**JESUS THE JUST** – A figure mentioned only in *Col. 4, 11* and with very few details to identify him. Like Aristarchus and Mark, also named there, he was of Jewish origin (“of the circumcision”) and worked, while Paul was imprisoned, for the cause of the Kingdom of God. He must have been well known to the Colossians, to whom he sends his greetings.
The name of J., often hellenized as Iason, was very common among the Hebrews. J. also bore another name, this one of Latin origin: *Iōsōsō*, iustus, which was likewise borne by Joseph Barsabbas (*Acts 1, 23*) and by a certain Titus (or Ticius), “a worshiper of God,” in whose house Paul was received at Corinth (*Acts 18, 7*). The practice of adding a Greek or Latin name to the Hebrew one was fairly common: names that gave a certain assonance were preferred, such as Paul united with Saul.
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