# Could Jesus read and write? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667 "2004-04-12T21:09:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/1 "2004-04-12T21:09:20Z")
I imagine he probably did. Is there any confirmation of this? Did he ever record or write anything? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/2 "2004-04-12T21:39:19Z")
In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus reads in the Temple: > [@](#): > > Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. > > He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: > > “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” > > Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/3 "2004-04-12T21:43:31Z")
Yes, He could both read and write. In Luke 4:16-20, He read to the congregation from the Torah scroll. In John 8:8, He wrote with his finger in the dust. He probably was taught to read and write in the local Hebrew school. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/4 "2004-04-12T21:49:07Z")
Shoot, **lib** beat me to it. Happy anniversary to you and Edlyn. 🙂 Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/5 "2004-04-12T22:10:45Z")
Remeber, there is no other collaborating evidence to support the Jesus of the gospels, except for the gospels themselves. So, IF you do beleive the gospels, as **Shodan** and **Lib** have already mentioned, they do mention him reading and writing. You can take that a step further, and examin other aspects of the gospels to conclude that it is possible Jesus was not a poor man. He was likely well educated and well off if not part of a wealthy family (this would contradict some other gospels though, but that’s not new 😉 ). I don’t remeber who in particular, but several biblical scholars have put forth this theory… Looking for a cite now, hopefully I can dig one up. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/6 "2004-04-12T23:46:18Z")
Jesus would not have needed to be rich, or even well off, to be literate in first century Judea or Galilee. The Torah commands that each man teach his son(s) and this was often interpreted as a command to teach reading (among other things) at least as far back as the period following the Babylonian exile, when Scripture began to play a very strong role in liturgy. Obviously, lots of farm kids away from the cities probably never were actually taught to read, as their fathers were not necessarily instructed in pedagogy and it is debateable whether kids in small villages or poor kids got an education, either. However, following the death of the Hasmonean king, Alexander Jannai in 76 B.C.E., his wife, Salome Alexandria assumed power and threw out her Sadducee advisors, replacing them with Pharisees. Among the new laws promulgated by the Pharisee-dominated Sanhedrin was a rule that schools were to be organized and that all boys were to be educated in them. Outlying farm kids were probably still not given an education, but any boy in a town was educated. When the Sadducees regained control of the Sanhedrin, that was one law that they did not repeal. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/7 "2004-04-13T00:24:15Z")
I did mention that you’d have to take into account other clues in the gospels. But seriously, to be the man Jesus was (disregarding the son of god bit, or any other faith based beleif), to be taken seriously by others, to be able to do the things he did, you’d have to rationalize that he wasn’t some beggar. He was likely well off and probably wealthy BECAUSE he was likely WELL educated. Or are you saying that in ancient Galilee the wealthy were no more educated than the poor? That’s not even completely true in today’s world! ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/8 "2004-04-13T00:25:28Z")
BTW, I’m still searching to cites 🙂 I do rember reading about it and it being rather convincing, and also hearing the theory in the history channel… yes I know, I’m definately going to need a cite now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/9 "2004-04-13T01:11:43Z")
Actually, Luke 2:22-24 shows that Joseph and Mary were most likely of limited means. Luke 2: 22-24 > [@](#): > > When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord” ), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” This was in accord with Law provision for the poor. Concerning ritual purification after child birth, note Leviticus 12: 6-8. > [@](#): > > " 'When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offer them before the LORD to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. > " ‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ " The obvious implication is that Joseph and Mary were not well off. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/10 "2004-04-13T01:19:59Z")
Granted, a lot can happen in 30 years, but I find this passage at Matthew 13: 54-56 to be interesting. > [@](#): > > Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” Though not as obvious an implication, it seems that the people who knew him best were surprised at his wisdom and his doings. If he were rich and prominent, would they have been so surprised or so vocal about it? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/11 "2004-04-13T04:19:33Z")
