| Saint James, son of Alphaeus | |
|---|---|
Statue of St James at the Church of the Mafra Palace, Portugal |
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| Apostle | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | Egypt or Jerusalem |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 1 May (Anglican Communion), May 3 (Roman Catholic Church), 9 October (Eastern Orthodox Church) |
| Attributes | carpenter's saw; fuller's club; book |
| Patronage | apothecaries; druggists; dying people; Frascati, Italy; fullers; milliners; Monterotondo, Italy; pharmacists; Uruguay[1] |
Saint James, son of Alphaeus (Ἰάκωβος, Iakōbos in Greek) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. He is often identified with James the Less and commonly known by that name in church tradition.[2]
James, the son of Alphaeus, is rarely mentioned in the New Testament, but he is sometimes identified with James the Just, an important leader in the New Testament church. He is clearly distinguished from James, son of Zebedee, another one of the Twelve Apostles.
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James, son of Alphaeus, appears only four times in the New Testament, each time in a list of the twelve apostles.[3]
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". James, son of Alphaeus may also be identified as James the Just.
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. John Paul Meier finds it unlikely.[4] Amongst evangelicals, the New Bible Dictionary supports the traditional identification,[5] while Don Carson[6] and Darrell Bock[7] both regard the identification as possible, but not certain.
James, son of Alphaeus, has also been identified with James the Just. This was supported by Jerome and therefore widely accepted in the Roman Catholic Church,[8] while Eastern Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants tend to distinguish between the two.
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.[9] In two lists of the Apostles, James and John are listed as brothers and that their father is Zebedee.[10]
Mark the Evangelist is the earliest known source in the bible to mention "James, son of Alphaeus" as one of the twelve Apostles if the two-source hypothesis 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.
Overall Mark the Evangelist lists three different James’. "James, son of Alphaeus", James the Greater and James the brother of Jesus Mark 6:3. On three separate occasions he writes about a James without clarifying which James he is referring too. There is a James at the transfiguration Mark 9:2, at the Mount of Olives Mark 13:3 and the Garden of Gethsemane Mark 14:33. Although this James is listed alongside John the Apostle a clear distinction isn't made about which Apostle James is being referred to, even when both Apostles are meant to be in the similar location. All twelve Apostles attend the Last Supper Mark 14:33 which immediately precedes Garden of Gethsemane. There is a reference to Mary mother of James the Younger and Joseph Mark 15:40, however, Mark the Evangelist has already told us that James the brother of Jesus has a brother called Joseph Mark 6:3.
Peter, Andrew, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John were all called to follow Jesus Matthew 4:18-22. In a story that parallels the calling of Levi, son of Alphaeus[11], Matthew is called to follow Jesus Matthew 9:9-13. Matthew is never referred directly to as being the Son of Alphaeus in the Gospel of Matthew or any other book in the Bible[12], but like Levi, Son of Alphaeus in Mark he is regarded as a tax collector Matthew 9:9. In the Gospel of Matthew the tax collector (Matthew) called to follow Jesus is listed as one of the twelve Apostles. James, son of Alphaeus is also listed as one of the 12 Apostles Matthew 10:3.
Matthew doesn’t mention any James is his Gospel that isn’t identified without association to his family. There are 3 James’ that are mentioned by Matthew, James, Brother of Jesus, Joseph, Simon and Judas Matthew 13:55, James son of Zebedee and brother of John Matthew 10:2 and James, son of Alphaeus. At the Transfiguration it is specified that the James is brother of John Matthew 13:55 and at the Garden of Gethsemane it is specified that it is the sons of Zebedee Matthew 26:37. It is not specified by Matthew that there was a James at the Mount of Olives he mentions only disciples Matthew 24:3. Matthew also mentions a Mary the mother of James and Joseph who was at the crucifixion. This James is not given the epithet the younger Matthew 27:56.
A tradition holds that Saint James, though strongly clinging to Jewish law, was sentenced to death for having violated the Torah. He was arrested along with an unspecified number of Christians and was subsequently beheaded by Herod in persecution of the church. Acts 12:1,2 However, the James in Acts 12:1,2 has a brother called John. James, son of Zebedee has a brother called John Matthew 4:21and we are never explicitly told that James son of Alphaeus has a brother. Robert Eisenman [13] and The New Advent online Catholic Encylopeida [14] both suggest that the death of James in Acts 12:1-2 is James, son of Zebedee and not James son of Alphaeus. In Christian art he is depicted holding a fuller's club because he was martyred when beaten to death with a fuller's club at Ostrakine in Lower Egypt, where he was preaching the Gospel.
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