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. James the less is identified with james the brother of jesus. It is no coincidence that this lesser james is often confused with james, the lords brother, who, however, was not a member of the original disciples. James the less, also referred to as the lesser, the younger, the little, and the minor, is mentioned four times in the gospels, always in relation to his mother, mary, whom john refers to as mary of clopas in john 19. Join facebook to connect with james lesser and others you may know. Because the apostle matthew also is the son of a man named alphaeus, it has been thought that he and james were brothers. James was also called james the less and james the younger. The author of james james, a servant of god and of the lord jesus christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. He was the brother of joses and the son of a woman named mary, the wife of cleophas or cleopas or clopas, who, when jesus was in galilee, followed him. Some bible versions call him james the younger, but the. James the less wikisource, the free online library. It is a document of an uncertain age, written sometime between 55 and 100 c.
To explain this, jerome first tells that james the less must be identified with james, the son of alphaeus. James barzebedee, also known as james the greater, was one of jesus twelve apostles. Perhaps, as with other books in the bible, god did not deem it important that we know for certain the human author. James, son of alphaeus, is also called james the less mark 15. Jerome concluded that james the brother of the lord is the same as james the less. The general consensus of the fathers, doctors and theologians is that james the less is the james of 25 from the above list, as well as the bishop of jerusalem, the author of the letter of st.
Some people confuse the apostle james as the author of the book of james but that james was the halfbrother of jesus who only professed faith in christ after jesus rose from the dead. Among its 27 books are selected recollections of the life and acts and sayings of jesus in the four gospels. Even james the son of alphaeus cannot be totally discounted. We believe that it means that he was younger than the other st. Would have been better to have combined james with another short book into this volume. This was the name of two apostles in the new testament. Best lesser known books a list of books that deserve more popularity and credit than they have. The third was james the halfbrother of jesus, who finally came to believe after the resurrection and then rose. Up the lane for new book about penicuik church the scotsman. Another james known as james the just is also mentioned in the bible as being the brother of jesus. Up the lane describes the life of the church and its place. Catholic tradition states that his mother was salome. Whatever the modern scholars tell you, james the less is.
James is the author of the epistle of james, which he wrote somewhere between a. He was the brother of jesus, a leader in the jerusalem church, and writer of the book of james. Later, james again presides over a meeting in jerusalem, this time after pauls third missionary journey. James the less is a figure of early christianity, one of the twelve chosen by jesus. It may come as something of a surprise to many, but it is not uncommon for modern historicalbiblical scholars i, for my part, doubt whether they are deserving of the name to claim that st. James in itself is no way boring, but drawing it out into 12 lessons made it seem so. James the less, the author of the first catholic epistle, was the son of alphaeus of cleophas. This is very doubtful, and accords too much with the catholic superstition, that mary never had any other children except our savior. The study of james page 1 lesson one introduction to the book of james james 1. The first was saint james the greater, the apostle johns brother, who was beheaded under herod agrippa in the book of acts.
Everything that portrayed james the just, as his contemporaries called him, in a bad or insignificant light suited the church just fine. He was the son of alpheus or clopas and brother of our lord see above. I would like to suggest putting my debut novel, her sanctuary, on your new authors to watch list. Meaning, origin and history of the name james behind the. His mother mary was either a sister or a close relative of the. There are two apostles named james mentioned in the bible. I went through my own list for this listopia and only added lesser known books that i had given four or five stars. Saint james the lesser is the patron of milliners, hat makers, dying people, and uruguay. The book makes no mention of any gentile controversy, and thus was probably written before that controversy broke out. The word less should be understood to mean little or younger. Clarendon press, 1924 introduction origen mentions the book of james and the gospel of peter as stating that the brethren of the lord were sons of joseph by a former wife. He was wellknown for his prayer life as many report that his knees thickened due to all the time he spent on his knees in prayer.
For believers, it is a part of the new testament canon and from this derives its importance. James the lesser was the son of alphaeus and mary of clopas maria jacobi in latin and the brother of jude thaddeus. Since james is a short book it seems like they really tried to draw it out to make 12 lessons, making some of it repetitive and overall a somewhat boring study. The conclusion is that the other mary was matthews levi mother, alphaeus clopas or cleophas his father, and james the less was his brother. The book of james a detailed commentary basic training bible ministries page 2 introduction to james background of the book the epistle of james is one of the general epistles, including 1. Therefore, james, son of alphaeus would be the same as james the less. James the less, the brother of the lord, was not the same st. James the greater christianity knowledge base fandom.
But the two were never referred to as brothers, whereas peter and andrew, and james a different james and john, were consistently referred to as being brothers. James was given the nickname the less so that he would not be confused with the other apostle named james, whose feast we celebrate on july 25. The company, located in new havens northern suburb of woodbridge, is also a member of the southern new england antiquarian booksellers. Parishioners at st james the less episcopal church in penicuik have released a new book based on interviews with the townspeople. Matthew is never referred directly to as being the son of alphaeus in the gospel of matthew or any other book in the bible, but like levi, son of. There is no more jewish book in the new testament than the epistle of james. James is described as one of the first disciples to join jesus. With john, he was also known as one of the sons of thunder. His mother was mary of cleophas sister of jesus mother according to 5thcentury theologian jerome and 1stcentury bishop papias of hierapolis. Lesser fine antiquarian books llc has been a member of the antiquarian booksellers association of america and the international league of antiquarian booksellers. Simon the zealot, and judas iscariot, who betrayed him. The books i added have not been read by a lot of gr members, as all books added have a low number of ratings.
Wikipedia article, commons category, wikidata item one of the twelve apostles of jesus, titled the less to distinguish from james the greater western tradition most notably jerome holds that james the less was the same person as james the just, the brother. James, son of alphaeus was one of the twelve apostles of jesus, appearing under this name. The theology of james, peter, and jude course, taught by peter davids, offers a comprehensive exploration of the theology of james, 12 peter, and jude, including introductory issues and major themes, and also shows how each book relates to. James the less, called the less because younger or smaller in stature than james the son of zebedee. Identifies james the less with james the apostle, son of alpheus, and with james. James the lesser amazing bible timeline with world history. The three following quotes will give you some ideas of what others think about the book. If these are all references to the same james, that would make james son of alphaeus the author of the book of james and one of the three. Saint james the lesser was one of the first to have a vision of the risen christ and the resurrected christ even prepared a meal for him.
A third james mentioned in scripture was the brother of the lord jesus galatians 1. This is the first mention of it, and shows us that the book is as old as the second century. Little is known of his life or death, though a late legend holds that he was martyred in persia. The second was james the son of alphaeus, sometimes referred to as james the less. James the less is supposed by some to have been the brother of our lord, by a former wife of joseph. By the time that book of james was written, and it appears to be the first book written in the new testament around 45 ad. The book of james is addressed to jewish christians scattered abroad. His mother mary was either a sister or a close relative of the blessed virgin, and for that reason, according to jewish custom, he was sometimes called the brother of the lord. Saint james the lesser profile james, the son of alphaeus and mary, is named in the same lists of apostles in matthew, mark, and luke, and in acts 1. James the less, called saint james the less in catholic and orthodox traditions, is also called james the lesser.