ONE OF THE TWELVE

Thaddaeus

“Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”

Also called Lebbaeus · Judas of James · Judas, not Iscariot

VERSES THAT NAME HIM

RECORDS WITH JESUS

NAMED BESIDE HIM

SOURCES OUTSIDE SCRIPTURE on how it ends

HIS LIFE IN FOUR PARTS

How much does Scripture tell?

Two names in the lists, and one question at the Last Supper. Scripture gives no years for his life, so the ring is divided by how much is recorded: 5 records of what he did or what was said to him, one bead each. The last part is tradition and is drawn dashed. Choose a part to read it.

II · THE GOSPELS, IN THE HARMONY’S ORDER

With Jesus

Chosen as one of the Twelve Mark 3:13–19
Sent out with the Twelve Matthew 10:1–5
His question at the Last Supper: “how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” John 14:21–24

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER

Where is he named?

One square for each chapter of the books that name Thaddaeus: 5 verses in 5 chapters. The darker the square, the more verses in it name him. Choose a chapter to read what happens there.

THE GOSPELS AND ACTS

MATTHEW 10

1 verse name him

Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

WHAT HAPPENS HERE

Sent out with the Twelve

CHAPTER I · BEFORE THE CALL

A name, and a relation

Home, trade and family · 1 record

FROM THE TEXT · LUKE 6:16

“Judas of James”

And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

Luke and Acts name him by his relation to a James. The Greek gives only the genitive, literally Judas of James; the KJV prints “the brother” as a supplied word, and the Revised Version of 1881 reads the son of James. Who this James was, Scripture does not say.

WHERE

Jerusalem

TOLD IN 2 BOOKS

Luke 6:16·Acts 1:13

CHAPTER II · WITH JESUS

One question

The Gospels, in the harmony’s order · 3 records

SCRIPTURE · MARK 3:13–19

Chosen as one of the Twelve

And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

NAMED WITH HIM

Peter, Andrew, James son of Zebedee, John son of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew and 7 more

IN THE HARMONY

§53 · After a night of prayer Jesus selects Twelve apostles

TOLD IN 2 BOOKS

Mark 3:13–19·Luke 6:12–16

SCRIPTURE · MATTHEW 10:1–5

Sent out with the Twelve

Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

NAMED WITH HIM

Peter, Andrew, James son of Zebedee, John son of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew and 7 more

IN THE HARMONY

§70 · The third tour of Galilee after instructing the Twelve and sending them forth by twos

PASSAGE

Matthew 10:1–5

SCRIPTURE · JOHN 14:21–24

His question at the Last Supper: “how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”

Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

WHERE

Jerusalem

IN THE HARMONY

§149 · The farewell discourse to his disciples in the upper room

PASSAGE

John 14:21–24

CHAPTER III · THE CHURCH IN ACTS

One verse in Acts

Acts and the letters · 2 records

SCRIPTURE · ACTS 1:13

In the upper room

And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

He is named with the other apostles in the upper room after the ascension.

NAMED WITH HIM

Peter, Andrew, James son of Zebedee, John son of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew and 5 more

WHERE

Jerusalem

PASSAGE

Acts 1:13

FROM THE TEXT · ACTS 1:13

Never named again

The last verse that names him is Acts 1:13. After that Acts speaks of “the eleven” and “the twelve” as a body (Acts 2:14; 6:2) but never names him again.

WHERE

Jerusalem

PASSAGE

Acts 1:13·Acts 2:14·Acts 6:2

CHAPTER IV · AFTER SCRIPTURE

After Scripture

Tradition, by who said it and when · 3 sources

SCRIPTURE FIRST

What Scripture says of his end

Scripture does not mention him after Acts 1:13 and records nothing of his death.

From the text Acts 1:13

THEN TRADITION · 3 SOURCES, EARLIEST FIRST

c. 325 Eusebius, Church History 1.13.4 Early church
date unknown Acts of the Holy Apostle Thaddaeus (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8) Later tradition
6th c. Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend Later tradition

Each is labelled with who said it and when; none is blended into Scripture.

THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM

Who was with him?

Every record of Thaddaeus in Scripture, in story order (the Gospels in the order of Robertson's harmony, then Acts and the letters). A person counts as "with him" only where a verse of that record names them both. 13 people in all.

named in the passage from first to last mention Point at a column to see what happens; click it to keep it (click again to let go); choose a name to follow that person.

II · WITH JESUS

Chosen as one of the Twelve

And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

NAMED WITH HIM HERE

Peter Mark 3:16
Andrew Mark 3:18
James son of Zebedee Mark 3:17
John son of Zebedee Mark 3:17
Philip Mark 3:18
Bartholomew Mark 3:18
Thomas Mark 3:18
Matthew Mark 3:18
James son of Alphaeus Mark 3:18
Simon the Zealot Mark 3:18
Judas Iscariot Mark 3:19
Zebedee Mark 3:17
Alphaeus Mark 3:18

SIDE BY SIDE

One moment, several accounts

2 moments of his story told by more than one book, each in its own words in the King James Version. His names are marked; switch on "only here" to underline the words that just one account has.

TENTH

Matthew

Matthew 10:2–4

10:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

10:4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

TENTH

Mark

Mark 3:16–19

3:16 And Simon he surnamed Peter;

3:17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

3:18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

3:19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

ELEVENTH

Luke

Luke 6:14–16

6:14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

6:15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon called Zelotes,

6:16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

ELEVENTH

Acts

Acts 1:13

1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

NEAR AND FAR

Where was he?

4 places named in his story, with what happened there and how far each lies from Jerusalem. Tradition's places are dashed, with who placed him there and when. Choose a card or a pin.

Scroll to zoom · drag to move · the map stays on his places Land outline: the Atlas (Natural Earth)

Not on the map, because our places data gives no coordinates: Edessa (Tradition: Eusebius, Church History 1.13, about AD 325, of a Thaddaeus he counts among the Seventy); Berytus (Beirut) (Tradition: the Acts of Thaddaeus (ANF, vol. 8), place of his death).

OPEN QUESTIONS

What readers still ask

8 questions the reviewed sources leave open for Thaddaeus, with the answers given and who gives them, and 3 things Scripture does not say, in italic. Choose one.

VIEWS, WITH WHO HOLDS THEM · THIS PAGE

Are Thaddaeus and Judas of James one man? (Most widely held view first.)

One man

Jerome, Commentary on Matthew (late 4th century), as reported by McGiffert and Kerr; A. C. McGiffert (1890); C. M. Kerr, ISBE (1915)

Each stands in the third group of four (tenth in Matthew and Mark, eleventh in Luke and Acts), and no list has both names.

Scholars Matthew 10:3·Mark 3:18·Luke 6:16·Acts 1:13 A. C. McGiffert, 1890·C. M. Kerr, 1915·C. M. Kerr, 1915

Two men

Ewald and others, as reported by C. M. Kerr (ISBE, 1915)

On this view Thaddaeus died during Jesus' lifetime and Judas was chosen in his place.

Scholars C. M. Kerr, 1915

A Thaddaeus of the Seventy

Eusebius, Church History 1.12.3 and 1.13 (about AD 325), reporting what “they say”

Eusebius counts the Thaddaeus sent to Edessa among the seventy disciples, not the Twelve. McGiffert (1890) calls this an error like the one that made Cephas a different man from Peter.

Early church Eusebius (trans. A. C. McGiffert, 1890·A. C. McGiffert, 1890

Rooted in Scripture. Open for discovery.

A place to read slowly, ask deeply, and follow the connections. Scripture, study and the voices of Christian history, brought together for a lifetime of learning.

SPEND TIME IN THE WORD

Open the reader
Books & reading progress
Compare Scripture editions
Find a passage

FOLLOW YOUR QUESTIONS

Study collections
People & places
Faith & apologetics
Stories of faith

A library with a paper trail.

Meet the authors. Explore the collection. Trace each work to its source.

Download the code.

Open source on GitHub.