James, son of Alphaeus (Ἰάκωβος,
Iakōbos in
Greek; ,
Ya'akov Ben Halfai) was one of the
Twelve Apostles of
Jesus, appearing under this name in all three of the
Synoptic Gospels' lists of the apostles. He is often identified with
James the Less (Greek
Iacobos ho mikros, Ἰακώβος ο μικρος Mark 15:40) and commonly known by that name in church tradition. He is also labelled "the minor", "the little", "the lesser", or "the younger", according to translation. He is distinct from
James, son of Zebedee and in some interpretations also from James the Just or
James, brother of Jesus.He appears only four times in the
New Testament, each time in a list of the twelve apostles.