke 16:6, Luke 16:7, it denotes a debtor's bond (A.V., bill ). In John 7:15, Acts 26:24) it is used in the plural as a general term for scriptural and Rabbinical learning. Compare Sept., Isaiah 29:11, Isaiah 29:12) where a learned man is described as ἐπιτάμενος γράμματα , acquainted with letters. Once it is used collectively of the sacred writings - the scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15), though some give it a wider reference to Rabbinical exegesis, as well as to scripture itself. Among the Alexandrian Greeks the term is not confined to elementary instruction, but includes exposition, based, however, on critical study of the text. The tendency of such exegesis was often toward mystical and allegorical interpretation, degenerating into a petty ingenuity in fixing new and recondite meanings upon the old and familiar forms. This was illustrated by the Neo-Platonists' expositions of Homer, and by the Rabbinical exegesis. Men unacquainted with such studies, especially if they appeared as public teachers, would be regarded as ignorant by the Jews of the times of Christ and the Apostles. Hence the question respecting our Lord Himself: How knoweth this man letters ( γράμματα John 7:15)? Also the comment upon Peter and John (Acts 4:13) that they were unlearned ( ἀγράμματοι ). Thus, too, those who discovered in the Old Testament scriptures references to Christ, would be stigmatized by Pagans, as following the ingenious and fanciful method of the Jewish interpreters, which they held in contempt. Some such feeling may have provoked the words of Festus to Paul: Much learning ( πολλά γράμματα ) doth make thee mad (Acts 26:24). It is well known with what minute care the literal transcription of the sacred writings was guarded. The Scribes ( γραμματεῖς ) were charged with producing copies according to the letter ( κατὰ τὸ γράμμα ). -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- The one passage in second Timothy cannot be urged in favor of the general use of the term for the scriptures, especially since the best texts reject the article before ἱερὰ γράμμα , so that the meaning is apparently more general: “thou hast known sacred writings.” The familiar formula for the scriptures was αἱ γραφαὶ ἁγίαι . A single book of the collection of writings was known as βιβλίον (Luke 4:17), or βίβλος (Luke 20:42); never γραφή , which was the term for a particular passage. See on Mark 12:10. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- It seems to me, therefore, that the antithesis between the writings of Moses, superstitiously reverenced in the letter, and minutely and critically searched and expounded by the Jews, and the living words ( ῥήμασιν , see on Luke 1:37), is to be recognized. This, however, need not exclude the other antithesis between Moses and Jesus personally. -DIVIDER- -DIVIDER- [source]
The ye is emphatic ( ὑμεῖς ) and is addressed to those who questioned His authority, whose wonder would therefore be that of astonishment rather than of admiring faith, but might lead to faith. Plato says, “Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder” (“Theaetetus,” 105); and Clement of Alexandria, cited by Westcott, “He that wonders shall reign, and he that reigns shall rest.” Compare Acts 4:13. [source]
Rev., better, that darkness overtake you not. On overtake see on taketh, Mark 9:18; and see on perceived, Acts 4:13. [source]
Rev., apprehended. Wyc., took not it. See on Mark 9:18; see on Acts 4:13. Comprehended, in the sense of the A.V., understood, is inadmissible. This meaning would require the middle voice of the verb (see Acts 4:13; Acts 10:34; Acts 25:25). The Rev., apprehended, i.e., grasped or seized, gives the correct idea, which appears in John 12:35, “lest darkness come upon you,” i.e., overtake and seize. The word is used in the sense of laying hold of so as to make one's own; hence, to take possession of. Used of obtaining the prize in the games (1 Corinthians 9:24); of attaining righteousness (Romans 9:30); of a demon taking possession of a man (Mark 9:18); of the day of the Lord overtaking one as a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:4). Applied to darkness, this idea includes that of eclipsing or overwhelming. Hence some render overcame (Westcott, Moulton). John's thought is, that in the struggle between light and darkness, light was victorious. The darkness did not appropriate the light and eclipse it. “The whole phrase is indeed a startling paradox. The light does not banish the darkness; the darkness does not overpower the light. Light and darkness coexist in the world side by side” (Westcott). [source]
