King James Bible Dictionary

1. The son of Zebedee and Salome; an elder brother of John the apostle. He was one of the twelve. He was by trade a fisherman, in partnership with Peter (Matthew 20:20; 27:56). With John and Peter he was present at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2), at the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37-43), and in the garden with our Lord (14:33). Because, probably, of their boldness and energy, he and John were called Boanerges, i.e., "sons of thunder." He was the first martyr among the apostles, having been beheaded by King Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1, 2), A.D. 44. (Comp. Matthew 4:21; 20:20-23).

2. The son of Alphaeus, or Cleopas, "the brother" or near kinsman or cousin of our Lord (Galatians 1:18, 19), called James "the Less," or "the Little," probably because he was of low stature. He is mentioned along with the other apostles (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15). He had a separate interview with our Lord after his resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7), and is mentioned as one of the apostles of the circumcision (Acts 1:13). He appears to have occupied the position of head of the Church at Jerusalem, where he presided at the council held to consider the case of the Gentiles (Acts 12:17; 15:13-29- 21:18-24). This James was the author of the epistle which bears his name.

same as Jacob

1. An apostle

Son of Zebedee and Salome
Matthew 4:21; Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40; Mark 16:1

Brother of John, and a fisherman
Luke 5:10

Called to be an apostle
Matthew 4:21-22; Matthew 10:2; Mark 1:19-20; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13

Surnamed Boanerges by Jesus
Mark 3:17

An intimate companion of Jesus, and present with Him:

At the great draught of fish
Luke 5:10

At the healing of Peter's mother-in-law
Mark 1:29

At the raising of the daughter of Jairus
Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51

At the transfiguration of Jesus
Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28

In Gethsemane
Matthew 26:37; Mark 14:33

Asks Jesus concerning His second coming
Mark 13:3

Bigotry of
Luke 9:54

Civil ambitions of
Matthew 20:20-23; Mark 10:35-41

Present at the Sea of Tiberias when Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples after His resurrection
John 21:2; 1 Corinthians 15:7

Martyred
Acts 12:2

2. An apostle, son of Alphaeus

General references
Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13; Acts 12:17

3. Brother of Jesus

Identified as a brother of Jesus
Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; Galatians 1:19; Matthew 27:56; Luke 24:10; Galatians 2:9; Galatians 2:12

The brother of Judas
Luke 6:16; Jude 1:1

The brother of Joses
Mark 15:40

Witness of Christ's resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:7

Addresses the council at Jerusalem in favor of liberty for the Gentile converts
Acts 15:13-21

Disciples sent by, to Antioch
Galatians 2:12

Hears of the success attending Paul's ministry
Acts 21:18-19

Epistle of James
James 1:1

(the Greek form of Jacob, supplanter).

1. James the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles. He was elder brother of the evangelist John. His mother's name was Salome. We first hear of him in A.D. 27, (Mark 1:20) when at the call of the Master he left all, and became, one and forever, his disciple, in the spring of 28. (Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13; Acts 1:13) It would seem to have been at the time of the appointment of the twelve apostles that the name of Boanerges was given to the sons of Zebedee. The "sons of thunder" had a burning and impetuous spirit, which twice exhibits itself. (Mark 10:37; Luke 9:54) On the night before the crucifixion James was present at the agony in the garden. On the day of the ascension he is mentioned as persevering with the rest of the apostles and disciples, in prayer. (Acts 1:13) Shortly before the day of the Passover, in the year 44, he was put to death by Herod Agrippa I. (Acts 12:1,2)
2. James the son of Alpheus, one of the twelve apostles. (Matthew 10:3) Whether or not this James is to be identified with James the Less, the son of Alph'us, the brother of our Lord, is one of the most difficult questions in the gospel history. By comparing (Matthew 27:56) and Mark 15:40 with John 19:25 We find that the Virgin Mary had a sister named, like herself, Mary, who was the wife of Clopas or Alpheus (varieties of the same name), and who had two sons, James the Less and Joses. By referring to (Matthew 13:55) and Mark 6:3 We find that a James the Less and Joses, with two other brethren called Jude and Simon, and at least three sisters, were sisters with the Virgin Mary at Nazareth by referring to (Luke 6:16) and Acts 1:13 We find that there were two brethren named James and Jude among the apostles. It would certainly be natural to think that we had here but one family of four brothers and three or more sisters, the children of Clopas and Mary, nephews and nieces of the Virgin Mary. There are difficulties however, in the way of this conclusion into which we cannot here enter; but in reply to the objection that the four brethren in (Matthew 13:55) are described as the brothers of Jesus, not as his cousins, it must be recollected that adelphoi, which is here translated "brethren," may also signify cousins.

called the Less because younger or smaller in stature than James the son of Zebedee. He was the son of Alpheus or Clopas and brother of our Lord (see above); was called to the apostolate, together with his younger brother Jude, in the spring of the year 28. At some time in the forty days that intervened between the resurrection and the ascension the Lord appeared to him. (1 Corinthians 15:7) Ten years after we find James on a level with Peter, and with him deciding on the admission of St. Paul into fellowship with the Church at Jerusalem; and from henceforth we always find him equal, or in his own department superior, to the very chiefest apostles, Peter, John and Paul. (Acts 9:27; Galatians 1:18,19) This pre-eminence is evident throughout the after history of the apostles, whether we read it in the Acts, in the epistles or in ecclesiastical writers. (Acts 12:17; 15:13,19; 21:18; Galatians 2:9) According to tradition, James was thrown down from the temple by the scribes and Pharisees; he was then stoned, and his brains dashed out with a fuller's club.

1. Author of, was James the Less, the Lord's brother, one of the twelve apostles. He was one of the three pillars of the Church (Galatians 2:9).

2. It was addressed to the Jews of the dispersion, "the twelve tribes scattered abroad."

3. The place and time of the writing of the epistle were Jerusalem, where James was residing, and, from internal evidence, the period between Paul's two imprisonments at Rome, probably about A.D. 62.

4. The object of the writer was to enforce the practical duties of the Christian life. "The Jewish vices against which he warns them are, formalism, which made the service of God consist in washings and outward ceremonies, whereas he reminds them (1:27) that it consists rather in active love and purity; fanaticism, which, under the cloak of religious zeal, was tearing Jerusalem in pieces (1:20); fatalism, which threw its sins on God (1:13); meanness, which crouched before the rich (2:2); falsehood, which had made words and oaths play-things (3:2-12); partisanship (3:14); evil speaking (4:11); boasting (4:16); oppression (5:4). The great lesson which he teaches them as Christians is patience, patience in trial (1:2), patience in good works (1:22-25), patience under provocation (3:17), patience under oppression (5:7), patience under persecution (5:10); and the ground of their patience is that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, which is to right all wrong (5:8)."

"Justification by works," which James contends for, is justification before man, the justification of our profession of faith by a consistent life. Paul contends for the doctrine of "justification by faith;" but that is justification before God, a being regarded and accepted as just by virtue of the righteousness of Christ, which is received by faith.

The author of this epistle was in all probability James the son of Alph'us, and our Lord's brother It was written from Jerusalem, which St. James does not seem to have ever left. It was probably written about A.D. 62, during the interval between Paul's two imprisonments. Its main object is not to teach doctrine, but to improve morality. St. James is the moral teacher of the New Testament. He wrote for the Jewish Christians, whether in Jerusalem or abroad, to warn them against the sins to which as Jews they were most liable, and to console and exhort them under the sufferings to which as Christians they were most exposed.