View source for Brothers of Jesus

{{Short description|Biblical figures described as brothers of Jesus}}
{{About|the persons described as Jesus's brothers|the Catholic religious congregation|Little Brothers of Jesus}}
{{Hatnote|"Adelphoi," the Greek word for "siblings" or specifically "brothers," redirects here. For siblings, including brothers, in general, see [[Sibling]] and [[Brother]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}{{Jewish Christianity}}

The '''brothers of Jesus''' or the '''''adelphoi''''' ({{langx|grc|ἀδελφοί|adelphoí|of the same womb, brothers}})<ref name="literal">{{Bulleted list|{{harvnb|Bateman|2014|ps=: "The Greek word here, ''adelphoi'', literally means 'from the same womb,'"}}|{{harvnb|Verbrugge|2017|p=15|ps=: "one out of the [same] womb"}}|{{harvnb|Curi|2020|ps=: "''adelphoi'', fratteli, fra coloro dunque che, letteralmente, provengono dallo stesso ''delphys'', escono dallo stesso 'uttero'."}}|{{harvnb|Segal|1999|p=184|ps=: "For brothers related by blood Greek then develops a new term, ''adelphos'', "of the same womb" ''(a-delphys)'', which denotes kinship through the mother.{{sup|97}}"}}|{{harvnb|Holman Bible Publishers|The HCSB Translation Team|Howard|Blum|2010|ps=: "Brothers (Gk '''''adelphoi;''''' '''vv. 9,14,17; 3:7; 4:1,10; 5:1,4,12,26''') literally means 'from the same womb.'"}}|{{harvnb|Dozier|Adams|1993|p=4|ps=: "literally 'from the womb' and originally meant from the same womb."}}|{{harvnb|Silver|1914|p=272|ps=: "In the New Testament the Greek word ἀδελφοί (adelphoi) , rendered "brethren," is the plural form of ἀδελφός (adelphos) which means, literally, 'of the same womb, a brother, relative"}}|{{harvnb|Levine|2022|ps=: "the Greek term ''adelphoi'', literally 'brothers,'"}}}}</ref>{{efn|Greek singular noun ''adelphos'', from a- ("same", equivalent to homo-) and delphys ("womb," equivalent to splanchna).}} are named in the [[New Testament]] as [[James, brother of Jesus|James]], [[Joses]] (a form of Joseph), [[Simon, brother of Jesus|Simon]], and [[Jude, brother of Jesus|Jude]];<ref name="brothers ox">{{cite book |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199642465.001.0001/acref-9780199642465-e-1034?rskey=BScfxB&result=1032 |chapter=Brethren of the Lord}}</ref> unnamed sisters are mentioned in [[gospel of Mark|Mark]] and [[gospel of Matthew|Matthew]].{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=8}} They may have been: (1) sons of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary, the mother of Jesus]], and [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]]; (2) sons of Joseph by a former marriage; or (3) sons of [[Mary of Clopas]], named in Mark 15:40 as the "mother of James and Joses", who has been identified as either the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a sister-in-law to Joseph.{{Sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=237-238}}{{efn|According to Hegesippus, Clopas is Joseph's brother, therefore Mary, wife of Clopas, would be Joseph's sister-in-law.}} James was personally known to Paul the Apostle (Gal 1:19).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hansen |first1=Chrissy M. |title=Familial Brother(s) of the Lord? On Recent Disagreements on Galatians 1.19 and 1 Corinthians 9.5 |journal=The Expository Times |date=1 August 2025 |volume=136 |issue=11 |pages=483–493 |doi=10.1177/00145246251346748 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00145246251346748 |language=EN |issn=0014-5246}}</ref> 

Those who uphold the [[perpetual virginity of Mary]] reject the idea of biological brethren and maintain that the brothers and sisters were either cousins of [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus]] (option 3, the position of the [[Catholic Church]]) or children of Joseph from a previous marriage (option 2, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]).{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=237-238}} Some [[Lutheranism|Lutheran Churches]] have accepted both option 2 and option 3 as being valid explanations for the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary.<ref name="Futrell2013">{{Cite web |last=Futrell |first=Rich |date=27 April 2013 |title=What are We to Make of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary? |url=https://kimberlinglutheran.com/2013/04/27/what-are-we-to-make-of-the-perpetual-virginity-of-mary/ |access-date=18 September 2023 |publisher=Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church}}</ref><ref name="Erasmus1998" />

