If they were sons of the Virgin Mary, Joseph must have been their father. But Matthew ([x, 3]) and Mark ([iii, 18]) state that James the Less was “the son of Alpheus.” According to John (compare [John xix, 25] with [Matthew xxvii, 56]) Cleophas was their father.
Referring to this and the preceding discrepancy, Smith’s “Bible Dictionary” says: “This is one of the most difficult questions in the Gospel history.”
110
Were Matthew and James the Less brothers?
It is not admitted that they were. Yet it is claimed that Matthew and Levi were the same; Mark ([ii, 14]) declares that Levi was “the son of Alpheus”; while both Matthew and Mark ([Matt. x, 3]; [Mark iii, 18]) declare that James was “the son of Alpheus.”
111
To what city did John belong, and where was it located?
John: “Bethsaida of Galilee” ([xii, 21]).