James, son of Alphaeus

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Saint

James the Lesser
St James the Minor by Peter Paul Rubens (1613)
Apostle and Martyr
Bornc. 1st century AD
Galilee, Judaea, Roman Empire
Diedc. 62 AD
Jerusalem, Judaea, Roman Empire or Aegyptus, Roman Empire
Venerated inAll Christian denominations that venerate saints
Feast1 May (Anglican Communion),
May 3 (Roman Catholic Church),
9 October (Eastern Orthodox Church)
AttributesCarpenter's saw; fuller's club
PatronageApothecaries; druggists; dying people; Frascati, Italy; fullers; milliners; Monterotondo, Italy; pharmacists; Uruguay[1]

James, son of Alphaeus (Greek: Ἰάκωβος, Iakōbos; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܚܠܦܝ;[2] Hebrew: יעקב בן חלפי Ya'akov ben Halfai; Coptic: ⲓⲁⲕⲱⲃⲟⲥ ⲛⲧⲉ ⲁⲗⲫⲉⲟⲥ; Arabic: يعقوب بن حلفى, romanized: Ya'qūb bin Halfā) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, appearing under this name in all three of the Synoptic Gospels' lists of the apostles. He is generally identified with James the Less (Ancient Greek: Ἰάκωβος ὁ μικρός Iakōbos ho mikros, Mark 15:40) and commonly known by that name in church tradition. He is also labelled "the Minor", "the Little", "the Lesser", or "the Younger", according to translation. He is distinct from James, son of Zebedee and in some interpretations also from James, brother of Jesus (James the Just).[3] He appears only four times in the New Testament, each time in a list of the twelve apostles.[4]

James, son of Alphaeus, detail of the mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, 6th century

Identity

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Possible identity as James the Less

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James, son of Alphaeus is often identified as James the Less, who is only mentioned four 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".

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").

Jerome identifies James, son of Alpheus with James the Less writing in his work called The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary the following:

Do you intend the comparatively unknown James the Less, who is called in Scripture the son of Mary, not however of Mary the mother of our Lord, to be an apostle, or not? If he is an apostle, he must be the son of Alphæus and a believer in Jesus, "For neither did his brethren believe in him."

The only conclusion is that the Mary who is described as the mother of James the Less was the wife of Alphæus and sister of Mary the Lord's mother, the one who is called by John the Evangelist "Mary of Clopas".[5]

It has sometimes been thought that Papias of Hierapolis, who lived circa 70–163 AD, in the surviving fragments of his work Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord relates that Mary, wife of Alphaeus is the mother of James the Less:

Mary, mother of James the Less and Joseph, wife of Alphaeus was the sister of Mary the mother of the Lord, whom John names of Cleophas, either from her father or from the family of the clan, or for some other reason.[6]

However, this is likely a misattribution. Rather, this quote should be attributed to the eleventh-century lexicographer Papias, not the second-century Papias of Hierapolis, and indeed this passage has been found directly in the lexicographer's writings.[7]

Modern Biblical scholars are divided on whether the identification of James of Alphaeus with James the Less is correct. John Paul Meier finds it unlikely.[8] Amongst evangelicals, the New Bible Dictionary supports the traditional identification,[9] while Don Carson[10] and Darrell Bock[11] both regard the identification as possible, but not certain.

Fresco of Saint James the Less in the Orthodox Church of Vladimir, Russia. 12th century.
Statue of St. James in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran by Angelo de Rossi.