== Etymology ==
According to context, the Greek plural noun ἀδελφοί (''adelphoi''), from a- ('same') and delphys ('womb'),<ref name="literal" /> may mean physical brothers, physical brothers and sisters, figurative brothers, or figurative brothers and sisters.{{sfn|Strauss|2009|p= 134}} ''Adelphoi'' sometimes means more than a blood brother, e.g., Gen 29:12; Rom 9:3 (kinsman); Matt 5:22–3 (neighbor); Mark 6:17–8 (step-brother). In such instances the context must determine the meaning.{{sfn|Edwards|2020|p=159}} ''Adelphoi'' is distinct from ''anepsios'', meaning cousin, nephew, niece, and this word is never used to describe James and the other siblings of Jesus.{{sfn|Shanks|Witherington|2003|p=94}} The word "anepsios" is [[Hapax legomenon|only employed once]] in the entire New Testament, being used in Paul's Epistle [[Epistle to the Colossians|to the Colossians]]. Although neither [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] nor [[Aramaic]] had a word for "cousin", both customarily spoke of a cousin as a "son of an uncle" (Hebrew: ''ben dod''; Aramaic: ''bar dad''){{sfn|Edwards|2020|p=159}} and the [[Septuagint]], the Greek translation of the Old Testament, never translates either expression as "brother" or "sister".{{sfn|Edwards|2020|p=159}}

The [[Vulgate]] renders with the Latin word ''frater'' (e.g. [https://biblehub.com/vul/mark/6.htm Mark 6:3]), which, even in classical Latin, can also mean "maternal cousin" or "paternal cousin".<ref>Article ''"Frater"'' in [[Karl Ernst Georges]], [[w:it:Oreste Badellino|Oreste Badellino]], [[w:it: Ferruccio Calonghi|Ferruccio Calonghi]], ''Dizionario Latino-Italiano'', [[w:it:Rosenberg & Sellier|Rosenberg & Sellier]].</ref>

==''Adelphoi'' (brethren) of Jesus==
[[File:James the Just (Novgorod, 16 c.).jpg|thumb|''James the Just'', 16th-century Russian [[icon]]]]
[[Mark 6]]{{bibleverse|Mark|6:3|9|:3}} names James, Joses, Judas (conventionally known in English as Jude) and Simon as the brothers of Jesus, and [[Matthew 13]]{{bibleverse|Matthew|13:55|9|:55}}, which probably used Mark as its source, gives the same names in different order, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|pp =6, 8}} "Joseph" is simply the longer form of "Joses", and so it appears that James was the eldest and Joses/Joseph the next, but as Matthew has reversed the order of the last two it is uncertain who was the youngest.{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=7}} Unnamed sisters are mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:56 and may be implied in Mark 3:35 and [[Matthew 12:46]], but their number is unknown.{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=8}}

The gospels indicate a rift between Jesus and his brothers in the early part of his ministry (see [[Mark 3]]:31–35 and the parallel passages in [[Matthew 12]]:46–50 and [[Luke 8]]:19–21), and they never appear among his followers during his lifetime.{{sfn|deSilva|2012|pp= 34, 37}} [[gospel of John|John]] has Jesus's brothers advising him to go to [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judea]] despite being aware that his life would be in danger, and they are absent from his burial, which should have been their responsibility,{{sfn|deSilva|2012|p=37}} but they do appear in [[Acts 1]]:14 with the Eleven (i.e., the remaining disciples after the betrayal by Judas Iscariot): "These all (the Eleven) were persevering in prayer along with the women, with Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers."{{sfn|deSilva|2012|p=37}}

