Bible Strands
Matthew 4:21
Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus proceeds from the previous location and observes James and John, sons of Zebedee, working with their father in a boat mending nets. He calls them directly.
The words — προβὰς (probas) means "having gone on" or "having walked forward," tracking Jesus' movement from the prior scene. εἶδεν (eiden) translates to "He saw," marking the specific moment Jesus fixes his attention on these two brothers.
The thread — This scene mirrors Mark 1:19, where Jesus finds the same brothers mending nets in a boat, and points forward to their formal listing among the twelve apostles in Matthew 10:2.
Why it lands — The text records Jesus calling them, while the immediate context shows James and John leaving their boat and father to follow Him. It requires a decisive response to a direct summons.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
Cross-references
- Matthew 10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
- Mark 1:19 Going on a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat, mending their nets.
- Mark 3:17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (whom He named Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder”),
- Luke 5:10 and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”
- John 21:2 Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
- Acts 12:2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
- Matthew 17:1 After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
- Matthew 20:20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and knelt down to make a request of Him.
- Matthew 26:37 He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
- Mark 5:37 And He did not allow anyone to accompany Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.