Instruction Class/Catechism

[ohio jones]

Well...how old were the disciples?

Early to mid teens, probably; that''s when it was customary to begin following a rabbi. Peter might have been a bit older since he was married.

[joshuabgood]

Well...how old were the disciples?

Early to mid teens, probably; that''s when it was customary to begin following a rabbi. Peter might have been a bit older since he was married.

I guess, like a lot of things it depends which scholars one relies on. At the very least, in addition to Peter it seems highly unlikely that Matthew was a teen ager. And the other career professionals also throws questions on their teen age years. Many scholars have concluded the average age was likely mid 20s.

[JohnH]

Well...how old were the disciples?

Early to mid teens, probably; that''s when it was customary to begin following a rabbi. Peter might have been a bit older since he was married.

I guess, like a lot of things it depends which scholars one relies on. At the very least, in addition to Peter it seems highly unlikely that Matthew was a teen ager. And the other career professionals also throws questions on their teen age years. Many scholars have concluded the average age was likely mid 20s.

Back then, people started their careers a lot earlier than is typical now (although I suppose some plain groups end school and thus start careers after 6th or 8th grade, but that's not the norm these days in the west). It's a bit of our own cultural projection to project the immaturity of western youth onto past peoples who did not share our belief that young people just can't make decisions or do things until their 20s or 30s.