Judas | Lebbaeus | Thaddaeus (half-brother of Jesus)
Parent(s): Joseph & Mary; (Siblings: James, Joses, Judas and Simon,; sisters: Salome, any other(s) unnamed)
Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Hometown: Nazareth
Matthew 2:23 And (Joseph) came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
Acts 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.
Matthew 10:3-4 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
Mark 3:18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite.
Nickname: Thaddaeus, Lebbaeus (Matthew 10:3-4 above)
Ministry Partner: James son of Alphaeus
Luke 6:16 And Judas the brother of James [son of Alphaeus], and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
Death: — not given —
New Testament verses:
Matthew 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Luke 6:12-16 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16 And Judas [Thaddaeus, Lebbaeus] the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
John 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
Acts 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.
Jude 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
Notes:
Most likely this same Judas the half-brother of Jesus wrote the Book of Jude. Two out of three other references specifically call him 'the brother of James'. This third reference to the 'brother of James' is the only identifier given for the Book of Jude. It would be consistent guidance by the Holy Spirit throughout the New Testament to use the same identifying phrase for the same person. Jude would then be specially careful to use this phrase to identify himself as the author. He is not the Judas surnamed Barsabas of Acts 15:22-33.
Acts 15:22, 27-33. 22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
Acts 15:27-33 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. 30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: 31 Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. 32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. 33 And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.
Apparently Joseph, husband to Mary, was surnamed Alphaeus and thus his children were called 'James the son of Alphaeus' (Matthew 10:3; Luke 6:12-16) and 'Judas brother of James' (Luke 6:12-16; Acts 1:13). The expression "James the son of Alphaeus" is always used to delineate this Apostle from James 'the elder' brother of John. Judas is called "the brother of James" (Luke 6:16) (of Alphaeus, not the James and John of Zebedee, Matthew 10:3). The same naming convention is used with James of Zebedee and John is called 'the brother of James' (Mark 3:17). This Judas was also called "Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus" (Matthew 10:3-4). Apparently these two names were interchangeable as noted in the definitions above.
How do we account for the expression: Judas of James (Ioudas Iakobou) in the Greek [see below]. One piece is that James was a much older brother and then James would naturally be connected to Judas in a 'old brother to young brother' manner. Another piece could be from where Jesus sent them forth by "two and two" (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1) where Judas and James were partners. If James exercised maturity and leadership in their ministry partnership then James would naturally be connected to Judas (Ioudas Iakobou "Judas of James" or "Judas son of James," RSV) in a 'fatherly' manner much like Apostle Paul to Timothy and Titus. [Note Matthew 13:55 & Mark 6:3 above; and that Joseph [probably surnamed Alphaeus] was never mentioned in the Gospels implying his death. Care for Judas as a younger brother would have fallen to Jesus and to James as the oldest brothers.]
Judas of James (Ioudas Iakobou):
One of the twelve apostles (Lu 6:16; Ac 1:13; for etymology, etc., see JUDAS). The King James Version has the reading "brother of James," and the Revised Version (British and American) reads "son of James." The latter is to be preferred. In Joh 14:22 he is described as "Judas (not Iscariot)." The name corresponds with the "Thaddaeus" or "Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddaeus" of Mt 10:3 the King James Version and Mr 3:18 (compare THADDAEUS). The identification of Thaddaeus with Judas is generally accepted, though Ewald and others hold that they were different persons, that Thaddeus died during Christ's lifetime, and that Judas was chosen in his place (compare Bruce, Training of the Twelve, 34). If the Revised Version (British and American) is accepted as the correct rendering of Lu 6:16 and Ac 1:13, this Judas cannot be identified either with the Juda (Mr 6:3 the King James Version), Judas (Mr 6:3 the Revised Version (British and American)), or Judas (Mt 13:55), the brother of Jesus; or with the Judas (Jude 1:1 the Revised Version margin) or Jude (Jude 1:1 the King James Version), the brother of James, whether these two latter Judases are to be regarded as the same or not. The only incident recorded of Judas of James is in Joh 14:22, where during Christ's address to the disciples after the last supper he put the question, "Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?"
Kerr, CM. "Judas of James", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Blue Letter Bible. 1913. 5 May, 2003. 5 Dec 2014.
Luke 6:16. [And Judas the brother of James, etc.] Of that James, that was the son of Alphaeus; though the Syriac and Arabic versions call him 'the son of James', very wrongly: this Judas was also called Thaddaeus and Lebbaeus, and is the writer of the epistle that bears his name: and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor; both his surname and his character are mentioned, to distinguish him from the other Judas: it is easy to observe, that these twelve are mentioned by pairs, or couples, and so they were sent out, two by two; (see Mark 6:7) as were also the seventy disciples afterwards; (see Luke 10:1) There seems to be an allusion to the pairs and couples of the Jewish fathers and doctors, who in their succession are thus paired.
John Gill's Bible Commentary