April 09, 2024 <Back to Index>
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James, son of Alphaeus (Ἰάκωβος, Iakōbos in Greek) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, appearing under this name in all three of the Synoptic Gospels' lists of the apostles. He is often identified with James the Less (Greek Iacobos ho mikros, Ἰακώβος ο μικρος Mark 15:40) and commonly known by that name in church tradition. He is also labelled "the minor", "the little", "the lesser" or "the younger", according to translation. James, the son of Alphaeus, is rarely mentioned in the
New Testament. He is distinguished from James the Lord's
brother (Gal.1:19), an important leader in the New
Testament church, and James, son of Zebedee, another one
of the Twelve Apostles. James, son of Alphaeus is often identified with James the Less, who is only mentioned three times in the Bible, each time in connection with his mother. Mark 15:40 refers to "Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses", while Mark 16:1 and Matthew 27:56 refer to "Mary the mother of James". He is rarely identified with James, traditionally half brother of Jesus. Since there was already another James (James, son of Zebedee) among the twelve apostles, equating James son of Alphaeus with "James the Less" made sense. (James son of Zebedee was sometimes called "James the Greater"). Modern Biblical scholars are divided on whether this identification is correct. Among evangelicals, the New Bible Dictionary supports the traditional identification. As a consequence of the doctrine of perpetual virginity Jerome proposed that James, son of Alphaeus, was to be identified with "James, the brother of the Lord" (Gal.1:19) and that the term "brother" was to be understood as "cousin." The view of Jerome, the "Hieronymian view," became widely accepted in the Roman Catholic Church, while Eastern Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants tend to distinguish between the two. Geike (1884) states that Hausrath, Delitzsch, and Schenkel, think James the Just was the son of Clophas - Alphaeus. Another Alphaeus is also the name of the father of the publican Levi mentioned in Mark 2:14. The publican appears as Matthew in Matthew 9:9, which has led some to conclude that James and Matthew might have been brothers. The four times that James son of Alphaeus is mentioned directly in the Bible (each time in the list of the Apostles) the only family relationship stated is that his father is Alphaeus. In two lists of the Apostles, James and John are listed as brothers and that their father is Zebedee. Mark
the Evangelist is the earliest known source in the bible
to mention "James, son of Alphaeus" as one of the twelve Apostles if Markan priority
is true. Mark the Evangelist only mentions a "James, son
of Alphaeus" only once and this is in his list of the 12 ApostlesMark 3:16-19. At the
beginning of Jesus' ministry he first calls Peter and his
brother Andrew and asks them to follow him Mark 1:16-17. In the next
verses it tells the story of how James the Greater and his
brother John the Apostle came to follow Jesus Mark 1:19-20. After some
healing by Jesus he meets Levi son of Alphaeus who was a
tax collector and he then asks Levi to follow him Mark 2:14. Peter, Andrew, James the Greater and John
the Apostle are listed as Apostles Mark 3:16-19. Levi, son of Alphaeus is not
listed as an Apostle but James son of Alphaeus is Mark 3:16-19. |