Pursuing James is a popular activity. Laban did it, as did Esau and a few others. There was good reason: Jacob, or Yaʻaqov, as he was called in the Hebrew language, was a rascal.* His name means “heel-grabber” (remember the kid that would kick your heel in the school hallway and giggle when you stumbled?). Ya’aqov also sired a famous family and was the father of the 12 Israelite tribes (really 13 or 14, but hey, bible math does funny things with numbers).
Remember the classic heel trip in the hallway? Image from here (accessed 7/10/2018).
I assume it is because of this latter claim to fame (and not the former) that many pious mothers hung this name on their boys. By the New Testament era Ya'aqov had become 'Iacobus. Given a few more linguistic gyrations, 'Iacobus became the James of the English-speaking world or Iago or even Diego in the Spanish sphere (Saint James = San Diego! Huh! Who knew that equation?).
Which brings us back to the starting line.
Detail from Jan Toorop, The miraculous catch of fish (1912). Image from here (accessed 9/8/2021).
Pursuing James (or Jacob) on the short side of the biblical canon is not an easy task. One reason is because of the sheer number of mentions. James appears more than 60 times in the New Testament. Another reason is because not all of these appearances refer to the same person.
(As a parallel, consider all of the hair that has been pulled while sorting out multiple references to “Herod” in the world of the first century. Only the really bold would try to sort the “Mary” mentions, aka, Miriam/Maryam.)
Some NT scholars have gone bald in the effort to identify no less than eight different persons in the James Gang. Since I am losing hairs for other reasons, I’m not going there. Our focus is simply to identify the three "biggies."
Image from here (accessed 9/9/2021).
1. James the Great
This son of Zebedee is often paired with his brother John (cf. Mt 10:2) and shared with him the nickname “thunder-bro." One doesn't get a name like that without reason (Mk 3:17).
He seems to have followed Jesus early (Mt 4:18-22) and became a member of the innermost circle of the disciples of Christ (i.e., Mt 17:1, Mk 5:37; 14:33).
Tradition describes him as James “the Great” to distinguish him from the next character in our list.
James the Less. Image from here. Accessed 7/14/2018.
2. James the Less
This James was also one of the 12 and is described as the “son of Alphaeus” (Matt 10:3). Just to keep up the spice, his mother was possibly named Mary (see Mk 16:1).
We know that James the Less was with the boys in the “upper room” at the start of the book of Acts (1:13).
Apart from such sparsity, we know nothing about James “the Less.”
James the brother of Jesus is also remembered as "James the Just." He was a leading member of the Jerusalem Church. Image from here. Accessed 7/14/2018.
3. James the Just
This James seems to be of Jesus’s own natural family. He appears in Mt 13:54-55 as coming from Nazareth with his mother Mary. The presence of James and his brothers may also be why Jesus was specifically identified as Mary’s firstborn (Mt 1:25). James the Just may have been her second.
It is possible that he did not become a believer until after the resurrection (Mk 6:1-6). Afterwards he became a leader in the Jerusalem church. Consider how at the beginning of Acts 12, James “the Great” is martyred (Acts 12:2), but by the end of the same chapter, news of the miraculous release of Peter is sent to a different James, a leader in the movement (Acts 12:17).
It is this James who met Paul and appears in Paul’s letters (e.g. Gal 1:18-19).
James "the Just" is also the consensus candidate for the author of the biblical book by his name.
Pursuing the James Gang is hard work. But these are the biggies: James the Great, James the Less, and James the Just. But before continuing we need to be sure we’re on the same page. The story of the Camino is tied to the story and traditions associated with James the Great, or, wait for it . . . Saint Iago = Santiago!
¡Buen Camino!
*A brief but interesting article on the James/Jacob name switcheroo—and why that is helpful to remember—may be found here (accessed 9/8/2021).
Join Mark and Vicki for a Mediterranean experience May 25-June 5, 2022. We'll be cruising aboard the luxurious Celebrity Infinity. See the link here for details. Onboard lectures will provide focus for the group as we visit the ports of Olympia, Santorini, Ephesus, and Athens among others. Optional add-on visits to Venice or Rome are possible on either end of the trip. Questions? Contact me at markziese@gmail.com.