Dative case with πιστυετε pistuete See Luke 16:31 for a like argument. The authority of Moses was the greatest of all for Jews. There is a contrast also between writings Γραμμα Gramma may mean the mere letter as opposed to spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6; Romans 2:27, Romans 2:29; Romans 7:6), a debtor‘s bond (Luke 16:6.), letters or learning (John 7:15; Acts 26:24) like αγραμματοι agrammatoi for unlearned (Acts 4:13), merely written characters (Luke 23:38; 2 Corinthians 3:7; Galatians 6:11), official communications (Acts 28:21), once ιερα γραμματα hiera grammata for the sacred writings (2 Timothy 3:15) instead of the more usual αι αγιαι γραπαι hai hagiai graphai Γραπη Graphē is used also for a single passage (Mark 12:10), but βιβλιον biblion for a book or roll (Luke 4:17) or βιβλος biblos (Luke 20:42). Jesus clearly states the fact that Moses wrote portions of the Old Testament, what portions he does not say. See also Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44 for the same idea. There was no answer from the rabbis to this conclusion of Christ. The scribes (οι γραμματεις hoi grammateis) made copies according to the letter (κατα το γραμμα kata to gramma). [source]
Picturesque imperfect active of ταυμαζω thaumazō “were wondering.” After all the bluster of the rulers (John 7:13) here was Jesus teaching without interruption. Knoweth letters Second perfect active indicative used as present. Γραμματα Grammata old word from γραπω graphō to write, is originally the letters formed (Galatians 6:11), then a letter or epistle (Acts 28:21), then the sacred Scriptures (John 5:47; 2 Timothy 3:15), then learning like Latin litterae and English letters (Acts 26:24; John 7:15). “The marvel was that Jesus showed Himself familiar with the literary methods of the time, which were supposed to be confined to the scholars of the popular teachers” (Westcott). Having never learned Perfect active participle of μαντανω manthanō with μη mē the usual negative (subjective) with the participle. It is not the wisdom of Jesus that disconcerted the Jewish leaders, but his learning (Marcus Dods). And yet Jesus had not attended either of the rabbinical theological schools in Jerusalem (Hillel, Shammai). He was not a rabbi in the technical sense, only a carpenter, and yet he surpassed the professional rabbis in the use of their own methods of debate. It is sometimes true today that unschooled men in various walks of life forge ahead of men of lesser gifts with school training. See the like puzzle of the Sanhedrin concerning Peter and John (Acts 4:13). This is not an argument against education, but it takes more than education to make a real man. Probably this sneer at Jesus came from some of the teachers in the Jerusalem seminaries. “Christ was in the eyes of the Jews a merely self-taught enthusiast” (Westcott). [source]
The Pharisees had a scorn for the οχλος amhaaretz or “people of the earth” (cf. our “clod-hoppers”) as is seen in rabbinic literature. It was some of the ο μη γινοσκων ochlos (multitude at the feast especially from Galilee) who had shown sympathy with Jesus (John 7:12, John 7:28.). Which knoweth not the law Present active articular participle of μη ginōskō with αγραμματοι και ιδιωται mē usual negative of the participle in the Koiné. “No brutish man is sin-fearing, nor is one of the people of the earth pious” (Aboth, II. 6). See the amazement of the Sanhedrin at Peter and John in Acts 4:13 as “unlettered and private men” No wonder the common people The rabbis scouted and scorned them. Are accursed Construction according to sense (plural verb and adjective with collective singular Επαρατοι ochlos). επαραομαι Eparatoi is old verbal adjective from eparaomai to call down curses upon, here only in the N.T. [source]
See on Acts 4:13. [source]
Aoristic present middle of katalambanō to take hold of, the middle noting mental action, to lay hold with the mind (Acts 4:13; Acts 10:34; Acts 25:25; Ephesians 3:18). It had been a difficult thing for Peter to grasp, but now “of a truth” This compound occurs only here and in Chrysostom. It is composed of prosōpon face or person (pros and ops before the eye or face) and lambanō The abstract form prosōpolēmpsia occurs in James 2:1 (also Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25) and the verb prosōpolempteō in James 2:9. The separate phrase (lambanein prosōpon) occurs in Luke 20:21; Galatians 2:6. The phrase was already in the lxx (Deuteronomy 10:17; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Ps 82:6). Luke has simply combined the two words into one compound one. The idea is to pay regard to one‘s looks or circumstances rather than to his intrinsic character. The Jews had come to feel that they were the favourites of God and actually sons of the kingdom of heaven because they were descendants of Abraham. John the Baptist rebuked them for this fallacy. [source]
Second aorist middle of καταλαμβανω katalambanō to lay hold of, to grasp, to comprehend as in Acts 4:13; Acts 10:34. [source]
See on perceived, Acts 4:13, and see on taketh, Mark 9:18; see on John 1:5. Compare attained ( ἔφθασεν , Romans 9:31). Rev., arrive at. See on Matthew 12:28. The meaning is substantially the same, only the imagery in the two words differs; the former being that of laying hold of a prize, and the latter of arriving at a goal. The latter is appropriate to following after, and is carried out in stumbling (Romans 9:32). [source]
