James Alphaeus
- James Collazo
- May 23, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 11
Introduction
James son of Alphaeus (Hebrew: Yaakov ben Halfai / Greek: Iakōbos ho tou Halphaiou) was born around AD 3 in the Roman district of Galilee. James is named only in the four apostolic lists, always in conjunction with the other eleven apostles (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). James may have been related to Matthew (also called Levi), whose father was also named Alphaeus (Mark 2:14), although the shared name may simply be coincidental.
Mark calls him "the younger one" (Mark 15:40; Greek: Iakōbos tou mikrou, G2385 / G3398). If that is correct, Mary was the mother of James and his brother Joseph (Matt. 27:56). The Greek phrase tou mikrou can mean "the smaller," "the lesser," or "the younger." Some scholars argue that "James the Less" refers to James of Jerusalem rather than James son of Alphaeus because the accompanying names overlap (Matt. 13:55–56; Mark 6:3). Others continue to identify him with James son of Alphaeus. The evidence remains inconclusive.
Patristic Identification of James
In the second century, the bishop Papias wrote:
Mary, the mother of the Lord; Mary, the wife of Cleopas [cf. Luke 24:18; John 19:25] or Alphaeus, who was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of Simon and Thaddeus, and one Joseph; Mary Salome, wife of Zebedee, mother of John the evangelist and James; Mary Magdalene. These four are found in the gospel. James, Jude, and Joseph were the sons of an aunt of the Lord. James and John were also sons of another of the Lord's aunts. Mary, mother of James the Less, and Joseph, wife of Alphaeus, were Mary's sister, the Lord's mother, whom John named Cleopas, either from her father's family, the clan's lineage, or for some other reason. Mary Salome is called Salome either by her husband or her village. Some affirm that she is the same as Mary of Cleopas because she had two husbands (Exp. dom. fr. 10).
A quick look at Papias' interpretation shows that Papias was attempting to harmonize the identity of James the Less. Papias belonged to the early second-century church and relied on traditions passed down from those who had known the apostles rather than on firsthand experience. In this passage, he is trying to reconcile different New Testament names without firsthand knowledge of them. He does not try to hide this fact, mainly because he used the word "either" twice.
Jerome and Gennadius later wrote, "James, who is called the brother of the Lord, surnamed the Just, the son of Joseph by another wife, as some think, but, as appears to me, the son of Mary sister of the mother of our Lord of whom John makes mention in his book" (Vir. ill. 2). This statement was also conjecture, meaning Jerome did not write from firsthand knowledge. Jerome's interpretation seems to conflate the martyrdom of James son of Zebedee with that of James of Jerusalem, since each man died at different times, in different ways, and under different authorities.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Jerome and Gennadius. Lives of Illustrious Men. Translated by Ernest Cushing Richardson. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 3. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1892.
Papias. The Fragments of Papias. In Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1885.
Commentaries
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
Monographs
Bauckham, Richard. Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church. London: T&T Clark, 1990.
Online Resources
Nelson, Ryan. "Who Was James, Son of Alphaeus? The Beginner's Guide."↗ OverviewBible. September 11, 2019.