In [[1 Corinthians 15]]:3–7 [[Apostle Paul|Paul]] lists a "James" among those to whom the risen Christ had appeared,{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=435}} and most scholars agree that this refers to [[James the brother of Jesus]].{{sfn|Schreiner|2011|p=110}} The 2nd century historian [[Hegesippus (chronicler)|Hegesippus]] (c. 110–80 AD) reports that James the brother of Jesus came to be known as [[James the Just]],{{sfn|Painter|2001|p=11}} and [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] (died 339) says that he spent so much of his life in prayer that his knees became "like the knees of a camel."{{sfn|Hagner|2012|p=780}} According to [[Clement of Alexandria]], reported by Eusebius, he was chosen as bishop of Jerusalem,{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=857}} and from the time when Peter left Jerusalem after Herod's attempt to kill him ([[Acts 12]]) he appears as the principal authority in the Jerusalem church, presiding at the [[Council of Jerusalem]] recorded in Acts 15.{{sfn |Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=857}} In [[Galatians 1:19]] Paul tells how he went to Jerusalem a few years after his conversion and met Cephas (Peter) but no other apostles, only "James, the brother of the Lord";{{sfn|deSilva|2018|p=101}} Paul's Greek leaves it unclear whether he includes, or does not include, James among the apostles.{{sfn |Matera|2007|p= 66}} He goes on to describe a second visit fourteen years later when he met the "pillars of the Church", James and Peter and John; James is mentioned first and seems to be the primary leader among these three.{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=435}} In chapter 2 he describes how he and Peter were later in [[Antioch]] and in the habit of dining with gentile Christians in breach of Jewish [[torah]], until "certain people from James" came and Peter withdrew, "fearing those who belong to the circumcision."{{sfn|Matera|2007|p=84}} The 1st century historian [[Josephus]] tells how he was martyred by the Jews in 62 AD on charges of breaking the Jewish Law.{{sfn|Hagner|2012|p=780}}

Paul records in 1 Corinthians that the other brothers of Jesus (that is, other than James, who is portrayed as rooted in Jerusalem) travelled as evangelists, and that they were married ("Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas (Peter)?" - [[1 Corinthians 9]]:5).{{sfn|Butz|2005|p=67}} The 3rd century Apostolic Father [[Eusebius]] left a list of 12 bishops of the early church, of whom two, Joseph/Joses and Jude, may be the brothers of Jesus.{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=76}} The number of sisters and their names are not specified in the New Testament, but the apocryphal 3rd century [[Gospel of Philip]] mentions a Mary, and [[Salome (Gospel of James)|Salome]], who appears in the late 2nd century [[Gospel of James]], is arguably the other sister.{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=39}}

The author of the [[epistle of James]] introduces himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ".{{sfn |McKnight|2011|p= 13}} He does not identify himself as the brother of Jesus or an apostle or a leader of the church in any way,{{sfn|Hagner|2012|p=780}} but one recent study characterises this letter as "the most Jewish text in the New Testament".{{sfn|Lockett|2011|p=9}} The [[epistle of Jude]] identifies its author as "Jude… the brother of James", but today there is widespread, although not unanimous, support for the view that it was composed in the early part of the 2nd century by an unknown author borrowing the name of the brother of Jesus.{{sfn|Boring|2012|p=450}} Hegesippus mentions a Simon or Simeon (the names are equivalent) who became leader of the Jerusalem church after the death of James, but makes this Simon a son of Clopas, the brother of Joseph.{{sfn|Bauckham|2008|p=72}}

Of the "brothers," however, no direct relationship to Mary or Joseph is ever indicated. Only Jesus is referred to as "son of Mary," "the son of Mary," or "son of Joseph." Only Jesus is the subject of the [[Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament|Old Testament messianic prophecies]] and only of him is the [[genealogy of Jesus|genealogy]] proposed.<ref>Frédéric Manns, ''Trenta domande (e trenta risposte) su Maria e la nascita di Gesù'', Milano, Vita e Pensiero, 2007, p. 31.</ref>

==Relationship to Jesus==
[[File:Menologion of Basil 036.jpg|thumb|Martyrdom of St. [[Simeon of Jerusalem|Simeon]] ([[Menologion of Basil II]], 10th century)]]

The 19th century scholar [[J. B. Lightfoot|J.B. Lightfoot]] identified three possible positions on the relationship to Jesus of those called his brothers and sisters by reference to their 4th century advocates, namely the Helvidian (after Helvidius, who wrote {{circa|380}}), the Epiphanian (after Epiphanius of Salamis, 315-403), and the Hieronymian (after Jerome, 349-419/20).{{sfn|Painter|2001|p=12}} A fourth position, not mentioned by Lightfoot, is that the adelphoi were full-blooded brothers and sisters of Jesus.{{sfn|Painter|2001|p=12}}

===Full blood-brothers and sisters of Jesus===
This position rejects the [[virgin birth of Jesus]] and argues his brothers and sisters were full siblings. Main proponents of this belief were the [[Ebionites]], a 2nd century [[Jewish Christian]] sect, who rejected both the incarnation and divinity of Jesus.{{sfn|Painter|2001|p=12}}

