James son of Alphaeus is listed among the Twelve in all four gospels and Acts. He is distinguished from James son of Zebedee and from James the brother of Jesus by his patronymic.
In the Gospels
Nothing is said about James son of Alphaeus beyond his name in the apostolic lists (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). Mark 15:40 mentions "Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses" as a witness to the crucifixion, and it is possible but not certain that this Mary is his mother and that he is "James the younger" or "James the less" (Iakōbos ho mikros).
Death
No early, reliable source records his death. Later traditions — found in the fourth-century Apostolic Constitutions and in various martyrdom acts — say he was stoned or crucified, but these are late and cannot be verified.
Sources
- Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, 889.
- Richard Bauckham, Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church (T&T Clark, 1990), for the family relationships.