CLOPAS

(Cloʹpas).

The husband of one of the Marys that stood beside Jesus as he hung on the torture stake. (Joh 19:25) Presumably he was the husband of “the other Mary,” and father of the apostle James the Less and of his brother Joses. (Mt 27:56; 28:1; Mr 15:40; 16:1; Lu 24:10) It is quite probable and generally recognized that Clopas was the same person that was called Alphaeus. (Mt 10:3; Mr 3:18; Lu 6:15; Ac 1:13) The two names may be variations in the pronunciation of the Aramaic root, or the same individual may have had two names that were used interchangeably, a practice not uncommon at the time. That Clopas was a brother of Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, is a conjecture based entirely on tradition.