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How many apostles were there?

B-A-C

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Dec 18, 2008
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Well of course, there were the original twelve.

Matt 10:2; Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Matt 10:3; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
Matt 10:4; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Then there was Matthias.

Acts 1:23; And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
Acts 1:24; And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen
Acts 1:25; to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place."
Acts 1:26; And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

.. and we have Paul and Barnabas.

Acts 14:14; But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out

...but were there any others? It gets a little tricky.

Rom 16:7; Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

Most Bible translations say Andronicus and Junia were "among" the apostles. However the ESV puts it differently.

[ESV] Rom 16:7; Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.

Looking at the original Greek, the ESV appears to be the least accurate here.

For some reason, a lot of people think Mark and Luke were apostles as well, but they are never called apostles in the Bible.
It's interesting, that even though they themselves aren't called apostles, they got to write a part of the New testament.
 
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Jesus is called the Apostle by Paul….

Hebrews 3:1

King James Version

3 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;”

The word apostle can refer to “one who is sent by God, or a messanger of God.”
 
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