Zebedee (,
Zebedaios, ; ,
Zvad'yah, ), according to all four
Canonical gospels, was the father of
James and
John, two
disciples of
Jesus. The gospels also suggest that he was the husband of
Salome: whereas
Mark 15:40 names the women present at the
crucifixion as
"Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome", the parallel passage in
Matthew 27:56 has
"Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children." The
Catholic Encyclopedia concludes that the Salome of Mark 15:40 is probably identical with the mother of the sons of Zebedee in Matthew.