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Thaddaeus — Jude the apostle

Named Thaddaeus in Matthew and Mark, and 'Judas son of James' in Luke and Acts — carefully distinguished from Judas Iscariot. At the Last Supper he asks why Jesus will reveal himself to the disciples and not to the world.

Role: Apostle

Also known as: Jude, Judas son of James, Lebbaeus

Lived: 1st century AD

Belonged to: The Twelve Apostles, Israelites (Hebrews)

Death: Traditionally martyred in Persia with Simon the Zealot

What we know — and how we know it

Ancient writers — non-biblical testimony · 1 Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1

Travels

Desconocido — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons) Ancient writersEusebius preserves the Edessa legend, in which a 'Thaddaeus' is sent to King Abgar to heal and evangelise him; Eusebius counts this Thaddaeus among the seventy rather than the Twelve, so the link to the apostle is uncertain.

Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 1.13 (with 1.12.3, which lists this Thaddaeus among the seventy), citing Syriac documents Eusebius claims to have translated from the archives of Edessa (the Abgar–Addai correspondence); text ed. E. Schwartz, GCS (Eusebius Werke II); trans. K. Lake, Loeb Classical Library (1926). Identification with the apostle remains a tradition, not attested by Eusebius himself.

Name & titles

ScholarlyThe same apostle is called 'Thaddaeus' (or 'Lebbaeus') by Matthew and Mark, but 'Judas son of James' by Luke and Acts — most scholars read these as two names for one man, carefully distinguished from Judas Iscariot.

Where in scripture

Matthew Mark Luke John Jude

Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called Thaddaeus;
Matthew 10:3 — Thaddaeus among the Twelve

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
Matthew 13:55

Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” They were offended at him.
Mark 6:3

Judas the son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor.
Luke 6:16 — Judas son of James

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”
John 14:22 — 'Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us?'