Zebedee

(gift of God) (Matt. 4:21; 10:2) — a Galilean fisherman, father of the apostles James and John. His wife was named Salome (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40). They lived on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, probably at Bethsaida. From the mention in the Gospel of his hired servants (Mark 1:20), and from his son’s acquaintance with the high priest Annas (John 18:15), it may be supposed that the family of Zebedee was one of some means (cf. John 19:27), though it lived by manual labor. The name Zebedee appears in the Gospel narrative only once, namely in the Evangelists Matthew (4:21, 22) and Mark (1:19, 20), where he is depicted with his sons, sitting in the boat and mending their nets.

At the Savior’s first word, Zebedee allowed both his sons to follow the Lord, although he himself, it seems, was not a disciple of the Lord. This readiness of his to let his sons James and John go so quickly after the Savior, however, gives grounds to think that either through the preaching of John the Baptist, or for some other reason, he, like Simeon the God-receiver, belonged to the number of those who awaited the consolation of Israel. Nothing is known of Zebedee’s later life, though it is thought he died before the Lord’s Passion. Concerning Zebedee’s wife, see under the word Salome.