Possible identification as James, the brother of Jesus

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Jerome, voicing the general opinion of Early Church, maintains the doctrine of perpetual virginity of Mary.[12] He proposed that James, son of Alphaeus, was to the one referred to as "James, the brother of the Lord" (Galatians 1:19) but that the term "brother" was to be understood as "cousin."[13][14] The view of Jerome, the "Hieronymian view," became widely accepted in the Roman Catholic Church,[15] though certain Protestants do not subscribe to this view. Geike (1884) states that Hausrath, Delitzsch, and Schenkel think James the brother of Jesus was the son of Clophas-Alphaeus.[16]

In two small but potentially important works ascribed by some to Hippolytus, On the Twelve Apostles of Christ and On the Seventy Apostles of Christ, he relates the following:

And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple.[17]

James, the brother of Jesus is attributed the same death; he was stoned to death by the Jews too. This testimony of "Hippolytus", if authentic, would increase the plausibility that James the son of Alphaeus is the same person as James the brother of Jesus.

These two works of "Hippolytus" are often neglected because the manuscripts were lost during most of the church age and then found in Greece in the 19th century. As most scholars consider them spurious, they are often ascribed to "Pseudo-Hippolytus". The two are included in an appendix to the works of Hippolytus in the voluminous collection of Early Church Fathers.[18]

According to the surviving fragments of the work Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord by Papias of Hierapolis Cleophas and Alphaeus are the same person, Mary wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus would be the mother of James, the brother of Jesus, and of Simon and Judas (Thaddeus), and of one Joseph.

(1) Mary the mother of the Lord; (2) Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, who was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of Simon and Thaddeus, and of one Joseph; (3) Mary Salome, wife of Zebedee, mother of John the evangelist and James; (4) Mary Magdalene. These four are found in the Gospel...(Fragment X)[6]

Thus, James, the brother of the Lord would be the son of Alphaeus, who is the husband of Mary of Cleophas or Mary the wife of Alphaeus. However, the Anglican theologian J.B. Lightfoot maintains that the fragment in question is spurious.[19][20]

As reported by the Golden Legend, which is a collection of hagiographies compiled by Jacobus de Voragine in the thirteenth century:

James the Apostle is said the Less, how well that was the elder of age than was St. James the More. He was called also the brother of our Lord, because I have resembled much well our Lord in body, in visage, and of manner. He was called James the Just for his right great holiness. He was also called James the son of Alpheus. He sang in Jerusalem the first mass that ever was there, and he was first bishop of Jerusalem.[21]

Possible brother of Matthew

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Alphaeus is also the name of the father of the tax-collector 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.[22][23] 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.[24] In two lists of the Apostles, the other James and John are listed as brothers and that their father is Zebedee.[25]

Gospel sources

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Gospel of Mark

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Calling of James, son of Alphaeus

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Mark the Evangelist is the earliest known source in the Bible to mention "James, son of Alphaeus" as one of the twelve Apostles. Mark the Evangelist mentions a "James, son of Alphaeus" only once and this is in his list of the 12 Apostles (Mark 3, (Mark 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 (better known as Matthew) to follow him (Mark 2:14 and Matthew 9:9). Peter, Andrew, James the Greater and John the Apostle are listed as Apostles (Mark 3:16–19). Levi, son of Alphaeus is listed as an Apostle under the name of Matthew and James alone is listed as the son of Alphaeus (Mark 3:16–19).

Ambiguous Jameses

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Overall, Mark the Evangelist lists three different Jameses: "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 to. There is a James at the transfiguration, (Mark 9, Mark 9:2), at the Mount of Olives, (Mark 13, Mark 13:3), and the Garden of Gethsemane, Mark 14, Mark 14:33). Although this James is listed alongside John the Apostle, a clear distinction is not made about which Apostle James is being referred to, even when both Apostles are meant to be in a similar location. All twelve Apostles attend the Last Supper (Mark 14:33) which immediately precedes the Garden of Gethsemane. There is a reference to Mary mother of James the Younger and Joseph (Mark 15, Mark 15:40); however, Mark the Evangelist has already said that James the brother of Jesus has a brother called Joseph (Mark 6, Mark 6:3).

