Acts and Death of James, Son of Zebedee

Acta et mors Iacobi Zebedaei

Standard abbreviations: Acts Death Jas. Zeb.

Other titles: none

Clavis numbers: ECCA 455

Category: Apocryphal Acts

Compiled by: Tony Burke, York University ([email protected]).

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Acts and Death of James, Son of Zebedee.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/acts-and-death-of-james-son-of-zebedee/.

Created June 2023.

1. SUMMARY

The sons of Zebedee are revealed to be the first followers of Jesus, having turned to him from John the Baptist (thus identifying them as the “two disciples” of John mentioned in John 1:35–36) after he declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God (John 1:29). When Jesus departs to the desert, the brothers travel back to Galilee to live with their father. Jesus returns, recruits Andrew and Peter, and begins his preaching and healing ministry. The group stops in Galilee to visit James and John; at this time their mother asks Jesus to allow her sons to sit on his left and his right (Matt 20:20–23). The two brothers agree that they should be preferred over the other apostles because they were the first to follow him; but Jesus tells them if they want such honor they need to show zeal for preaching and work diligently.

When Zebedee dies, his wife goes to live with Jesus’ mother. All of the family’s possessions are sold and the brothers take up residency in Jerusalem, as Hippolytus of Thebes reports in his Chronicle. At this time Caiaphas becomes high priest and, because he is a foreigner, James and John take him into their home. This is why John is known to the high priest, according to John 18:15.

After the Ascension, the apostles are dispersed. James preaches in the cities of Judea for 10 years and disputes with Greeks and Jews. Angered by his preaching, the Jews go to Herod Antipas (sic.; this should be Herod Agrippa) and ask him to kill James. Herod brings James to Jerusalem and has him killed by the sword (as in Acts 12:2). The author then presents another account of the death of James from Clement of Alexandria (via Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 2.9.2–3). In this account the soldier who was appointed to James becomes a Christian and speaks up in James’s defence before Agrippa. As a result, both men are executed. The text continues to follow Eusebius (Hist. eccl. 2.9.4), reporting Herod’s imprisonment of Peter and Peter’s subsequent escape, and then Josephus’s account of the death of Agrippa (via Hist. eccl. 2.10.1). The text concludes with the apostles gathering for James’s funeral, which takes place 30 April; it is said that marvels occur at the tomb “to this day.”

Named historical figures and characters: Andrew (apostle), Agrippa (king), Aristobulus, Blastus, Caiaphas, Claudius (emperor), Clement of Alexandria, devil, Herod Antipas, Hippolytus of Thebes, Hyrcanus II, James (Son of Zebedee), Jesus Christ, John (son of Zebedee), John the Baptist, Josephus, Mariamne (the Hasmonean), Peter (apostle), Pontius Pilate, Zebedee.

Geographical locations: Bethany, Bethsaida, Bithynia, Caesarea Stratonis, Capernaum, Galilee, Gennesaret, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Kios.

2. RESOURCES

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Greek

3.1.1.1 Longer Text (BHG 767)

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 1534, fols. 155^v–158^v (11th/2th cent.)

Ebersolt, Jean. Les Acts de S. Jacques et les Actes d’Aquilas: publiés d’après deux manuscrits de la B.N. Paris: E. Leroux, 1902 (Greek edition, pp. 6–10).

3.1.1.2 Shorter Text (BHG 768b) (begins after Jesus returns from the desert; shortens the account of Agrippa’s death; adds an acrostic poem in honor of Michael IV the Paphlagonian).

Patmos, Monē tou Hagiou Iōannou tou Theologou, 736, fols. 171^v–174^v (olim 170^v–173^v) (14th cent.) ~ Imperial Menology of Michael IV the Paphlagonian; Pinakes

Halkin, François. “Une notice byzantine de l’apôtre saint Jacques, frère de saint Jean.” Biblica 64.4 (1983): 565–70 (Greek text, pp. 565–68; French translation, pp. 568–70).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 French

Ebersolt, Jean. Les Acts de S. Jacques et les Actes d’Aquilas: publiés d’après deux manuscrits de la B.N. Paris: E. Leroux, 1902 (translation of the longer version, pp. 11–18; discussion, pp. 19–43).

Halkin, François. “Une notice byzantine de l’apôtre saint Jacques, frère de saint Jean.” Biblica 64.4 (1983): 565–70 (French translation of the shorter version, pp. 568–70).

3.3 General Works