Alphaeus

Alphaeus

Alphaeus is mentioned in the New Testament as the father of three of the Twelve Apostles, namely:

*Matthew Levi the Apostle
*James, son of Alphaeus
*Jude Lebbaeus the Apostle

As the father of an Apostle James, he has been confused with Clopas, who through his wife Mary was stepfather to James the Less nkjv|John|19:25|John 19:25. He and Clopas were both Zaddikite priests related to Zechariah the father of John the Baptist according to the Church fathers. This identification, and the problem arising from it, is explained by the "Catholic Encyclopedia":

:"This name, Clopas, is thought by many to be the Greek transliteration of an Aramaic Alphaeus. This view is based on the identification of Mary, the mother of James etc. (Mark, xv, 40) with Mary, the wife of Clopas, and the consequent identity of Alphaeus, father of James (Mark, iii, 18), with Clopas. Etymologically, however, the identification of the two names offers serious difficulties: (1) Although the letter Heth is occasionally rendered in Greek by Kappa at the end and in the middle of words, it is very seldom so in the beginning, where the aspirate is better protected; examples of this, however, are given by Levy (Sem. Fremdwörter in Griech.); but (2) even if this difficulty was met, Clopas would suppose an Aramaic Halophai, not Halpai. (3) The Syriac versions have rendered the Greek Clopas with a Qoph, not with a Heth, as they would have done naturally had they been conscious of the identity of Clopas and Halpai; Alphaeus is rendered with Heth (occasionally Aleph). For these reasons, others see in Clopas a substitute for Cleopas, with the contraction of eo into w. In Greek, it is true, eo is not contracted into w, but a Semite, borrowing a name did not necessarily follow the rules of Greek contraction. In fact, in Mishnic Hebrew the name Cleopatra is rendered by Clopatra, and hence the Greek Cleopas might be rendered by Clopas. See also, Chabot, "Journ. Asiat.", X, 327 (1897). Even if, etymologically, the two names are different they may have been borne by one name, and the question of the identity of Alphaeus and Clopas is still open." [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04048b.htm]

There may have been two separate men named Alphaeus. 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 where John and James or Peter and Andrew are described as being brothers.

There is also an Alphaeus named as the father of Levi in Mark 2.14

"And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him."


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alphaeus, S. (1) — 1S. Alphaeus, (26. Mai). Άλφαῖος ist der mehr griechische Ausdruck für den mehr syrischen: Cleophas oder Clopas.6 Ueber diesen Heiligen lesen wir bei den Bollandisten ungefähr Folgendes: Der hl. Alphäus war aus Kapharnaum gebürtig und der Vater… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Alphaeus, SS. (2) — 2SS. Alphaeus, Zachaeus, etc. MM. (17. Nov.) Die hhl. Alphäus, Bachäus, Romanus und Barulas litten in der Verfolgung des Kaisers Diocletian zu Cäsarea in Palästina den Martertod. Im 1sten Jahre der allgemeinen Christenverfolgung, im 19ten der… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Alphaeus, SS. (3) — 3SS. Alphaeus, Romanus et Socii, MM. (18. Nov.) Die hhl. Alphäus, Romanus, Bachäus, Joanne s, Thomas, Victor und Isaak litten den Tod um Christi willen in Aethiopien. Sonst ist uns von ihnen nichts bekannt. (El.) …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Alphaeus — In Matt. 10:3 mentioned as the father of James, after ‘James the son of Zebedee’. In Mark 2:14 he is cited as the father of Levi (usually identified as Matthew), and it is suggested that the mother of this James was Mary (Mark 15:40), whose… …   Dictionary of the Bible

  • Alphaeus Philemon Cole — (Jersey City, New Jersey, July 12, 1876 New York City, November 25, 1988) was an American artist, engraver and etcher. He was the son of noted engraver Timothy Cole. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D81639F935A15752C1A96E94826… …   Wikipedia

  • Alphaeus Patterson — (born: died: ) was a politician and business man from Alberta, Canada.BusinessPatterson founded a company with William Rae known as The Argonaut Company Ltd. in 1909 Patterson became President and Rae became the secretary treasure. The company… …   Wikipedia

  • Alphaeus Philemon Cole — (* 12. Juli 1876 in Jersey City, New Jersey; † 25. November 1988 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Künstler. Leben Er wurde als Sohn des bekannten Graveurs Timothy Cole im Bundesstaat New Jersey geboren. Von 1893 bis 1901 studierte Cole in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alphaeus —    1) The father of James the Less, the apostle and writer of the epistle (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13), and the husband of Mary (John 19:25). The Hebrew form of this name is Cleopas, or Clopas (q.v.).    2) The father of Levi, or …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • James, son of Alphaeus — Infobox Saint name=Saint James, son of Alphaeus birth date=Unknown death date=Unknown feast day=May 3 (Roman Catholic Church) May 1 pre 1955 General Roman Calendar 11 May General Roman Calendar, 1955 1969 venerated in=Roman Catholic Church… …   Wikipedia

  • Cleophas — • According to the Catholic English versions the name of two persons mentioned in the New Testament. In Greek, however, the names are different, one being Cleopas, abbreviated form of Cleopatros, and the other Clopas Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin… …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”