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John 7:15 (ESV):

The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,1 when he has never studied?”

The footnote is:

7:15 Or this man knows his letters

So there are two questions:

  1. Which translation gets the original meaning across better in English?

  2. Does this mean Jesus was never formally trained?

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The question sprung from a chat session. – Jon Ericson♦ Oct 25 '11 at 16:46
I would translate this verse: The Jews were shocked. They said, "How does he know the Scriptures? He never studied ⸤to be a rabbi⸥. (If the there is a character which is not rendering correctly before to and after rabbi, those are lower square brackets, which I use to denote an inserted phrase. If you are running Windows your font may not show them.) – Kazark Dec 24 '11 at 22:51

2 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Jesus lacked the formal education that the religious authorities had.

He was, you'll remember, a carpenter. It was unusual for someone with Jesus's background to be as learned as the religious authorities.

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up vote 4 down vote

Yes, you are correct. Jesus never had formal training as a rabbi. He was never anyone's disciple.

Regarding question 1, both translations are valid. Another possible interpretation is "this man knows his writings". As for which communicates more clearly? That's a bit of a judgment call. What they were asking is "How does he know so much?" Either interpretation can indicate this (providing you understand "letters" or "writings" as the holy texts).

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2  
While I agree that Jesus never had any formal training as a rabbi, there are scholars who would disagree with the idea that "he was never anyone's disciple". There are those who suggest that Jesus was a disciple of John's, who began his own ministry after John's arrest. Gerd Theissen is the scholar who immediately springs to mind; there are others. – lonesomeday Oct 26 '11 at 20:45
@lonesomeday John's attitude towards Jesus (for example, at his baptism) makes that seem extremely unlikely. – Kazark Dec 24 '11 at 22:48

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