Sources: Josephus, Antiquities 20.9.1; Acts 12:2 (James son of Zebedee, different James); Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.23; Hegesippus fragments in Eusebius.

James the Just (Ya’akov HaTzaddik), “brother of the Lord” (Gal 1:19) and first bishop of Jerusalem, was executed ~62 AD by stoning ordered by the high priest Ananus II during the interregnum between Roman governors. Josephus’s account (Ant. 20.9.1) is significant: Josephus, a non-Christian, calls James “the brother of Jesus who was called Christ” — one of the most important non-Christian references to the historical Jesus. Ananus overstepped his authority (executions required Roman approval) and was removed from office as a result, suggesting James had significant standing in Jerusalem society. Hegesippus’s account (in Eusebius 2.23) describes James as spending so much time in prayer that his knees became like a camel’s — a legendary accretion showing his status as a piety figure. Theologically: James represents Jewish Christianity’s emphasis on Torah observance alongside faith — his letter (James) stresses that “faith without works is dead” in what has been read as a direct response to misunderstood Paulinism (though the relationship between James and Paul’s letters is much debated). His death removes the figure who had held together Jewish and Gentile Christian factions in Jerusalem, accelerating the drift toward separation.