Sapper Redux said:
Or they recognized the script without being conversant in the language. I can recognize Spanish when I see it. Doesn't mean I can read and speak Spanish. These were supposedly poor people on the margins of 1st century Judean society and literacy in the Roman Empire is estimated at less than 10% of the population.
John wrote letters. So did Peter, Jude, and James. I suppose they could have dictated, but that would be speculation.
I'm not saying they were studying platonic philosophy and Pythagorean mathematics, but some of the apostles could clearly read and write.
Also, considering They were first century Jews who wrote scripture in Greek, we can make a safe contention that they were at minimum bilingual to some extent. these were men who would have grown up speaking primarily Aramaic , But they would have been exposed to Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
Sure, you may "Recognize Spanish when I see it" But, I would be willing to bet the apostles had more exposure to Greek than you have had to Spanish.
In fact, I can provide two historical examples of Squanto and Malinche/Malintzin. Both people who had extended cross-cultural interactions, and we're multilingual enough to serve as interpreters. So you don't need formal education to be multilingual.
Honestly, Peter selling fish to a gentile once a week over the course of a decade or so would very plausibly result in a somewhat functional multi-lingualism. Let alone once he came into contact with the likes of Luke, Matthew, or Titus.