The Jerusalem leaders were astonished that Peter and John were 'unlearned' (agrammatoi, Acts 4:13)—men without scribal education who nonetheless spoke with authority. The adjective literally means 'without letters'—unschooled in the formal rabbinic traditions. In classical usage it could mean illiterate or unable to produce articulate speech. Here it describes social and educational status: these are fishermen, not rabbis. Yet their boldness and evident association with Jesus confounded the educated elite. God bypasses human credentials to display his power.