Alphaeus | |
|---|---|
Ἀλφαῖος | |
_with_two_of_their_sons_(SM_1398b)_(cropped).png) Detail fromTorgauer Altar byLucas Cranach the Elder, 1509 | |
| Spouse | Mary, mother of James |
| Children | |
Alphaeus (/ælˈfiːəs/;Ancient Greek:Ἀλφαῖος) is a man mentioned in theNew Testament seemingly as the father of two of theTwelve Apostles:Matthew the Evangelist[1] andJames, son of Alphaeus.[2][3] However, Mark 2:14 inCodex Bezae uses the name Levi rather than Matthew. It is therefore highly probable that the Alphaeus in "James son of Alphaeus" and "Levi son of Alphaeus" are the same person.
He is implied to be the father of Joseph orJoses,[4][5] and in Church tradition he is the father ofAbercius[6] andHelena.[7]
Usually, in the Western Catholic tradition, there are believed to be two men named Alphaeus. One of them was the father of the apostleJames and the other the father ofMatthew (Levi).[8] Though both Matthew and James are described as being the "son of Alphaeus," there is no Biblical account of the two being called brothers, even in the same context whereJohn andJames orPeter andAndrew are described as being brothers. Despite this, Eastern Church tradition typically states that Matthew and James were brothers.[9][10][11] TheapocryphalGospel of Peter also refers to Levi as the son of Alphaeus.[12]
In theMiddle Ages, Alphaeus was said to be the husband of Mary the daughter of Clopas.[13] More recently, Alphaeus has been identified withClopas, based on the identification from parallel Gospel accounts ofMary, the mother of James the third woman withMary Magdalene andSalome, wife of Zebedee beside the cross in Matthew withMary of Clopas, the third woman in John's account. Post-medieval scholars and translators often take the name 'Mary of Clopas' to mean Mary was the wife of Clopas, not his daughter. Mary is called the wife of Cleophas in the King James Version.[14]
According to the surviving fragments of the workExposition of the Sayings of the Lord of theApostolic FatherPapias of Hierapolis, who lived c. 70–163 AD, Cleophas and Alphaeus are the same person: "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"[15] According to the Anglican theologianJ.B. Lightfoot this fragment quoted above is spurious.[16][17]
TheCatholic Encyclopedia suggests that etymologically, the namesClopas andAlphaeus are different, but that they could still be the same person. Other sources propose thatAlphaeus,Clophas andCleophas are variant attempts to render the AramaicH in Aramaic Hilfai intoGreek as aspirated, orK.[18]