Alphaeus

Biblical Record

Alphaeus (Greek Ἁλφαῖος) is named in the New Testament only to identify someone's father. None of his own words or deeds are recorded.

• Father of James: The lists of the twelve disciples include "James the son of Alphaeus" (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). Because the same lists also include James the son of Zebedee, the father's name serves to distinguish the two men. This James is treated in the article James, son of Alphaeus.
• Father of Levi: In the account of Jesus calling a tax collector sitting at the receipt of custom, Mark 2:14 calls him "Levi the son of Alphaeus." Luke 5:27 names him "Levi" in the same event, and Matthew 9:9 names him "Matthew." For this reason Levi is commonly understood to be the same person as Matthew. Some manuscripts of Mark 2:14 are known to read "James" instead of "Levi."

Significance Within the Bible

The name Alphaeus serves to distinguish the two men named James in the lists of the twelve disciples. Beyond this, no passage assigns any theological significance to Alphaeus.

Interpretations and Debates

• Were the two Alphaeuses the same man? If the father of James and the father of Levi were the same man, James and Levi (Matthew) would have been brothers. The Gospels, however, explicitly identify disciples who were brothers, such as Peter and Andrew and the two sons of Zebedee, yet make no such statement about these two. For this reason many interpreters regard the two fathers as different men who shared the same name, though there is no basis for certainty.
• The tradition identifying him with Clopas: John 19:25 mentions "Mary the wife of Cleophas" (Clopas), and Mark 15:40 mentions "Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses." If these two Marys are taken to be the same woman and James the less is identified with James the son of Alphaeus, then Alphaeus and Clopas would also be the same man. This interpretation has been handed down in parts of the early church and in Roman Catholic tradition. It is also linked to the view that James "the Lord's brother" was a cousin of Jesus. Protestants generally regard this as a conjecture that the text does not establish, and they often treat James the son of Alphaeus and James (brother of the Lord) as different persons. The Clopas of John 19:25 is commonly distinguished from the Cleopas who was traveling to Emmaus (Luke 24:18), since their names differ in Greek.
• The Bible says nothing about Alphaeus's occupation, place of origin, or faith. Any such accounts that circulate are later speculation.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Alphaeus is encountered mainly through the phrase "James the son of Alphaeus" when believers read or memorize the names of the twelve disciples in the New Korean Revised Version. Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted to Alphaeus himself are rare.