===Half-brothers and sisters of Jesus (Helvidian view)===
The view of Helvidius was that the ''adelphoi'' were half siblings of Jesus born to Mary and Joseph after the firstborn Jesus.{{sfn|Butz|2005|p=27}} This is the most common Protestant position.{{sfn|Butz|2005|p=27}}

The following hypothetical family tree is based on the book ''Jesus and His World'' written by [[John J Rousseau]] and [[Rami Arav]]: <ref>{{Cite web |last=Rousseau |first=John J |last2=Arav |first2=Rami |title=Jesus' Family Tree |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/tree.html |access-date=3 February 2024 |website=www.pbs.org |publisher=PBS}}</ref>{{sfn|Rousseau|Arav|1995|p=passim}}

{{tree chart/start|style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%;}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| |}}
{{tree chart|border=0| Mar | |y| | Jos | | | | | | | | | | | | Clo |y| aMa | |Mar=[[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]]|Jos=[[Saint Joseph|Joseph]]|Clo=[[Clopas]]|aMa=[[Mary of Clopas|another Mary]]}}
{{tree chart|border=0| |!| | |)|-|-|v|-|-|v|-|-|v|-|-|v|-|-|.| | | |!| |}}
{{tree chart|border=0|Jes  | Jas | Jos | Sim | sis | sis | Jud | | Sie |Jes=[[Jesus]]|boxstyle_Jes=background-color: #afa;|Jas=[[James, brother of Jesus|James]]<br /><small>d. 62</small>|Jos=[[Joses#Joses, brother of Jesus|Joses]]|Sim=[[Simon, brother of Jesus|Simon]]|sis=sister|Jud=[[Jude, brother of Jesus|Jude]]|Sie=[[Simeon of Jerusalem|Simeon]]<br />successor to James as head<br />of the Jerusalem Church<br /><small>d. 106</small>}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  ?  | | | |?=?}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  ?  | | | |?=?}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | |}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | BJK | | | |BJK=Bishop [[Judah Kyriakos]]<br/><small>fl. c. 148–49</small>}}
{{tree chart/end}}

===Stepbrothers of Jesus (Epiphanian view)===
The Epiphanian view, named after its main proponent, the fourth-century bishop [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], and championed by the third century theologian [[Origen]] and fourth-century bishop [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]], the “brothers” and “sisters” mentioned in the New Testament are sons of Joseph from a previous marriage, and hence stepbrothers of Jesus. This is still the official position of the Eastern Orthodox Church.{{sfn|Butz|2005|p=26-27}}

{{tree chart/start|style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%;}}
{{tree chart|border=0| Mar |-| Jos |y| ear | | | | | |Mar=[[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]]|Jos=[[Saint Joseph|Joseph]]|ear=earlier wife}}
{{tree chart|border=0| |!| | | | | |)|-|-|v|-|-|v|-|-|.| |}}
{{tree chart|border=0|Jes  | | | | Jas | Jos | Sim | Jud |Jes=[[Jesus]]|boxstyle_Jes=background-color: #afa;|Jas=[[James, brother of Jesus|James]]|Jos=[[Joses#Joses, brother of Jesus|Joses]]|Sim=[[Simon, brother of Jesus|Simon]]|sis=sister|Jud=[[Jude, brother of Jesus|Jude]]}}
{{tree chart/end}}

===Cousins of Jesus (Hieronymian view)===
The Hieronymian view was put forward in the 4th century by [[Jerome]], who argued that not only Mary, but Joseph too, had been a life-long virgin.{{sfn|Kelly|1975|p=106}} Apparently voicing the general opinion of the Church, he held that the "brothers of Jesus" were the sons of Mary the "mother of James and Joses" mentioned in Mark 15:40, whom he identified with the wife of [[Clopas]] and sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus mentioned in John 19:25.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|p=238}} The [[Catholic Church]] continues to teach that the adelphoi were cousins of Jesus.{{sfn|Butz|2005|p=26}}

The following family tree is from [[Richard Bauckham]], "Jude and the Relatives of James":{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=21}} 

