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Matthew the Apostle — the tax collector

A tax collector at Capernaum, also called Levi, whom Jesus called from his booth with the words 'follow me.' Tradition credits him with the first Gospel, written for a Jewish-Christian audience and rich in Old Testament fulfilment.

Role: Apostle · Evangelist

Also known as: Levi

Lived: c. AD 5 – c. AD 74

Belonged to: The Twelve Apostles, Israelites (Hebrews), Evangelists

Born: Capernaum

Death: Traditionally martyred; place uncertain

What we know — and how we know it

Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 2 Ancient writers — non-biblical testimony · 2 Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1

Origin & birthplace

BibleA tax collector called by Jesus from his booth at Capernaum.

Matthew 9:9

↳ Capernaum

Family & lineage

BibleAlso named Levi, son of Alphaeus.

Mark 2:14

Life, role & deeds

Desconocido — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons) Ancient writersPapias, writing about AD 110, records that 'Matthew compiled the sayings in the Hebrew tongue, and each interpreted them as best he could' — the earliest external notice tying the apostle to a written gospel.

Papias of Hierapolis, Exposition of the Lord's Oracles (Logiōn Kyriakōn Exēgēsis), c. AD 110 — lost work preserved in Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 3.39.16

Exanx777 — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons) Ancient writersIrenaeus, about AD 180, reports that Matthew 'issued a gospel among the Hebrews in their own language' while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome.

Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies) 3.1.1, c. AD 180; the passage is also preserved in Greek in Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 5.8.2

Death & legacy

ScholarlyThe later accounts of Matthew's mission and death — set variously in Ethiopia, Persia or Parthia — are late and contradictory, and no reliable record of his end survives.

Medieval martyrologies; regarded as legendary