> [@](#): > > you’d have to rationalize that he wasn’t some beggar. He was likely well off and probably wealthy BECAUSE he was likely WELL educated. Or are you saying that in ancient Galilee the wealthy were no more educated than the poor? Beggar vs wealthy is a false dichotomy. Using even the tradition that he followed in the carpentry career of Joseph we can see the possibility for a poor tradesman who was still no beggar. Hillel (who flourished in the period just prior to the time of Jesus)was supposed to have been poor (or, at least, one of the obstacles he faced in becoming a scholar was poverty), so there is no obvious bar to scholarship or _wisdom_ rooted in poverty. Using the gospel tradition, we find Jesus lecturing to the scholars at the age of 12, hardly _time_ to become a scholar, himself, regadless of his family’s income level. The OP asks only about literacy, not level of scholarship or wealth; the historical record notes that the majority of Jewish men in the first century were literate. ---
**Author:** ![gtbiehle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5f8ce5/32.png) [@gtbiehle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gtbiehle)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/12 "2004-04-13T05:35:24Z")
Crossan in The Historical Jesus makes the argument that Jesus was born into a family that was quite poor. In the socioeconomic hierarchy of the day, carpenters were tradesmen and hence people who lived hand to mouth, much more insecure than landsman, thus lower than farmer peasants. Thus he was not a beggar, not destitute, but lower lower class. He could still be literate. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/13 "2004-04-13T05:58:23Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > The OP asks only about literacy, not level of scholarship or wealth; the historical record notes that the majority of Jewish men in the first century were literate. The related hijack in post #5 was trying to link economic status to the discussion. I have no doubt of the literacy of Jesus (having the cites of Luke and John ready to post in answer to the OP), but I felt the related hijack deserved a response as well. ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/14 "2004-04-13T06:03:26Z")
Working purely from the bible, since I am not a first century Palestinian historian, another hint that Jesus was not destitute/poor is at the crucifixion [John 19:23](http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?SearchType=AND&language=english&searchpage=0&search=seamless&version=NIV%E2%80%99) says the soldiers gambled for the seamless undergarment. This does not address the question of Jesus’ ability to read or write, however it does say something to His economic class when He died. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/15 "2004-04-13T06:12:46Z")
[A new OP for the hijack](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=4749737#post4749737) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/16 "2004-04-13T11:48:29Z")
I was gonna chime in on the quote from Luke, but I’m way late. So I’ll just bring up a thought that has bothered me for a long time – _why_ don’t we have any writings of Jesus? Given a literate and, by history’s and his own estimation very important religious figure, _shouldn’t_ he have left writings behind? His spoken words, and in particular the “Lord’s Prayer” are highly revered. Isn’t it exceedly strange that he left no writings of his own? ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/17 "2004-04-13T12:33:31Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I was gonna chime in on the quote from Luke, but I’m way late. So I’ll just bring up a thought that has bothered me for a long time – _why_ don’t we have any writings of Jesus? Given a literate and, by history’s and his own estimation very important religious figure, _shouldn’t_ he have left writings behind? His spoken words, and in particular the “Lord’s Prayer” are highly revered. Isn’t it exceedly strange that he left no writings of his own? Its not really that strange that we have no writings of Jesus. If the gospels are to be believed, Jesus preached for only three years. This time was spent traveling around various parts of Judaea speaking to crowds. It was not spent writing down a comprehensive philosophy. Outside of the gospels themselves we have no mention of Jesus until Josephus in 97 CE. We don’t have any writings from Socrates either, only what Plato says that Socrates said. In his day Socrates, if we are to believe Plato, was much more popular than Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/18 "2004-04-13T13:56:11Z")
Its also more than possible that Joseph was moving up the tax brackets, as we might say today. After all, he just got married and moved across a fair distance when Jesus was born - he certainly wasn’t an old man, a well established tradesman. As Jesus matured, Joseph probably expanded his business. He wasn’t going to become wealthy, but he certainly could have gone from moderately poor to reasonably middle class. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-jesus-read-and-write/239667/19 "2004-04-13T17:20:04Z")
> [@Reepicheep](#): > > In his day Socrates, if we are to believe Plato, was much more popular than Jesus. But, was Socrates more popular than the Beatles? 🙂