2. James the sox of Alph^us.— In the four li.sts of the apostles we find James, son of Alplm-us, standing at the head of the 3rd group, of which the other members are Thadda;us (.Nik 3"), also called Lebbteus (Mt lO* cod. D and AV) or 'loiJai 'laKuliov (Lk G'", Ac 1"); Simon Zelotes (1-k 6", Ac 1"), also called S. Kayayalos (Mt 10«, -Mk 3'»), and Juilas Iscariot. By St. Luke he is coupled with Simon, hv St. Matthew and St. Mark with Tliaddaus. N'othing else is told us nlmut this James in the NT, hut it is probable that he was a brother of Levi or Matthew, who is al.so called son of Alpha-us (Mk 2"). The phrase 'loWot loAiJiSou means almost certainly 'the son,' not the ' brother of Jaine.s.' He is u.sually identihe<t with James the Little (.AV 'the Less'), tlie brother of Josea and son of Mary, who is mentioned in Mk IS", Mt 27". This Slary is ai>parcntly called 17 tov KXwTo in Jn 19^, words which some have inter- preted ' the wife of t'loi)fus,' and have in con- sequence identified Clopas with Alpha-us. They have also iinderstoo<l the clause which prcce<les (it d5(\<pit TT/t iirjTpit aiWoii) oi this Miiry, iiistcail of uiiilerstaiiding it of .Salome, and thus have identi- fied .lames, son of Alphivus, with James the brother of the I>ord. The extreme iiuprolmbility of this hypothesis is [wintcil out in the art. on the BhkthkeN of the Iaiiid. Hegesippu8((i;). Fuxd), ///■' iii. 11) speaks of a Clopas who was brother o)
542
JAMES
JAMES
Joseph ; if Mary was his wife, she would be aunt of the sons of Joseph, the brethren of the Lord. (The evidence as to the festival of .lames, son of Alphxus, bein^ distinct from that of the brother of the Lord, is jj;iven in Sinker's article under this head in the Diet, of Chr. Antiij.).
3. James the bkother of the Lord.— See the aiticle on the Urethken of the Lord for tlie proof that this James was the son of Joseph and Mary, not one of the Twelve, nor even a believer "intil after the Resurrection. His conversion iuoms to have been connected with a special ajipearance of the Kisen Lord (1 Co 15'). Of his sul)se()uent history we gather from the Acts and the Epistles of St. Paul, that, after the Ascension, he with his brothers remained at Jerusalem in the company of the eleven apostles and Mary and the other women, waiting for the descent of the Spirit (Ac 1"), and that witliin ten years from this time he became the head of the Church at Jerusalem. Thus in Gal 1"-" St. Paul says that three years after his conversion, probably about A.D. 38, he went up to Jcrus. and stayed with Peter fifteen days, seeing no other apostle, but only James the Lord's brother, — a statement whicli is quite in accordance with Ac 12", where Peter on his escape from prison (A.u. 44) is said to have gone to the house of Mary the mother of Mark, and desired that news of Iiis escape might be sent to James and the brethren. In Gal 2'"'" St. Paul describes a later visit to Jerus. after an interval of fourteen years, i.e. about A.D. 51. In this visit the leaders of the Church, James, Peter, and .John (Gal 2"), after hearing his report of his first missionary journey, signified their approval of his work, and 'gave right hands of fellowship,' agree- ing that Paul and IJarnabas should preacdi to the Gentiles and they themselves to the circumcision. In vv.""" Peter's inconsistency in regard to eating with the Gentiles at Antioch is explained liy the arrival of ' certain from James.' St. Paul's second visit to Jerus. is more fully described in Ac 15*'^, where James appears as president of the Council held to consider how far the Gentile Christians should be required to conform to the customs of the Jews. It is James who sums up the discussion and proijoses the resolution which is carried, in tiie words iyw Kpivuj fiij jrapevox^^ti' rots aird Tujf i6vC:v ^irLffrpefpovaif ^ttI rdv Ofdv^ k.t.X. James is seen in the same position of authority in Ac 21", when St. Paul presents himself before him on his return from his third mi-ssionary journey (A.D. 58). After joining in praise to God for tlie success which had attended his labours, James and the elders who are with him warn St. Paul of the strong feeling against him, which had been excited among the ' myriads of Jewish believers who were all zealous for the law,' by the report that he had taught the Jews of the Dispersion to abandon circumcision and their other customs. I'o counter- act this impression, they recommended him to join in a Nazirite vow, which had been undertaken by four members of their community, as a proof that the report was unfounded, and that he himself walked according to the law. From 1 Co 9° f^ri ovk IxoiJ^v i^ovalav d.de\(pi]i' ymaiKa irepidyctv uis Kal o! Xoivol dir6(rro\ot Kal ol dde\tpol toO Kupfou, it has been inferred that St. James was a married man. On his authorship of the Epistle which goes by his name, see next article.
Further particulars are supplied by Josephus, Hegesippus, the Gospel according to the Hebrews, and other apocryphal books, including in these the Clementine Homilies and liecognitions.