(painting at right: "Apostle Jude" by Anthonis van
Dyck)
Judas vs. Thaddaeus
Luke and John mention Judas (as distinct from Judas
Iscariot) as one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. This name is not
used in Matthew and Mark, but a Thaddaeus is listed instead.
Although we cannot be 100% certain, it is almost universally
accepted that Judas and Thaddaeus are the same man. See:
From Luke 6:16. Note that "the brother" is in italics, which
means that those words were not in the original Greek but were
inserted by the translators. Based on the Greek, it can be
translated either "Judas the brother of James" or "Judas the son of
James." Modern scholars tend to favor the "the son" translation,
though there's no way to know for sure. It almost doesn't matter,
except for the Jude issue below. See:
In Jude 1,
Jude identifies himself as the "brother of James." If Judas is
also "brother of James," then perhaps the Apostle Judas Thaddaeus
is also the author of Jude. Some scholars believe this, but most
believe Judas and Jude were separate individuals, and some good
reasons are given. See: