John Chapter 7 verse 15 Holy Bible

ASV John 7:15

The Jews therefore marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
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BBE John 7:15

Then the Jews were surprised and said, How has this man got knowledge of books? He has never been to school.
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DARBY John 7:15

The Jews therefore wondered, saying, How knows this [man] letters, having never learned?
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KJV John 7:15

And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
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WBT John 7:15


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WEB John 7:15

The Jews therefore marveled, saying, "How does this man know letters, having never been educated?"
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YLT John 7:15

and the Jews were wondering, saying, `How hath this one known letters -- not having learned?'
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 15. - The Jews therefore marvelled, saying, etc. "The Jews," as elsewhere, mean the ruling and learned class, the men of power and weight in the metropolis, who must have heard his teaching. The immediate effect of the appearance and words was great astonishment. In spite of themselves, they are moved by the command he manifested over all the springs of thought and feeling. The point of their astonishment is, not that he is wise and true, but that he could teach without having been taught in their schools. How doth this man know letters? (not the "Holy Scriptures," ἱερα γράμματα, nor πάσας γραφάς, but simply γράμματα, literature, such as we teach it; cf. Acts 26:24). He can interpret our oracles; he is acquainted with the methods of teaching, though he has not learned - has never sat in any of our schools. Saul of Tarsus was brought up at the feet of Gomaliel. And ordinarily a man was compelled to undergo a lengthened noviciate in the schools before he was allowed to assume the office of a teacher. The inherited wisdom of the past is in the great majority of cases the basis of the most conspicuous teaching of the most original and unique of the great sages. The "Jews" were sufficiently acquainted with the origin and training of Jesus to be astonished at his knowledge of the interpretations of Scripture and other wisdom. "This tells powerfully against all attempts, ancient and modern, to trace back the wisdom of Jesus to some school of human culture" (Meyer). The attempts to establish a connection between the teaching of Christ and the hidden wisdom of the Zendavesta, or esoteric utterances of Buddha, or even the traditionary teaching of the Essenes, or the Platonizing schools of Alexandria or Ephesus, have failed. The mystery of his training as a man in the village of Nazareth is one of the evidences given to the world that there was an unknown element in his consciousness. He had not even the advantage of the schools of Hillel or Gamaliel. His own wondrous soul, by much pondering on the genuine significance of the Scriptures, is the only explanation to which even his enemies can appeal. Jesus knew the meaning, heard the murmuring of their surprise on this head, and so we read -

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15) How knoweth this man letters?--Their spirit is seen in that at which they marvel. It is not the substance of His teaching that excites their attention, but the fact that He who has never been technically trained as a Rabbi is acquainted with the literature of the schools. (See Acts 26:24, "much learning," where "learning" represents the word here rendered "letters.") He is to them as a layman and unlearned (comp. Note on Acts 4:13), not known in the circles of the professional expounders--a demagogue, who deceived the multitude; and they hear Him speaking with a learning and wisdom that excites their wonder, and unlocking mysteries of which they thought that they only possessed the key.