Clopas (Ancient Greek:Κλωπᾶς,Klōpas;Hebrew: possiblyחלפי,Ḥalfi;Aramaic: חילפאי,Ḥilfài) is a figure ofearly Christianity. The name appears in theNew Testament, specifically inJohn19:25:
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister,Mary the wife of Clopas, andMary Magdalene.
He is often identified with another figure of a similar name,Cleophas (Κλεοπᾶς), one of the two disciples who met Christ during theroad to Emmaus appearance (Luke 24:13–27).
Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem...
There is some variation of the Greek manuscripts of both John 19:25 andLuke 24 as to the spellingΚλ[ε]οπᾶς, and the John "Clopas" is rendered "Cleophas" in theKJV.
The identity of the other women in the parallel passages inMatthew 27:56 andMark 15:40 is given asMary Magdalene, "Mary the mother of James and Joses," and "Salome the mother of Zebedee's children" (Matthew), "Salome" (Mark). Luke does not mention the women watching near the cross. The parallels continue again with accounts of the burial. Matthew 28:1 has "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary" with no mention of John's mother Salome, Mark 16:1 has again Mary Magdalene, "Mary the mother of James" and Salome. Luke says "they," John mentions only Mary Magdalene.
As a result of these parallels commentators have identified "Mary of Clopas" withMary mother of James, son of Alphaeus.Alphaeus (GreekἈλφαῖος) was also the name of the father ofMatthew the Apostle (Mark 2:14). The Aramaic name Hilfai (חילפאי), or Hebrew name Halfi (חלפי) have been proposed by a variety of sources[1] includingJoseph Henry Thayer who argued in his Lexicon that dropping the Hebrewheth (חḥ, which has no corresponding letter in Greek) and rendering the Hebrewheth askappa (Κ) in Greek were both possible.[2] Perhaps under the influence of this tradition,Franz Delitzsch's modernHebrew New Testament does in fact use the Hebrew nameYaakov ben Khalfi (יעקב בן חלפי) for James son of Alphaeus.[3][4] The Aramaic name Halfai is evidenced on Aramaic panels of the period,[5] and the name Hilphai in rabbinic literature.[6]
In theGospel of Pseudo-Matthew, which was probably written in the seventh century, states thatMary of Cleophas was daughter of Cleophas andAnna:
Jesus met them, with Mary His mother, along with her sister Mary of Cleophas, whom the Lord God had given to her father Cleophas and her mother Anna, because they had offered Mary the mother of Jesus to the Lord. And she was called by the same name, Mary, for the consolation of her parents.[7]
The most common interpretation is that "of Clopas" indicates the husband ofthis Mary and subsequently the father of her children, but some see "of Clopas" as meaning this Mary's father. In medieval tradition Clopas is the second husband ofSaint Anne and thefather of "Mary of Clopas".[8]
Catholic andEastern Orthodox traditions believed that Clopas is a brother ofSaint Joseph, and that he is the same person withCleopas.[9]
Clopas also appears in early Christian writings such as the 2nd century writersPapias andHegesippus as a brother ofJoseph, the husband ofMary, mother of Jesus, and as the father ofSimeon, the second bishop of Jerusalem.Eusebius of Caesarea relates in his Church History (Book III, ch. 11), that after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Christians of Jerusalem:[10]
all with one consent pronounced Symeon, the son of Clopas, of whom the Gospel also makes mention; to be worthy of the episcopal throne of that parish. He was a cousin, as they say, of the Saviour. For Hegesippus records that Clopas was a brother of Joseph.
A few modern writers identifyMary of Clopas withJesus' mother, such asJames Tabor who has postulated that Clopas, whom he accepts as a brother of Joseph, became the second husband of Jesus' mother. Tabor argues that Clopas married Mary according to theLevirate law, which however would only apply in case of a childless widow - though this view is not widely accepted.[11]
| Chronology ofJesus's life |
|
|---|---|
| New Testament | |
| Historical Jesus | |
| Depictions | |
| Christianity | |
| In other faiths | |
| Family |
|
| Related | |
