Thaddaeus, Judas Son of James

Matthew and Mark list Thaddaeus. Some copies say Lebbaeus. Luke and Acts list Judas the son of James, and they are not talking about Iscariot, who is named separately (Luke 6:16, Acts 1:13). John has a question from "Judas, not Iscariot" (John 14:22). One man. The lists are why we say so. A second name was ordinary.

He has no story of his own beyond that question in the room. No journey in Acts. No death in the New Testament.

The letter of Jude says "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James" (Jude 1:1). "Brother of James" is not the same phrase as "son of James." The usual reading is Jude the Lord's brother, who is also named among the brothers in Matthew 13:55, not this apostle. They can be collapsed only by deciding that the brother and the son of Alphaeus's circle are the same set of men. That decision creates more problems than it solves. This lesson keeps the apostle and the letter's Jude apart.

Later memory sends Thaddaeus to Edessa, or pairs him with Simon in Persia. The accounts do not agree, and they are late. They are not the map.