Bible Encyclopedias
Unlearned

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(ἀγράμματος , unlettered, Acts 4:13; ἀμαθής, uninstructed, 2 Peter 3:16; ἀπαίδευτος , untutored, 2 Timothy 2:23; ἰδιώτης, private, 1 Corinthians 14:16; 1 Corinthians 14:23-24; ‘‘ ignorant," Acts 4:13; "rude," 2 Corinthians 11:6). In Acts 4:13, the Jewish literati apply the term to Peter and John, in the same sense in which they asked, with regard to our Lord himself, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned" (John 7:15). In neither case did they mean to say that they had been altogether without the benefits of the common education, which consisted in reading and writing, and in an acquaintance with the sacred books; but that they were not learned men, had not sat at the feet of any of the great doctors of the law, and had not been instructed in the mysteries and refinements of their peculiar learning and literature. An apostle also uses it to describe those who are little acquainted with the mind of God and the teaching of his Spirit (2 Peter 3:16). The "unlearned questions" mentioned by Paul are those which do not tend to edification in sound and substantial religious knowledge. (See EDUCATION).

Bibliography Information
McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Unlearned'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​tce/​u/unlearned.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.