NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS.

JAMES, JUDE AND CONFUSION.
We know surprisingly little about these two apostles, but what we do have is a confusion about their names and perhaps about their identities.

Matthew’s list names the pair as: James of Alphaeus and Lebbaeus (surnamed Thaddaeus).

Mark says James of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus. James of Alphaeus is normally translated James the son of Alphaeus.

These are the only times the name Thaddaeus is used.

In Luke both the order and the names are changed to: James of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, Judas of James and Judas Iscariot. Apparently Luke is not pairing them in the twos in which Jesus sent them out but puts the two Judases together to make the distinction clear.

John 14 refers to a question by Judas (not Iscariot). For practical purposes, since the traitor’s name is so well known, it is convenient to refer to this apostle as Jude - but who was he?

Either he is one and the same as Thaddaeus, or he has replaced Thaddaeus - but there is no evidence of any change in the twelve apart from Judas Iscariot’s defection. Peter’s speech in Acts 1 seems to rule it out.

Luke lists them again in Acts 1 and here the wording is: James of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Jude of James. The latter phrase is variously translated ‘son of James’ and ‘brother of James.’

Assuming no changes in the list of apostles we are driven to the conclusion that Jude is the brother, not son, of James and he is the same person as Thaddaeus.

Their Mother?
Now we come to a further complication.

Three Mary’s stood at the cross, Mary Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene and another Mary. This third Mary is described in Matthew and Mark as the mother of James and Joses. (Mark uses the term ‘James the less’ or ‘James minor’ in this context but that term is not used in the lists of apostles.)

John describes the third Mary as ‘Mary of Cleophas’ presumable the wife of Cleophas, but could be the daughter. It is generally considered that this Mary was the mother of these two apostles. If so, Jude who already has two aliases Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus, has now acquired a third, Joses (unless this is another brother). The other assumption required is that Alphaeus and Cleophas are one and the same - Mary’s husband and the father of the two apostles.

These were all common names and discrepancies are not unlikely when dealing with Aramaic names which the writers have had to render in Greek. Alphaeus and Cleophas are more similar than they appear in English, but they are not identical.

While on the subject of Mary the wife of Cleophas, we had better clear up another possible confusion. There was a man named Cleophas in Luke 24 who was walking with a companion on the road to Emmaus. He, however, spoke of, “Certain women of our company - - “ a phrase he would hardly use if one of them had been his wife.

Probable Conclusion.
Probably the apostles James minor and Jude (alias Lebbaeus alias Thaddaeus alias Joses) were the sons of Alphaeus (alias Cleophas) and Mary. There are, however, several alternative possibilities and combinations of the alternatives.

Whoever this Mary was, she was present at the cross, at Christ’s burial and on Easter morning - and she carried news of the resurrection to the nine apostles who had not heard it from Mary Magdalene.


References James, Jude & their mother.
Apostles listed Matthew 10:1-4 Mark 3:13-19 Luke 6:12-16 Acts 1:13-14
Jude’s question Joun 14:22
Mary at the cross Matthew 27:55-56 Mark 15:40 John 19:25
At the buriel Matthew 27:61 Mark 15:47
At the resurrection Matthew 28:1-10 Mark 16:1-8 Luke 24:1-11