{{tree chart/start|style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%;}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | Ann |y|Joa  | | | |Ann=[[Saint Anne|Anne]]|Joa=[[Joachim]]}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | |,|-|-|-|^|-|-|.| | | |}}
{{tree chart|border=0| Jos |-| Mar | | | | | aMa |y| Clo |Mar=[[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]]|Jos=[[Saint Joseph|Joseph]]|Clo=[[Clopas]]|aMa=[[Mary of Clopas|another Mary]]}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | |!| | | |,|-|-|v|-|^|v|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | |Jes  | | Jas | Jos | Sim | Jud |Jes=[[Jesus]]|boxstyle_Jes=background-color: #afa;|Jas=[[James the Less]]|Jos=[[Joses#Joses, brother of Jesus|Joses]]|Sim=[[Simon, brother of Jesus|Simon]]|Jud=[[Jude, brother of Jesus|Jude]]}}
{{tree chart/end}}

Jerome's argument produces the unlikely result of two sisters both named Mary.{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=21}} A modern variant eliminates this by identifying Clopas as the brother of Joseph, thereby making the two Marys sisters-in-law; in this version Jesus's cousin Simon is identified with Symeon the second leader of the church in Jerusalem.{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=21}}<ref>Roberto Reggi, ''I fratelli di Gesù'', EDB, Bologna, 2010.</ref> 

The following family tree is from Richard Bauckham, "Jude and the Relatives of James":{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=22}}

{{tree chart/start|style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%;}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | | | | Jac | | | | | | | | | | |Ann=[[Saint Anne|Anne]]|Joa=[[Joachim]]|Jac=[[Genealogy of Jesus#Levirate Marriage|Jacob]]}}
{{tree chart|border=0| | | | | |,|-|-|^|-|-|-|.| | | | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|border=0| Mar |-| Jos | | | | | Clo |y| aMa | | |Mar=[[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]]|Jos=[[Saint Joseph|Joseph]]|Clo=[[Clopas]]|aMa=[[Mary of Clopas|another Mary]]}}
{{tree chart|border=0| |!| | | | | | | |,|-|-|v|-|^|v|-|-|.| |}}
{{tree chart|border=0|Jes  | | | | | | Jas | Jos | Sim | Jud |Jes=[[Jesus]]|boxstyle_Jes=background-color: #afa;|Jas=[[James the Less]]<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;|Jos=[[Joses#Joses, brother of Jesus|Joses]]<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;|Sim=[[Simon, brother of Jesus|Simon]]|Jud=[[Jude, brother of Jesus|Jude]]<br />&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;}}
{{tree chart/end}}

== Development of the tradition ==
[[File:Otsy.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Church Fathers]]'' in an 11th-century depiction from [[Kiev]]]]
From the 2nd century onward the developing emphasis on ascetism and celibacy as the superior form of Christian practice, together with an emphasis on the chastity of Mary, led to the idea that she had been a virgin not only before, but during and after, the birth of Christ.{{sfn|Bromiley|1995|p=271}} There is no direct biblical basis for this idea,{{sfn|Boisclair|2007|p= 1465}} which in its earliest assertion appears in the mid-2nd century [[Protoevangelium of James]];{{sfn|Lohse|1966|p=200}} this depicts Mary as a lifelong virgin, Joseph as an old man who marries her without physical desire, and the brothers of Jesus as Joseph's sons by an earlier marriage.{{sfn|Hurtado|2005|p=448}} Though, Richard Bauckham argues that "It is possible that the brothers of Jesus were correctly remembered not to have been sons of Mary and that this made possible the development of the idea of Mary's perpetual virginity as a result. Good historical tradition certainly was still available in the early second century, even if mixed with much legendary material."{{sfn|Bauckham|2015|p=28}}

