Who were the apostles in The Bible?

Answer 1

(Matthew 10:2-4) The names of the twelve apostles are these: First, Simon, the one called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the [son] of Zeb′e‧dee and Johnhis brother; Philip and Bar‧thol′o‧mew; Thomasand Matthew the tax collector; James the [son] of Al‧phae′us, and Thad‧dae′us; Simon the Ca‧na‧nae′an, and Judas Is‧car′i‧ot, who later betrayed him.

After Judas' rebellion, God chose another "...to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas deviated to go to his own place." So they cast lots over them, and the lot fell upon Mat‧thi′as; and he was reckoned along with the eleven apostles."(Acts 1:24-26)

Answer

The gospels record the 12 apostles as being:

Simon (whom Jesus nicknamed 'Peter' the 'Rock')

Andrew, brother of Simon/Peter

Both of these were fishermen.

James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee

These were teenage boys and Zebedee their father was also a fisherman, so it is assumed that they would have followed on in his profession.

Matthew, (also called 'Levi') was a tax collector

The rest of the disciples were:

James, the son of Alpheus

Philip,

Bartholomew (also called 'Nathaniel')

Thomas (also called 'didymus' - 'the twin')

Thaddeus, also called 'Judas' or 'Jude'

Simon the Zealot, and

Judas Iscariot. (who betrayed Jesus). After his suicide, Matthias took his place.

We are not told the professions/occupations of these disciples.

In addition to the 12, Paul claimed the role of "Apostle to the Gentiles" and also called himself the 'least of the apostles' because he persecuted the early Church before his conversion. We know that he was born in Tarsus, Turkey and, by profession, was a tent maker.