James, son of Zebedee
1 CE–44 CE · Capernaum
James, son of Zebedee, was one of the Twelve Apostles and the brother of John. He was a Galilean fisherman, working with his father Zebedee and in partnership with Simon Peter (Mark 1:19-20; Luke 5:10). Jesus nicknamed the brothers 'Boanerges', 'sons of thunder' (Mark 3:17). With Peter and John he formed an inner circle that the Gospels show present at the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration, and Gethsemane (Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33). He and John once asked for the places of honour beside Jesus, and Jesus told them they would share his 'cup' (Mark 10:35-39). Acts records that King Herod Agrippa I had him killed with the sword in Jerusalem, about 44 CE (Acts 12:1-2). That makes him the only one of the Twelve whose martyrdom the New Testament records. A tradition first found in Latin texts of about the 7th century says he preached in Spain, and from the 9th century a tomb at Compostela in Galicia was venerated as his, becoming one of Christendom's great pilgrimage sites. Most historians regard the Spanish mission and burial as legend.
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CapernaumIsrael
What they did here
Jesus called James and John from their father's boat by the Sea of Galilee, and they went with him into Capernaum, where they entered 'the house of Simon and Andrew' (Mark 1:19-21, 1:29). The NT does not name James's hometown; Capernaum stands for the lakeside setting.
About Capernaum
Capernaum, a fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, in modern Israel. The Gospels make it the centre of Jesus' Galilean ministry and the home town of the apostles Peter and Matthew.
In Capernaum at the same time
Jesus of Nazareth, Andrew the Apostle, Peter the Apostle, Matthew the Apostle
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with James, son of Zebedee’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
Across the traditions
In the same tradition
Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary, mother of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, Philip the Apostle, Matthias the Apostle, Bartholomew the Apostle, Thomas the Apostle, Mary Magdalene, Barnabas, Andrew the Apostle, Peter the Apostle, Paul the Apostle, John the Apostle, Stephen the Protomartyr, Judas Iscariot, Jude the Apostle, James the Just
The world in their lifetime
Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with James, son of Zebedee’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Works
No works attributed in the corpus yet.