By the 3rd century, the doctrine of the [[perpetual virginity of Mary]] had become well established, but the unequivocal scriptural references to the brethren of Jesus raised obvious problems.{{sfn|Foster|2008|p=117}} The heretical [[antidicomarianite]]s ("opponents of Mary") maintained that, when Joseph became Mary's husband, he was a widower with six children, and he had normal marital relations with Mary, but they later held Jesus was not born of these relations.{{sfn|Brackney|2012|p=31}} [[Bonosus of Sardica|Bonosus]] was a bishop who in the late 4th century held Mary had other children after Jesus, for which the other bishops of his province condemned him.{{sfn|Brackney|2012|p=57}} Important orthodox theologians such as [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=of Rome |first=Hippolytus |url=https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf05/anf05.iii.iv.ii.v.viii.html |title=Against Beron and Helix: Fragment VIII |access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> (170–235), [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]] (260/265–339/340) and [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] (c. 310/320–403) defended the perpetual virginity of Mary. Eusebius and [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] held the ''adelphoi'' were Joseph's children from a previous marriage. Epiphanius adds [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]] became the father of [[James (brother of Jesus)|James]] and his three brothers (Joses, Simeon, Judah) and two sisters (a Salome and a Mary or a Salome and an Anna)<ref>{{Cite book |last=College |first=St. Epiphanius of Cyprus; translated by Young Richard Kim, Calvin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gxHWAwAAQBAJ&q=anna |title=Ancoratus 60:1 |date=2014 |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |isbn=978-0-8132-2591-3 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=144 |access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref> with James being the elder sibling. James and his siblings were not children of Mary but were Joseph's children from a previous marriage. Joseph's first wife died; many years later, at the age of eighty, "he took Mary (mother of Jesus)". According to Epiphanius the Scriptures call them "brothers of the Lord" to confound their opponents.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=translated by Frank |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DAP-uJTfc84C&q=salome |title=The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis : Books II and III (Sects 47–80, De Fide) |date=1994 |publisher=E.J. Brill |isbn=9789004098985 |location=Leiden |pages=607 |access-date=18 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=translated by Frank |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKtzRNP0Z70C&q=eighty |title=The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis |date=2013 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004228412 |edition=Second, revised |location=Leiden [u.a.] |page=36 |access-date=18 September 2015}}</ref> [[Origen]] (184–254) also wrote "according to the [[Gospel of Peter]] the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary".<ref name="perpvirg">{{Citation |last=Origen |title=Commentary on Matthew |url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/101610.htm |at=§&nbsp;17 |publisher=Newadvent}}.</ref>

The ''[[History of Joseph the Carpenter]]'', probably written in Egypt in the 5th century and heavily indebted to the Protoevangelium of James, depicts Joseph as an old widower with children from a previous marriage, thus clarifying the New Testament references to Jesus's brothers.{{sfn|Ehrman|Plese|2011|p=157}}

According to the surviving fragments of the work ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' of the [[Apostolic Father]] [[Papias of Hierapolis]], who lived circa 70–163 AD, "[[Mary of Clopas|Mary the wife of Cleophas]] or Alphaeus" would be the mother of [[James the Just]], [[Simon, brother of Jesus|Simon]], [[Jude (brother of Jesus)|Judas]] (identified as [[Jude the Apostle]]), and [[Joses|Joseph (Joses)]]. Papias identifies this "Mary" as the sister of [[Mary, mother of Jesus]], and thus as the maternal [[aunt]] of Jesus.<ref name="papias">{{Cite book |last=of Hierapolis |first=Papias |title=Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord |publisher=Peter Kirby |chapter=Fragment X |access-date=10 September 2015 |chapter-url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/papias.html}}</ref> The Anglican theologian [[Joseph Lightfoot|J.B. Lightfoot]] dismissed Papias' evidence as spurious.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lightfoot |first=J.B. |author-link=Joseph Lightfoot |year=1865 |title=The Brethren of the Lord |url=http://philologos.org/__eb-jbl/brethren.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618231826/https://philologos.org/__eb-jbl/brethren.htm |archive-date=2018-06-18 |access-date=2016-05-31 |website=Philo logos |quote=The testimony of Papias is frequently quoted at the head of the patristic authorities, as favouring the view of Jerome…  It is strange that able and intelligent critics should not have seen through a fabrication which is so manifestly spurious…  [T]he passage was written by a mediaeval namesake of the Bishop of Hierapolis, Papias… who lived in the 11th century.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Papias of Hierapolis |url=http://www.textexcavation.com/papias.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116063403/http://www.textexcavation.com/papias.html |archive-date=2015-11-16 |website=Text excavation}}</ref>

