For me, this is a deeper question than it may first seem. With my limited understanding it seems that Jesus was most likely the son of a solo parent. Joseph, assuming he did exist, seems to have disappeared from the story very early on( died?). During the years of Jesus’s ministry only his mother is mentioned. When Jesus was taken to the temple( as a child), the sacrifice was a pair of doves( the option for poor people) instead of the usual lamb. The hints suggest he came from an impoverished background, therefore,to me, it is more likely that he was not literate. However at least once it is mentioned he read from the scriptures(Isaiah if memory serves me right) . So was he Literate or not.
Jesus may have indeed been illiterate like the vast majority of people at the time. But we don’t know what kind of religious education he might have had. It’s possible he committed portions of the Hebrew Bible to memory. Many such texts are still passed orally today. I once met a blind man who I was told had committed the entire Quran to memory. Not exactly “reading” but neither is listening to an audio book. Very few Christians read the gospels. They heard them read aloud. Silent private reading is actually very modern.
I also think Jesus was illiterate along with the rest of the disciples. The stories in the gospels were invented for the theological reasons for prophecy fulfillment.
I think there may have been tension between literate members and illiterate ones such as Paul versus Peter and James.
BDEhrman
FreedomBen
evgendob
Robert
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