Naravist

Person in the New Testament

James son of Alphaeus

James the son of Alpheus: an apostle known only by name and father

Portrait of James son of Alphaeus. An AI-generated artistic interpretation, not a historical likeness.

Portrait: an AI-generated artistic interpretation, not evidence of how James son of Alphaeus looked.

Who James son of Alphaeus is

James the son of Alpheus appears in the four lists of apostles and nowhere else as that description. Matthew's list names him after Thomas and Matthew the publican and before Lebbeus. Mark's list places him after Thomas and before Thaddeus. Luke's list has Matthew and Thomas, then James the son of Alpheus, then Simon called Zelotes. Acts names him in the upper room, again with Simon Zelotes following. In every case the name of his father is what marks him out, since the same lists already contain James the son of Zebedee, who is named earlier with his brother John. No speech, scene or action of his own is recorded in these verses.

Cited passages: Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, Acts 1:13, Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:17, Luke 6:14

Historical setting

The text distinguishes him from the other men of the same name by his father alone. James the son of Zebedee is named separately in every list, and Matthew 13:55 names a James among the brethren of Jesus without linking him to either apostle. Other verses name a James whose parentage is given from the mother's side: Mary the mother of James and Joses at the crucifixion in Matthew, Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses in Mark, and Mary the mother of James at the tomb in Mark and Luke. None of those verses says whose son that James is, so the connection with the son of Alpheus is not stated in the text. Mark also names a Levi the son of Alpheus at the receipt of custom, and no passage says the two men with a father of that name are related.

Cited passages: Matthew 10:2, Matthew 13:55, Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10, Mark 2:14

How the story is told

The lists work by tags. Some names carry a nickname, as with Simon surnamed Peter and the sons of Zebedee surnamed Boanerges, some carry a trade, as with Matthew the publican, and some carry a father. This James carries a father and nothing more, and that tag is doing the work of telling one James from another inside the same sentence. His position is stable across the lists, near Thomas on one side and near the second Simon on the other, which is what gives him a recognisable slot in an otherwise shifting order. Acts keeps the tag when the list is repeated without Judas Iscariot.

Cited passages: Mark 3:16, Mark 3:17, Matthew 10:3, Luke 6:15, Acts 1:13

Story moments

  1. Named in Matthew's list (Matthew 10:3). Matthew names him between Matthew the publican and Lebbeus.
  2. Named in Mark's list (Mark 3:18). Mark places him between Thomas and Thaddeus among the ordained twelve.
  3. Named in Luke's list (Luke 6:15). Luke names him after Matthew and Thomas and before Simon called Zelotes.
  4. Distinguished from Zebedee's son (Matthew 10:2). The same list names James the son of Zebedee separately, with his brother John.
  5. In the upper room (Acts 1:13). Acts names him among those who went up into the upper room.

Key passages

Matthew 10:3

Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

Matthew 27:56

Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.

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,

Mark 15:40

There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

Mark 16:1

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

Luke 6:15

Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon called Zelotes,

King James Version. 8 indexed passages in total.

For reflection

One word, a father's name, is all that separates this James from the better known one. How much does a reader want from a name before it stops being just a name?

Books James son of Alphaeus 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.