From Claude.ai on 3/31/2026. Prompt: Provide a list of Jesus’ disciples and their occupations. Identify the gospels with the names and the differences recognized by critical bible scholars. cite the names or positions of any family members. This could be reported in a table format that will fit comfortably in a WordPress web post.
The disciples’ names, occupations, gospel attestation, scholarly variants, and known family members.
Gospels abbreviations: Mt=Matthew; Mk=Mark; Lk=Luke; Jn=John.
| Name | Occupation | Attested in | Scholarly notes / name variants | Family members named |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Peter also Cephas (Aramaic) | Fisherman | MtMkLkJn | Named first in all four lists. “Peter” (Gk. Petros) is Jesus’ rename; born Simon bar Jonah. Some scholars read “bar Jonah” as a surname, not patronymic. | Brother: Andrew. Wife implied (Mk 1:30, mother-in-law healed). Father: Jonah/John (Mt 16:17; Jn 1:42). |
| Andrew | Fisherman | MtMkLkJn | Listed second in Mark, fourth in Matthew & Luke. John’s gospel gives him the most narrative detail. Originally a disciple of John the Baptist (Jn 1:40). | Brother: Simon Peter. Father: Jonah/John. |
| James son of Zebedee “Son of Thunder” (Boanerges) | Fisherman | MtMkLk | Never named individually in John, though the “sons of Zebedee” appear (Jn 21:2). First apostle martyred (Acts 12:2). Scholars debate whether his mother Salome is Mary’s sister (Jn 19:25). | Brother: John. Father: Zebedee. Mother: Salome (Mk 15:40; cf. Mt 27:56). |
| John son of Zebedee “Son of Thunder”; “Beloved Disciple”? | Fisherman | MtMkLkJn | Never named in John’s gospel itself; most (not all) critical scholars identify him with the unnamed “Beloved Disciple.” Authorship of the Fourth Gospel is debated. | Brother: James. Father: Zebedee. Mother: Salome. |
| Philip | Unknown; possibly fisherman (from Bethsaida) | MtMkLkJn | Fifth in all synoptic lists. John gives him the most dialogue. Often confused in early church tradition with Philip the Evangelist (Acts 6), a distinct figure. | No family members named in the gospels. |
| Bartholomew likely = Nathanael | Unknown | MtMkLk | “Bartholomew” is a patronymic (bar-Tholmai, “son of Tolmai”), not a given name. Critical consensus since the 9th c. identifies him with Nathanael (Jn 1:45–51), who is paired with Philip as Bartholomew is in the synoptics. Nathanael does not appear in synoptic lists; Bartholomew does not appear in John. | Father implied by name (Tolmai). Nathanael “of Cana” (Jn 21:2). |
| Matthew = Levi son of Alphaeus (Mk 2:14; Lk 5:27)? | Tax collector (toll collector) | MtMkLk | Mark and Luke call the toll collector “Levi son of Alphaeus”; Matthew’s gospel calls the same figure “Matthew.” Most scholars treat them as the same person; a minority argue two separate calls. Matthew’s gospel identifies itself with him; critical scholars regard this attribution as secondary (late 1st/early 2nd c.). | Father: Alphaeus (if Levi identification is accepted; Mk 2:14). Note: James son of Alphaeus below may or may not be a brother. |
| Thomas Didymus (“the Twin”) | Unknown | MtMkLkJn | “Thomas” is Aramaic for “twin”; “Didymus” is the Greek equivalent. John alone names him and gives him dialogue (Jn 11:16; 14:5; 20:24–28). The Gospel of Thomas (Nag Hammadi) presents him as a distinct apostolic authority; scholars debate its relationship to the historical Thomas. | Twin identity unknown. The Acts of Thomas (3rd c.) names him Judas Thomas, possibly a brother of Jesus, but this is apocryphal. |
| James son of Alphaeus “James the Less/Younger” (Mk 15:40)? | Unknown | MtMkLk | Shared surname Alphaeus with Matthew/Levi prompts speculation they were brothers, but this is unconfirmed. “James the Less” (Mk 15:40) may be this James or a different person. Not to be confused with James the brother of Jesus. | Father: Alphaeus. Mother possibly Mary (Mk 15:40; “Mary the mother of James”). Possible brother: Matthew/Levi (speculative). |
| Thaddaeus Luke/Acts: “Judas son of James” | Unknown | MtMkLk | Matthew and Mark use “Thaddaeus”; Luke–Acts uses “Judas son of James” in the same list position. Most scholars treat these as the same person with different name traditions. Some MSS of Matthew read “Lebbaeus” or “Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus,” a known textual variant. Named “Jude” in the Epistle of Jude (possibly). | Father: James (per Lk 6:16; Acts 1:13). Identity of that James is debated. |
| Simon the Cananaean Luke: “Simon the Zealot” | Unknown; epithet may indicate political/religious zeal | MtMkLk | “Cananaean” (Mt 10:4; Mk 3:18) is not geographic (not Canaanite) but transliterates the Aramaic qan’anaya, meaning “zealous one.” Luke simply translates: “the Zealot.” Whether this denotes membership in the Zealot movement (a 1st-c. Jewish revolutionary group) or personal piety is debated among scholars. | No family members named. |
| Judas Iscariot | Treasurer of the group (Jn 12:6; 13:29) | MtMkLkJn | “Iscariot” is debated: most commonly derived from Hebrew ish-Qeriyyot (“man of Kerioth,” a Judean town), making him the only non-Galilean. Other proposals: sicarius (assassin), or a corruption of an Aramaic term. Listed last in all four lists. The betrayal accounts differ: Matthew has 30 pieces of silver and suicide by hanging (Mt 27:5); Acts 1:18 describes a different death (falling and bursting). Critical scholars see these as independent, irreconcilable traditions. | Father: Simon Iscariot (Jn 6:71; 13:26). |
Sources: The four canonical lists appear at Mt 10:2–4; Mk 3:16–19; Lk 6:13–16; Acts 1:13. John’s gospel never provides a complete list. Matthias replaces Judas (Acts 1:26) and is not in the gospel lists. Scholarly references: Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament; John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew; Bart Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction.
A few additional notes worth highlighting for a WordPress post:
On the gospel lists. Only Matthew, Mark, and Luke provide complete lists of the Twelve. John’s gospel never does — it names several disciples individually across narratives but assumes the reader already knows the group. Acts 1:13 provides a post-resurrection list (minus Judas), which is the basis for Luke’s version.
The Thaddaeus/Judas son of James problem is the most significant naming discrepancy across the lists. Luke clearly substitutes one name for the other in the same ordinal position, and the reason — whether a nickname, a scribal tradition, or a genuine variant — has no definitive resolution in critical scholarship.
“James the brother of the Lord” (Gal 1:19; cf. Mk 6:3) is often confused with James son of Alphaeus, but most critical scholars treat them as distinct figures. The Lord’s brother was not one of the Twelve during Jesus’ ministry (Jn 7:5) but became a key Jerusalem church leader after the resurrection.
For WordPress formatting, the table above is designed to render cleanly at standard post widths. On mobile, horizontal scrolling will engage on the wider columns — you may wish to collapse the “Scholarly notes” column into a separate expandable section if your theme is narrow.
