Person in the New Testament
Bartholomew
Bartholomew: an apostle who appears only in the lists of the twelve
Portrait: an AI-generated artistic interpretation, not evidence of how Bartholomew looked.
Who Bartholomew is
Bartholomew appears four times, and each time only as a name in a list. Matthew's list of the twelve apostles places him directly after Philip. Mark's list of the twelve Jesus ordained places him in the same pairing, after Andrew and Philip. Luke's list of the twelve whom Jesus named apostles again puts Philip and Bartholomew together. In Acts he is named among those who went up into the upper room after Jesus was taken up, where the order changes and he stands between Thomas and Matthew. No scene, speech, action, home town or family is recorded for him anywhere in these passages.
Cited passages: Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14, Acts 1:13
Historical setting
The evidence for him is four list entries and nothing else. The three gospel lists agree in pairing him with Philip; Acts separates them. No patronymic, epithet or trade is attached to his name, unlike Matthew the publican or James the son of Alpheus in the same verses. None of these four verses uses the name Nathanael, who is named elsewhere as the man Philip finds, and nothing in these passages connects the two names. Whatever else may be said about him is not established by the text.
Cited passages: Matthew 10:3, Luke 6:14, Acts 1:13, John 1:45
How the story is told
His only function in the text is to occupy a place in a roster. The three gospel lists are arranged in pairs joined by and, and he is the second half of the pair that begins with Philip, which is what gives him a fixed position. Mark introduces the roster as the naming of twelve ordained to be with Jesus and to be sent out, and Luke introduces it as a choice made after a night of prayer, so the frame around the name carries the weight that the name itself does not. In Acts the list reappears without Judas Iscariot and with a changed order, and his position shifts accordingly.
Story moments
- Named after Philip (Matthew 10:3). Matthew's list of the twelve places Bartholomew directly after Philip.
- Among the ordained twelve (Mark 3:18). Mark names him in the list of the twelve Jesus ordained.
- Chosen and named an apostle (Luke 6:14). Luke names him among the twelve chosen after a night of prayer.
- In the upper room (Acts 1:13). Acts names him among those gathered in the upper room, in a changed order.
Key passages
Matthew 10:3
Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
Mark 3:18
And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
Luke 6:14
Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
Acts 1:13
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
King James Version. 4 indexed passages in total.
For reflection
Four verses give his name and nothing more. What is it like to read a list where some names carry a story and others carry only a position?
Books Bartholomew appears in
Related people
Names and references are adapted from STEPBible TIPNR. A person listed with a verse is named or indexed there; it does not mean they wrote or spoke it.