James bar Zebedee

James, the son of Zebedee, also known as James the Great, James the Elder or James, the son of thunder, was one of the twelve original disciples of Jesus Christ and an Apostle. He was the first of the apostles to be martyred, executed by King Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem. James was also Jesus' first cousin, as their mothers were sisters.

James and his brother John were fishermen with their father, Zebedee, along the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called them to follow him, marking the beginning of their apostleship. Jesus' calling of James and John, along with Peter, is sometimes referred to as the moment when the "sons of thunder" left their family business to become fishers of men.