Post by Zadkiel on Jan 12, 2016 22:57:24 GMT
It is no coincidence that there were twelve disciples, as this figure was a symbol of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve star signs of the Zodiac. Moreover, Pythagoras and other Greek philosophers attributed it a great importance. All the disciples had significant religious functions in society and thus, none of them can be described as "uneducated farmers and fishermen". But their real importance was often disguised along with their name, so that the same individual appears in the New Testament under various religious titles that were often used as aliases. All twelve had also close family ties with Jesus. The most important of them were his uncle Simon Zealotes, his cousin Judas Iscariot and his great-uncle Thaddeus.
