James, son of Zebedee
* Date marked with an asterisk is a placeholder estimate (lifespan heuristic), not a sourced claim. Hover for the derivation.
Brother of John, son of Zebedee, one of the Twelve and of the inner three. Beheaded by Herod Agrippa I c. AD 44 — the first apostle martyred.
Why James, son matters
James was one of the inner three — Peter, James, and John, the ones Jesus took up the mountain at the Transfiguration and into the garden at Gethsemane. He was also the first apostle to die. Acts 12 records Herod Agrippa beheading him in Jerusalem around AD 44, which makes him the only apostolic martyrdom we have inside the New Testament. Everything else is tradition. The medieval cult of Santiago de Compostela in Spain claims his relics ended up there; the historical link is impossible to verify, but the pilgrimage road it produced is one of the great cultural facts of medieval Europe.
Chain to Jesus
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Common questions
- Who was James, son of Zebedee?
- James, son of Zebedee (?–44) — Brother of John, son of Zebedee, one of the Twelve and of the inner three. Beheaded by Herod Agrippa I c. AD 44 — the first apostle martyred.
- Who taught James, son of Zebedee?
- Jesus of Nazareth.
Sources for biography
- Acts of the Apostles 12:1-2 primary
- Gospel of Mark 3:17 primary
documented connections(1)
- taught by Jesus of NazarethGospel of Mark 1:19-20