Lit., lay hold of. Rev., attain. See on comprehended, John 1:5; see on come upon you, John 12:35; and see on perceived, Acts 4:13. Compare Philemon 3:12. [source]
Not a special part of the room, but the position of the ιδιωτου idiōtou (from ιδιος idios one‘s own), common from Herodotus for private person (Acts 4:13), unskilled (2 Corinthians 11:6), uninitiated (unlearned) in the gift of tongues as here and 1 Corinthians 14:23. At thy giving of thanks (επι τηι σηι ευχαριστιαι epi tēi sēi eucharistiāi). Just the prayer, not the Eucharist or the Lord‘s Supper, as is plain from 1 Corinthians 14:17. [source]
Only once outside of the Corinthian Epistles: Acts 4:13(see note). In the Septuagint it does not occur, but its kindred words are limited to the sense of private, personal. Trench (“Synonyms”) illustrates the fact that in classical Greek there lies habitually in the word “a negative of the particular skill, knowledge, profession, or standing, over against which it is antithetically set; and not of any other except that alone.” As over against the physician, for instance, he is ἰδιώτης in being unskilled in medicine. This is plainly the case here - the man who is unlearned as respects the gift of tongues. From the original meaning of a private individual, the word came to denote one who was unfit for public life, and therefore uneducated, and finally, one whose mental powers were deficient. Hence our idiot. Idiot, however, in earlier English, was used in the milder sense of an uneducated person. Thus “Christ was received of idiots, of the vulgar people, and of the simpler sort” (Blount). “What, wenest thou make an idiot of our dame?” (Chaucer, 5893). “This plain and idiotical style of Scripture.” “Pictures are the scripture of idiots and simple persons” (Jeremy Taylor). [source]
Locative case with ιδιωτης idiōtēs for which word see note on Acts 4:13; note on 1 Corinthians 14:16, note on 1 Corinthians 14:23, and 1 Corinthians 14:24. The Greeks regarded a man as ιδιωτης idiōtēs who just attended to his own affairs (τα ιδια ta idia) and took no part in public life. Paul admits that he is not a professional orator (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:10), but denies that he is unskilled in knowledge (αλλ ου τηι γνωσει all' ou tēi gnōsei). [source]
Note particularly the absence of the article. Γράμματα is used in N.T. in several senses. Of characters of the alphabet (2 Corinthians 3:7; Galatians 6:11): of a document (Luke 16:6, take thy bill )epistles (Acts 28:21): of the writings of an author collectively (John 5:47): of learning (Acts 26:24, πολλά γράμματρα muchlearning ). In lxx, ἐπιστάμενος γράμματα knowinghow to read (Isaiah 29:11, Isaiah 29:12). The Holy Scriptures are nowhere called ἱερὰ γράμματα in N.T. In lxx, γράμματα is never used of sacred writings of any kind. Both Josephus and Philo use τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα for the O.T. Scriptures. The words here should be rendered sacred learning. The books in the writer's mind were no doubt the Old Testament. Scriptures, in which Timothy, like every Jewish boy, had been instructed; but he does not mean to designate those books as ἱερὰ γράμματα . He means the learning acquired from Scripture by the rabbinic methods, according to which the Old Testament books were carefully searched for meanings hidden in each word and letter, and especially for messianic intimations. Specimens of such learning may be seen here and there in the writings of Paul as 1 Corinthians 9:9f.; 1 Corinthians 10:1f.; Galatians 3:16.; Galatians 4:21f. In Acts 4:13, the council, having heard Peter's speech, in which he interpreted Psalm 118:22and Isaiah 28:16of Christ, at once perceived that Peter and John were ἀγράμματοι , not versed in the methods of the schools. Before Agrippa, Paul drew the doctrine of the Resurrection from the Old Testament, whereupon Festus exclaimed, “much learning ( πολλὰ γράμματα , thy acquaintance with the exegesis of the schools) hath made thee mad” (Acts 26:24). To Agrippa, who was “expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews” (Acts 26:3), the address of Paul, a pupil of Hillel, was not surprising, although he declared that Paul's reasoning did not appeal to him. In John 7:15, when Jesus taught in the temple, the Jews wondered and said: “How knoweth this man letters? ” That a Jew should know the Scriptures was not strange. The wonder lay in the exegetical skill of one who had not been trained by the literary methods of the time. [source]
Or, more literally, have come to know. John does not use the compound forms ἐπιγινώσκειν and ἐπίγνωσις (see on Matthew 7:16. See Luke 1:4; Acts 4:13; Romans 1:28; Ephesians 1:17, etc.), nor the kindred word γνῶσις knowledge(Luke 1:77; Romans 2:20, etc.). [source]