Zebedee

Zebedee was the father of the holy apostles James and John, mentioned in the Gospels. Not much is known of his life.

Who he was

According to the four Gospels, Zebedee was the father of two apostles of the Lord, James and John. He was a fisherman and lived in or near Bethsaida, on the shore of the lake of Gennesaret. His name means “gift of God”. According to the Gospels, his wife was, in all likelihood, Salome, one of the women who stood by the Cross and were at the tomb. The Gospels show that the family was fairly well off, though it lived by the labour of its hands: Mark mentions that he had hired men, and his son John was known to the high priest.

In the Gospels

Zebedee appears in the Gospels only once, in Matthew 4 and Mark 1, in a boat with his sons, mending nets. When the Lord called James and John, they left the boat and their father and followed Him. Zebedee stayed in the boat with the hired men, and the Gospels do not say that he stood in the way. Though he was not himself a disciple, some think he was, like Symeon the God-⁠receiver, one of those who awaited the consolation of Israel. How his life ended is not known; it is thought he died before the Passion of the Lord.