Jude Thaddeus
- James Collazo
- Mar 14, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 14
Introduction
Jude Thaddeus (Hebrew: Yehudah Taddai / Greek: Ioudas Thaddaios) was born around AD 10 in the Roman client kingdom of Galilee. The New Testament mentions him only six times, usually alongside the other eleven apostles. Luke refers to him as "Judas of James" (Greek: Ioudan Iakōbou, G2455 / G2385) in both his namesake gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
Even though the New Testament mentions Jude only a few times, the Bible and archaeological finds offer a clearer picture of who he was. His name in Hebrew and Greek appears in first-century records, and discoveries such as the "Judas Thaddaeus" ossuary place him within an authentic historical setting. These pieces of evidence show that Jude was more than a brief name in the text—he was a real person who lived in Galilee and helped to shape the early church.
Jude: Brother, Son, or Thaddeus?
The New Testament provides only limited information about the apostle Jude, which makes his identity difficult to confirm. The evangelist Luke refers to him as "Jude of James" in both of his works (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). In Greek, this phrase can mean either "Jude, the son of James" or "Jude, the brother of James," therefore some scholars argue that Luke suggested a different Jude, not Jesus' brother. However, nothing in the text requires that interpretation.
Jude identifies himself as "the brother of James" Greek: adelphos de Iakōbou, G80 / G2385) at the start of his letter (Jude 1:1), which strongly suggests he was also Jesus' brother. Matthew and Mark list a Jude among Jesus' siblings (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3). John refers to "Judas (not Iscariot)" as one of Jesus' apostles (John 14:22), even though Jesus' other brothers did not yet believe in him (John 7:5). When we compare these details, the most straightforward and most reasonable conclusion is that they all refer to the same person.
Matthew and Mark also list an apostle named "Thaddeus" (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18), a name that likely served as Jude's nickname. The Greek name Thaddaios (G2280) means "big-hearted" or "courageous," and people in the first century often used both a formal name and a nickname, especially when many shared the same name. This practice may explain why early Christians preferred "Jude" instead of "Judas," which helped distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. Yehudah (H3063), Jude's name in Hebrew, means "praised" and refers to the ancient Israelite tribe of Judah (Num. 1:27).
Ossuary of Judas Thaddeus
In the mid-twentieth century, Israeli archaeologists excavated a burial site in the Jezreel Valley town of Kfar Baruch. They discovered an ossuary inscribed with the Greek name Ιουδας Θαδδαιου, which translates as "Judas Thaddaeus," and found it alongside four unmarked bone boxes. Levi Yizhaq Rahmani (1914–2006), a leading expert on Jewish burial practices who studied hundreds of ossuaries during his career, listed the inscribed box as number 145 in his Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel (Israel Antiquities Authority, 1994). Experts examined the oil lamps and pottery in the tomb and dated them to the late first or early second century, a period that matches the early Christian era. The inscription supports the idea that a historical Jude Thaddeus existed and suggests that "Judas" and "Thaddeus" were two names for the same person, a standard naming practice in first-century Mediterranean culture.
Conclusion
Although the New Testament mentions Jude Thaddeus only a few times, early Christian tradition and archaeology together provide a clearer sense of his life and significance. The Bible identifies him as the brother of Jesus and James, one of the twelve apostles, and the "Jude of James" mentioned by Luke. The ossuary inscribed with "Judas Thaddaeus" situates his name in a historical context and shows how archaeology, history, and religious tradition work together to deepen our understanding of the earliest Christian communities. Artifacts like this help scholars study ancient naming practices and burial customs, and they remind us that the people in the New Testament lived real lives in real places.
Early church fathers also recognized Jude's importance. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215) quoted Jude's letter as part of the scriptures (Miscellanies 3.2, 11). Origen (c. 185–253) wrote, "And Jude, who wrote a letter of few lines, it is true, but filled with the healthful words of heavenly grace, said in the preface, 'Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James'" (Commentary on Matthew 17.30; cf. Jude 1:1) and linked its author to Jesus' own family. Their testimony shows that the early church saw Jude's writing as apostolic in origin and trustworthy for teaching. As archaeologists continue to uncover and study evidence from sites across Israel, they add new details to our understanding of the people who shaped the earliest generations of the Christian movement two thousand years ago.
Prayer
Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of heaven and earth. You called your apostle Jude Thaddeus to strengthen the faithful and proclaim your Son with courage. Help us to follow his example with steadfast hope and big-hearted devotion. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bibliography
Clement of Alexandria. "Miscellanies." Translated by William Wilson. In Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.
Evans, Craig A. Jesus, and the Ossuaries. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2003.
Nelson, Ryan. "Who Was Jude the Apostle? The Beginner's Guide." OverviewBible. September 10, 2019. [link].
Origen. "Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew." Translated by John Patrick. In Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 9. Edited by Allan Menzies. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1890.
Prausnitz, Max, and Levi Yizhaq Rahmani. "Jewish Burial Caves of the Early Second Century CE at Kfar Baruch." Me'eretz Kishon: The Book of the Emek. Tel Adashim, Israel: Kishon County Council, 1967.
Rahmani, L. Y. A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority, 1994.
