James in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

jamz (Iacobos): English form of Jacob, and the name of 3 New Testament men of note: (1) The Son of Zebedee, one of the Twelve Apostles (ho tou Zebedaiou): A) The Son of Zebedee: I. In the New Testament. 1. Family Relations, etc.: To the Synoptists alone are we indebted for any account of this James. He was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John (Mt 4:21; Mk 1:19; Lk 5:10). As the Synoptists generally place the name of James before that of John, and allude to the latter as "the brother of James," it is inferred that James was the elder of the two brothers. His mother's name was probably Salome, the sister of the mother of Jesus (compare Mt 27:56; Mk 15:40; Jn 19:25), but this is disputed by some (compare BRETHREN OF THE LORD). James was a fisherman by trade, and worked along with his father and brother (Mt 4:21). According to Lk, these were partners with Simon (5:10), and this is also implied in Mk (1:19). As they owned several boats and employed hired servants (Lk 5:11; Mk 1:20), the establishment they possessed must have been considerable. 2. First Call: The call to James to follow Christ (Mt 4:18-22; Mk 1:16-20; Lk 5:1-11) was given by Jesus as He was walking by the sea of Galilee (Mt 4:18). There He saw "James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they straightway left the boat and their father, and followed him" (Mt 4:21,22). The account of Luke varies in part from those of Matthew and Mark, and contains the additional detail of the miraculous draught of fishes, at which James and John also were amazed. This version of Luke is regarded by some as an amalgamation of the earlier accounts with Jn 21:1-8...