Gospel of Matthew

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Calling of James, son of Alphaeus

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Peter, Andrew, James, son of Zebedee and his brother John were all called to follow Jesus (Matthew 4, Matthew 4:18–22). In a story that parallels the calling of Levi, son of Alphaeus,[26] Matthew is called to follow Jesus (Matthew 9, 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,[27] but as Levi, Son of Alphaeus (Mark 2, Mark 2:14). 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, Matthew 10:3).

Ambiguous Jameses

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Matthew does not mention any James in his Gospel that is not identified without association to his family. There are three James that are mentioned by Matthew; James, Brother of Jesus, Joseph, Simon and Judas (Matthew 13, Matthew 13:55), James son of Zebedee and brother of John (Matthew 10, Matthew 10:2) and James, son of Alphaeus. At the Transfiguration it is specified that the James is brother of John (Matthew 17, Matthew 17:1) and at the Garden of Gethsemane it is specified that it is the son of Zebedee (Matthew 26, 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, 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, Matthew 27:56).

Death

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One James was arrested along with some other Christians and was executed by King Herod Agrippa in his persecution of the church (Acts 12, 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, Matthew 4:21) and we are never explicitly told that James son of Alphaeus has a brother. Robert Eisenman [28] and Achille Camerlynck[29] both suggest that the death of James in Acts 12:1–2 is James, son of Zebedee and not James son of Alphaeus.

According to a passage found in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews (20.9.1), "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James" met his death after the death of the procurator Porcius Festus but before Lucceius Albinus had assumed office – which has been dated to 62.[30] The High Priest Hanan ben Hanan (Ananus ben Ananus) took advantage of this lack of imperial oversight to assemble a Sanhedrin (literally a synhedrion kriton in Greek, a "Sanhedrin of judges"), which condemned James "on the charge of breaking the law", then had him executed by stoning (Antiquities 20.9.1). Josephus reports that Hanan's act was widely viewed as little more than judicial murder and offended a number of "those who were considered the most fair-minded people in the city, and strict in their observance of the Law", who went so far as to arrange a meeting with Albinus as he entered the province in order to petition him successfully about the matter. In response, King Agrippa II replaced Ananus with Jesus son of Damneus.[31]

Clement of Alexandria relates that "James was thrown from the pinnacle of the Temple, and was beaten to death with a club".[32]

Hegesippus cites that "the Scribes and Pharisees placed James upon the pinnacle of the temple, and threw down the just man, and they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall. And one of them, who was a fuller, took the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the just man on the head".[32]

Origen related an account of the death of James which gave it as a cause of the Roman siege of Jerusalem.[33][34]

Eusebius wrote that "the more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion that this (James' death) was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them immediately after his martyrdom for no other reason than their daring act against him. Josephus, at least, has not hesitated to testify this in his writings, where he says, "These things happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was a brother of Jesus, that is called the Christ. For the Jews slew him, although he was a most just man.""[32]

Eusebius, while quoting Josephus' account, also records otherwise lost passages from Hegesippus (see links below) and Clement of Alexandria (Historia Ecclesiae, 2.23). Hegesippus' account varies somewhat from what Josephus reports and may be an attempt to reconcile the various accounts by combining them. According to Hegesippus, the scribes and Pharisees came to James for help in putting down Christian beliefs. The record says:

They came, therefore, in a body to James, and said: "We entreat thee, restrain the people: for they have gone astray in their opinions about Jesus, as if he were the Christ. We entreat thee to persuade all who have come hither for the day of the passover, concerning Jesus. For we all listen to thy persuasion; since we, as well as all the people, bear thee testimony that thou art just, and showest partiality to none. Do thou, therefore, persuade the people not to entertain erroneous opinions concerning Jesus: for all the people, and we also, listen to thy persuasion. Take thy stand, then, upon the summit of the temple, that from that elevated spot thou mayest be clearly seen, and thy words may be plainly audible to all the people. For, in order to attend the passover, all the tribes have congregated hither, and some of the Gentiles also."[35][36][37] To the scribes' and Pharisees' dismay, James boldly testified that "Christ himself sitteth in heaven, at the right hand of the Great Power, and shall come on the clouds of heaven". The scribes and pharisees then said to themselves, "We have not done well in procuring this testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, that they may be afraid, and not believe him."

