Alphaeus
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(learned leader) (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). It is generally thought that two persons are meant in the passages cited: a) the father of one of the apostles, James the Less (Matt. 10:3); b) (Mark 2:14) father of Matthew, or Levi, the evangelist. In the opinion of most, the first Alphaeus was the same person as Clopas, mentioned by the Evangelist John (19:25), and that he was the husband of Mary, sister of the Mother of the Lord, and that therefore James and Judas, his sons, are called brethren of the Lord (compare Matt. 13:55 and 27:56; Mark 15:40 [as given]; Luke 24:10).