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Person New Testament

James son of Zebedee

Also known as James the Greater, James

Explore its connections

James was a Galilean fisherman, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, called by Jesus while mending nets beside the Sea of Galilee. He was one of the three disciples present at the raising of Jairus's daughter and at the transfiguration, and Acts records that Herod Agrippa had him killed by the sword.

Why it matters. James is the first of the Twelve whose death for the name of Jesus is recorded in the New Testament.

Last reviewed
2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team

Connections

  1. James son of Zebedee participates in The calling of the first disciples

    Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidence

    Named in the Gospel accounts of the call beside the Sea of Galilee.

    Evidence:

    Follow The calling of the first disciples in the graph

  2. James son of Zebedee participates in The raising of Jairus's daughter

    Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidence

    Named in Mark and Luke among those who entered the house where the girl was raised.

    Evidence:

    Follow The raising of Jairus's daughter in the graph

  3. James son of Zebedee witnesses The raising of Jairus's daughter

    Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidence

    Admitted with the parents to the room where the girl was raised.

    Evidence:

    Follow The raising of Jairus's daughter in the graph

  4. James son of Zebedee participates in The transfiguration

    Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidence

    One of the three disciples Jesus took up the mountain.

    Evidence:

    Follow The transfiguration in the graph

  5. James son of Zebedee witnesses The transfiguration

    Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidence

    One of the three who saw Jesus transfigured; 2 Peter later appeals to that eyewitness memory.

    Evidence:

    Follow The transfiguration in the graph

  6. James son of Zebedee participates in Gethsemane

    Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidence

    The two sons of Zebedee accompany Jesus further into Gethsemane; Mark names James.

    Evidence:

    Follow Gethsemane in the graph

Family

Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.

Appears in Scripture

Named in 19 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.

Record type: Person. FaithGraph explanations on this page are editorial and are not Scripture.