...Accordingly, the scribes and Pharisees threw down the just man... [and] began to stone him: for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned, and kneeled down, and said: "I beseech thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

And, while they were there, stoning him to death, one of the priests, the sons of Rechab, the son of Rechabim, to whom testimony is borne by Jeremiah the prophet, began to cry aloud, saying: "Cease, what do ye? The just man is praying for us." But one among them, one of the fullers, took the staff with which he was accustomed to wring out the garments he dyed, and hurled it at the head of the just man.

And so he suffered martyrdom; and they buried him on the spot, and the pillar erected to his memory still remains, close by the temple. This man was a true witness to both Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Christ. And shortly after Vespasian besieged Judaea, taking them captive.

— Fragments from the Acts of the Church; Concerning the Martyrdom of James, the Brother of the Lord, from Book 5.[35]

Vespasian's siege and capture of Jerusalem delayed the selection of Simeon of Jerusalem to succeed James.

According to Philip Schaff in 1904, this account by "Hegesippus has been cited over and over again by historians as assigning the date of the martyrdom to 69", though he challenged the assumption that Hegesippus gives anything to denote such a date.[38] Josephus does not mention in his writings how James was buried.[39]

In Christian art, James the Less is depicted holding a fuller's club.[40] One tradition maintains that he was crucified at Ostrakine in Lower Egypt, where he was preaching the Gospel.[41]

In Eastern Orthodox Church his feast is 9 October and 30 June (Synaxis of the Apostles).[42]

