The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Jairus
fl. c. AD 31 (death unrecorded) · Ruler of the synagogue · Father of the raised daughter · Capernaum, Galilee
The Apostolic Age
Who Jairus was
ἀρχισυνάγωγος — one of the rulers of the synagogue, and so a man with a position to lose. He fell at Jesus’s feet in front of a crowd and asked him to come, and then had to stand still in that crowd while the errand was interrupted by a woman with an issue of blood, and stand there long enough for word to arrive that his daughter was dead.
What Mark records after that is the sentence spoken to him: **“Be not afraid, only believe.”** Then the house, the professional mourners put out, the three disciples and the parents taken in, and the two Aramaic words the evangelist keeps rather than translating away — *Talitha cumi*.
**He is named in two Gospels and unnamed in the third.** Mark and Luke give him Jairus; Matthew, telling the same story, has only “a certain ruler”. The archive holds him under the name two evangelists give and notes the third.
His daughter is twelve years old, and is not named. Nothing further about either of them is recorded — no later life, no place in the church, no death. The archive adds nothing.
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When was Jairus active?
Jairus is dated fl. c. AD 31 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Jairus in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Jairus?
Jairus is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Mark. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Jairus from?
The archive associates Jairus with Capernaum, Galilee. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Jairus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Jairus to 4 other figures, including Simon Peter, John the Apostle, James, son of Zebedee and Jesus of Nazareth. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Mark 5:22–24
c. AD 31And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may live. And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.Mark · read ↗
Mark 5:35–42
c. AD 31While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard it, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. … And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years.Mark · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Jairus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.