# Unskilled ## Ignatius Catholic Study Bible *Unskilled* ([[2-corinthians-11#^2-corinthians-11-6|2 Cor 11:6]]) - *Idiōtēs* (Gk.): a \"layman\", \"amateur\", or \"one who is untrained\". The word appears in [[2-corinthians-00|2 Cor]] and four times in the rest of the NT. Its precise meaning depends upon the context in which it is found. In [[acts-of-the-apostles-04#^acts-of-the-apostles-04-13|Acts 4:13]], it refers to men who are uneducated. In [[1-corinthians-14#^1-corinthians-14-16|1 Cor 14:16, 23-24]], it denotes an outsider not initiated into a local Church. Paul uses the word here to admit that he is not trained in the art of professional public speaking. His opponents presumably are and jeer at the lack of eloquence and refinement in his preaching ([[2-corinthians-10#^2-corinthians-10-10|2 Cor 10:10]]). This is why Paul compares himself with Moses, who ministered to Israel despite his own struggles with oral communication ([[exodus-04#^exodus-04-10|Ex 4:10]]; note on [[2-corinthians-03#^2-corinthians-03-5|2 Cor 3:5]]). Interestingly, one of Paul\'s contemporaries, the Jewish historian Josephus, puts this same term in the mouth of Moses when he complained to the Lord of being an \"unlearned man\" (Gk. *idiotes aner*), unable to persuade the Israelites to follow him (*Antiquities* 2, 271). Like Moses, Paul has a message from the Lord, and its power to save is not lessened by the personal weaknesses of the one who preaches it ([[romans-01#^romans-01-16|Rom 1:16]]; [[1-corinthians-01#^1-corinthians-01-17|1 Cor 1:17]]; [[1-corinthians-02#^1-corinthians-02-1|2:1-5]]). ### Sources [[08-second-corinthians-commentary#^w3djos|Unskilled — word study]]