References

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  1. ^ Catholic Forum Patron Saints Index: James the Lesser Archived June 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Bible reverse engineering". Bible Tools. September 9, 2020. Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "Saint-James. Apostle, son of Alphaeus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  4. ^ Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:12–16 and Acts 1:13.
  5. ^ saint, Jerome. The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary Fragment 15. newadvent.org. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. ^ a b of Hierapolis, Papias. Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord. Fragment X. earlychristianwritings.com. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  7. ^ Stephen C. Carlson, Papias of Hierapolis Exposition of Dominical Oracles: The Fragments, Testimonia, and Reception of a Second-Century Commentator, p. 98. "...this fragment securely belongs to the medieval Papias, as scholars of the lexicographer have long been well aware."
  8. ^ John Paul Meier, A Marginal Jew volume 3, p. 201. "There are no grounds for identifying James of Alphaeus – as church tradition has done – with James the Less."
  9. ^ New Bible Dictionary, 2nd Edition (IVP 1982), "James" entry (by P.H.Davids)
  10. ^ "The Expositor's Bible Commentary CDROM, commentary on Matthew (by Don Carson), commentary on Matthew 10:2–4
  11. ^ Luke, by Darrell Bock (Baker 1994), commentary on Luke 6:15
  12. ^ Cross, FL, ed. (2005), "Brethren of the Lord", The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, New York: Oxford University Press.
  13. ^ John Saward – Cradle of redeeming love: the theology of the Christmas mystery p18 2002 "St Jerome concludes that St James, son of Alphaeus, and St James, brother of the Lord, are one and the same person.169 But why is James, son of Alphaeus, called our Lord's 'brother'? St Jerome's answer is as follows. In Matthew 13:55 we hear of four 'brothers' of our Lord: James and Joseph, Simon and Jude. Later, in the Passion narrative, St Matthew mentions a Mary who is the mother of James and Joseph (cf Mt 27:56) "
  14. ^ The brother of Jesus: James the Just and his mission p17 Bruce Chilton, Jacob Neusner – 2001 "Given that James has been identified as the son of Alphaeus, Jerome indicates he cannot explain the connection of Mary the ... Chrysostom (347–407) was first to suggest that James the brother of the Lord is the son of Clopas though ..."
  15. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. James the Less".
  16. ^ John Cunningham Geikie The life and words of Christ Volume 1 1884 "Alphaeus, or Alpheus __, and Clopas are different ways of pronouncing in Greek the Hebrew name ___ (Chal'phai) ... Hausrath, Delitzsch, and Schenkel, think James the Just was the son of Clophas-Alphaeus."
  17. ^ of Rome, Pseudo-Hippolytus. "On the Twelve Apostles" and "On the Seventy Disciples". newadvent.org. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  18. ^ Ante-Nicean Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and A. Cleaveland Coxe, vol. 5 (Peabody MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999), 254–6
  19. ^ "The Brethren of the Lord by J.B. Lightfoot". Archived from the original on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  20. ^ "Papias of Hierapolis". Archived from the original on May 1, 2006.
  21. ^ Stracke, Richard. Golden Legend: Life of Saint James the Less. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  22. ^ John MacArthur, Jr., Daily Readings from The Life of Christ, page 50 (Moody Publishers, 2009).
  23. ^ Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Testament, page 848 (David C. Cook, 2007). ISBN 978-0-7814-4539-9
  24. ^ Matthew 10:2–3, Mark 3:16–19, Luke 6:11–16 and Acts 1:13.
  25. ^ Matthew 10:2–3, Mark 3:16–19
  26. ^ The Good News Bible Revised Edition 1994 indicate that Mark 2:13–17 and Matthew 9:9–13 are the same story
  27. ^ The Good News Bible Revised Edition 1994
  28. ^ "James brother of Jesus" Robert Eisenman
  29. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. James the Greater".
  30. ^ Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church, Volume I: Apostolic Christianity. A.D. 1-100. - Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  31. ^ Shillington, V. George (2015). James and Paul: The Politics of Identity at the Turn of the Ages. Fortress Press. pp. 145–150. ISBN 978-1-4514-8213-3.
  32. ^ a b c of Caesarea, Eusebius. Church History Book II Chapter 23. The Martyrdom of James, who was called the Brother of the Lord. www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  33. ^ "Origen twice asserts that Josephus said that the destruction of Jerusalem occurred because of what was done to James. The argument was that the destruction was a consequence of divine retribution because of what was done to James" in, John Painter, Just James: The Brother of Jesus in History and Tradition, page 205 (Fortress Press, 1997). ISBN 0-567-08697-6
  34. ^ "Origen appreciates Josephus by noting that he has 'researched on the cause of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple' and concludes that Josephus is 'not far from the truth' in concluding that the reason for the calamity was the assassination of James the Just by the Jews", in "Origen and Josephus" by Wataru Mizugaki, in Louis H. Feldman, Gohei Hata (editors), Josephus, Judaism and Christianity, page 329 (Wayne State University Press, 1987). ISBN 0-8143-1831-2
  35. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Hegesippus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Vol XXII, P142
  37. ^ Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Vol II, Chapter XXIII
  38. ^ Schaff, Philip (1904) Henry Wace "A Select library of Nicene and post-Nicene fathers of the Christian church" BiblioBazaar ISBN 1-110-37346-5
  39. ^ See also Shillington, V. George (2015). James and Paul: the Politics of Identity at the Turn of the Ages. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. pp. 45–50. ISBN 978-1-4514-8213-3.
  40. ^ Hilarie Cornwell, James Cornwell, Saints, Signs, and Symbols, page 49 (Morehouse Publishing, 2009). ISBN 978-0-8192-2345-6
  41. ^ Philip Schaff, History of the Apostolic Church: with a General Introduction to Church History, page 389 (New York: Charles Scribner, 1853). Citing Nikephoros, Historia Ecclesiastica II:40.
  42. ^ "ИАКОВ АЛФЕЕВ - Древо". drevo-info.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-10-02.