Zebedee ( ; ; ), according to all four

Canonical Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

, was the father of

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, two

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The gospels also suggest that he was the husband of

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

; whereas

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

names the women present at the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

as "

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

, and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

the mother of

and of

Joses Joses () is a name, usually regarded as a form of Joseph, occurring many times in the New Testament: * Joses, one of the four "brothers" of Jesus () * Joses or Joseph, son of a Mary of Clopas and brother of a James ( James the Less according t ...

, and Salome," the parallel passage in Matthew 27:56 has "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children." The ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' concludes that the Salome of Mark 15:40 is probably identical with the mother of the sons of Zebedee in Matthew. Zebedee was presumably a fisherman, "probably of some means.""Zebedee", J. D. Douglas (ed.), ''The New Bible Dictionary'' (London: The Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1963), 1354. Although named several times in the gospels, the only times he actually appears are in Matthew 4:21- 22 and , where he is left in the boat after Jesus called James and John. Mark's note that Zebedee was left with the "hired men" implies the family had some wealth. Zebedee lived at or near

Bethsaida Bethsaida ( ; from ; from Aramaic and , , from the Hebrew root ; ), also known as Julias or Julia (), is a place mentioned in the New Testament. Julias lay in an administrative district known as Gaulonitis, in modern-day Golan Heights. Histor ...

Etymology

The name given in the Gospels, , is probably a transliteration of the Hebrew name ''Zəḇaḏyâ'' according to

Spiros Zodhiates Spiros Zodhiates (; March 13, 1922 – October 10, 200ref name="CTFP"> was a Greek-American Bible scholar, author, and ministry innovator. He was best known for his work in developing AMG (Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel) International, a ...

(''The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary''), or the truncated version ''Zabdî'' (), says ''BDB Theological Dictionary'', and so means "

Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...

(''or'' the Lord) has bestowed". Other popular interpretations of the name are: "abundant" (''Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary'') or "my gift" (''

Smith's Bible Dictionary ''Smith's Bible Dictionary'', originally named ''A Dictionary of the Bible'', is a 19th-century Bible dictionary containing upwards of four thousand entries that became named after its editor, William Smith. Its popularity was such that conden ...

''). A possibly more sinister interpretation of Zebedee may be derived from Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon #2061 z'êb, pronounced ''zeh-abe, meaning ''wolf'', and #1768 dîy, pronounced ''dee'' and meaning ''that'', rendering ''That (or The) Wolf'', possibly suggesting ''Wolf-Leader''.

Veneration

Zebedaeus is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as a saint. His feast day is 15 March.

References

External links

* {{Authority control People from Bethsaida Judean people 1st-century Christian saints Family of Jesus Followers of Jesus People in the Gospel of Mark Saints from the Holy Land Christian saints from the New Testament Ancient Christian saints Ancient Jewish fishermen People in the Gospel of Matthew

Etymology

Veneration

See also

References

External links