ContradictionsReading order 257Bible context 4 min read
What were the names of the apostles?
The apostolic lists differ chiefly over Thaddeus and Judas the brother of James, while other supplied excerpts repeat lists or identify only one member.
Textual conflict
Interpretive tension
The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
Importance
Supporting
A supporting event, teaching, or biographical claim.
Full apostolic lists substitute Judas brother of James for Thaddeus without equating those names, leaving an unresolved membership identification.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Matthew lists Lebbeus with the surname Thaddeus
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alpheus, and Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
Mark's appointment account includes Thaddeus among twelve
And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite
, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
Luke's selection account includes Judas the brother of James
And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
Acts lists eleven including Judas the brother of James
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Mark's names include Thaddeus and Simon the Canaanite
And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
Matthew 10:2-4 identifies Lebbeus by the surname Thaddeus. Mark 3:14-19 includes Thaddeus, and the overlapping Mark 3:16-19 repeats that list. Luke 6:13-16 instead includes Judas the brother of James, as does its shorter repeated excerpt, Luke 6:14-16. Luke also calls Simon Zelotes where Matthew and Mark call him the Canaanite. Different ordering does not itself change membership, but the replacement of one name by another requires attention.
Acts 1:13 follows Luke's naming of Judas the brother of James and lists eleven people without Judas Iscariot. John 6:71 is not a competing full list; it merely identifies Iscariot as a member of the twelve and gives his father's name. The clearest unresolved issue is whether Thaddeus and Judas the brother of James name the same apostle. The supplied passages explicitly equate some alternative names, such as Simon and Peter, but never supply that particular identification. Their lists therefore differ at an important membership position without explaining the relationship.