MATTHEW THE EVANGELIST, traditionally the author of the first canonical gospel, which bears his name. His exact dates are unknown, but the gospel was probably written in the last quarter of the first century, possibly in Syrian Antioch.

The name Matthew appears in every list of the twelve disciples of Jesus (Mt. 10:3, Mk. 3:18, Lk. 6:15, Acts 1:13). In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus calls him from his toll booth and his role as a despised tax collector to be a disciple (9:9–10), and in that gospel's list of the Twelve he is called Matthew the tax collector. Otherwise, Matthew does not appear in the gospel narratives or in the rest of the New Testament.

Mark 2:13–14 and Luke 5:27–28 relate the calling of a tax collector whose name is Levi, rather than Matthew (in Mark 2:14 he is called the son of Alphaeus; cf. "James the son of Alphaeus" in...