Dictionary Summary:The son of Zebedee and Salome; an elder brother of John the apostle. He was one of the twelve. He was by trade a fisherman, in partnership with Peter ([Matt. 20:20](/matt#Matt.20.20); [27:56](/matt#Matt.27.56)). With John and Peter he was present at the transfiguration ([Matt. 17:1](/matt#Matt.17.1); [Mark 9:2](/mark#Mark.9.2)), at the raising of Jairus’s daughter ([Mark 5:37-43](/mark#Mark.5.37)), and in the garden with our Lord (14:33). Because, probably, of their boldness and energy, he and John were called Boanerges, i.e., “sons of thunder.” He was the first martyr among the apostles, having been beheaded by King Herod Agrippa ([Acts 12:1](/acts#Acts.12.1), [2](/acts#Acts.12.2)), A.D. 44. (Comp. [Matt. 4:21](/matt#Matt.4.21); [20:20-23](/matt#Matt.20.20)). ²