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Who was Zebedee in the Bible?

Lived in the New Testament era

Zebedee was a fisherman from Galilee and the father of two of Jesus' disciples, James and John. He worked alongside his sons in the fishing business and was present when Jesus called them to follow Him. His wife was Salome, according to hints at Matt 27.56 with Mrk.15.40. Zebedee appears in 9 verses across 3 books of the Bible.

What does the Bible say about Zebedee?

Zebedee was a fisherman from Galilee and the father of two of Jesus' disciples, James and John. He worked alongside his sons in the fishing business and was present when Jesus called them to follow Him. His wife was Salome, according to hints at Matt 27.56 with Mrk.15.40. Zebedee's wife, the mother of James and John, is mentioned as one of the women who followed Jesus and supported His ministry. She also made a bold request for her sons to sit at Jesus' right and left hand in His kingdom, revealing her high aspirations for them. Zebedee is not mentioned as a follower of Jesus himself, but he did not hinder his sons from leaving their fishing trade to become disciples. The fact that Zebedee had hired servants suggests that he ran a successful fishing operation. His sons, James and John, along with Peter, formed Jesus' inner circle of disciples and were present at significant events such as the Transfiguration and Jesus' prayers in Gethsemane.

Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

Where does Zebedee appear in the Bible?

Zebedee is referenced in 9 verses across 3 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

Matthew 4Mark 4Luke 1

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Zebedee.

JamesJohnPeterMary

Common questions

How many times does the Bible mention Zebedee?

Zebedee appears in 9 verses across 3 books, most often in Matthew, which accounts for 4 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Zebedee?

Matthew, Mark, Luke.

Where can I read every verse about Zebedee?

This page lists 9 of them. Protos carries all 9, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

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Read Matthew with Zebedee explained on the verse.

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