Alpheus

Pronunciation: AL-fee-uhs

Occurrences: 3
First Reference: Yeshua 3:8

And [Yeshua] gathered also the house of Alpheus, even his father’s brother...

See: Joseph, Yeshua

Summary: The brother of Joseph and uncle to Yeshua, Alpheus was the father of James and Levi, disciples of John the Baptizer. James and Levi began following Yeshua after witnessing Yeshua’s baptism in the Jordan River (Yeshua 3:13-22).

Azrael’s Commentary — Alpheus

The brother of Joseph and the uncle of Yeshua, Alpheus earned his living through the sale of wool from his flocks, as well as the sale of meat which his sheep provided. When Yeshua was a boy, he would go with his cousins to take the sheep into the hills of Galilee for summer grazing.

Alpheus was always skeptical of his religious faith. During the days of Yeshua, Galilee was a mixture of many nationalities and languages, and Alpheus was often embarrassed that Jews should think themselves superior to Gentiles. He thought that the claim of Jews to be a “chosen people” was arrogant and divisive. To combat this attitude, Alpheus proved eager to do business with anyone who had money, be they Roman, Greek, Parthian or Jewish.

The greatest tragedy in the life of Alpheus was the senseless death of his brother Joseph. He blamed the Zealots for that more than he blamed the Romans. With the death of Joseph, Alpheus ceased to believe in God. He spent a great part of his life helping to take care of and provide for Joseph’s family.

Azrael’s Commentary — Joseph

[...] Joseph was idolized by his younger brother Alpheus. They lived in the same town and their families enjoyed a close relationship which interacted well together.

Notes/References:

And there were of John’s disciples who followed after Yeshua, Andrew Bar Jonas, the brother of Simon; John Bar Zebedee, the brother of James; Philip of Bethsaida, the son of Jabesh the fisherman; and James Ben Alpheus, the brother of Levi.

Yeshua 3:22

And James the son of Alpheus spoke unto him, saying: “My Lord, I will forsake all things to follow after you, for I know that you are the very Anointed One of God, even the hope of Israel.”

Yeshua 6:48

Alexandria

Alpia