The [[Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew]], which was probably written in the seventh century, states the brothers of Jesus were his cousins.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kennedy |first=Jon |title=Jesus and Mary |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNafZ4xYV2kC&pg=PA346 |publisher=Adams Media |isbn=978-1-57215749-1 |last2=Schroedel |first2=Jenny |last3=Schroedel |first3=John}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Both the Eastern and Western traditional churches maintain that Mary was a perpetual virgin;<ref name="perpvirg" /> early [[Protestant]] leaders, including the [[Reformation|Reformer]] [[Martin Luther]],<ref>{{Citation |title=Martin Luther on Mary's Perpetual Virginity |url=http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/martin_luther_on_mary.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221185440/http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/martin_luther_on_mary.htm |archive-date=2008-12-21 |url-status=dead}}.</ref> and [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] theologian [[Huldrych Zwingli]],<ref>{{Citation |last=Zwingli |first=Ulrich |title=Huldreich Zwinglis sämtliche Werke |volume=1 |page=385 |year=1905 |editor-last=Egli |editor-first=Emil |editor-last2=Finsler |editor-first2=Georg |editor-last3=Zwingli-Verein |access-date=2008-07-01 |chapter=Eini Predigt von der ewig reinen Magd Maria |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yYYhD2-6nzQC&pg=RA1-PA385 |place=Zürich |publisher=C. A. Schwetschke & Sohn |language=de |quote=I firmly believe that [Mary], according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin}}</ref> also held this view, as did [[John Wesley]], one of the founders of [[Methodism]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Wesley |first=John |title=The Works of the Rev. John Wesley |page=112 |year=1812 |editor-last=Benson |editor-first=Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZEPAAAAIAAJ |quote=I believe that He was made man, joining the human nature with the divine in one person; being conceived by the singular operation of the Holy Ghost, and born of the blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as before she brought Him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin}}.</ref> ''Eine Christliche Lehrtafel'' (A Christian Catechism), issued by [[Anabaptist]] leader [[Balthasar Hubmaier]], teaches the perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary, too.<ref name="Yarnell2013">{{Cite book |last=Yarnell |first=Malcolm B. |title=The Anabaptists and Contemporary Baptists |publisher=B&H Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-43368174-5 |page=130 |quote=Question 53 of the ''Kinderfragen'' posed, "What do you believe about the Virgin Mary?" It parallesls questions 68 of the ''Lehrtafel'', which solicited, "What do you believe regarding Our Lady? Both catechisms spoke of her perpetual virginity. The ''Kindergragen'' proclaimed "that she was pure before the birth, during the birth, and after the birth, a humble maiden," while the ''Lehrtafel'' declared that "she was a pure, chaste, and spotless Virgin before, during, and after the birth."}}</ref> The Catholic Church, following Jerome, conclude that the ''adelphoi'' were Jesus's cousins, while the Eastern Orthodox Church, following Eusebius and Epiphanius, argue they were Joseph's children from a previous marriage. Lutherans have accepted both views as being valid explanations of the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary.<ref name="LongeneckerGustafson2003">{{Cite book |last=Longenecker |first=Dwight |title=Mary |last2= Gustafson |first2=David |publisher= Gracewing Publishing |year=2003 |isbn= 978-0-85244582-2 |page=64}}</ref><ref name= "Erasmus1998">{{Cite book |last=Erasmus |first= Desiderius |title=Disputatiuncula de Taedio, Pavore, Tristicia Iesu |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year= 1998 |isbn= 978-0-80204309-2 |page=187 |quote=The Lutherans accepted the perpetual virginity of Mary, while rejecting the invocation of the saints.}}</ref><ref name="Futrell2013" />

Other Christian denominations view the ''adelphoi'' as Jesus's half-brothers or do not specify,<ref name= "LongeneckerGustafson2003" /> since the accounts in the Gospels do not speak of Mary's relationship to them but only to Jesus.<ref name= "protestantfam">{{Citation |last= Witherington |first=Ben III |title= Jesus' Extended Family |work=Bible Review |volume= 19 |issue=3 |pages=30–31 |quote=So James, according to this view, would be Jesus' younger half-brother |author-link=Ben Witherington III}}.</ref>

== Absence of Jesus's brothers ==
There are some events in scripture where brothers or sisters of Jesus are not shown, e.g., [[Finding in the Temple|when Jesus was lost in the Temple]] and [[Crucifixion of Jesus|during his crucifixion]]. {{bibleref2|Luke|2:41–51}} reports the visit of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to the [[Second Temple|Temple in Jerusalem]] when Jesus was 12 years old but does not mention any siblings. [[Robert Eisenman]] is of the belief Luke sought to minimise the importance of Jesus's family by whatever means possible, editing James and Jesus's brothers out of the Gospel record.<ref name="Eisenman">{{Citation |last=Eisenman |first=Robert |title=James, the Brother of Jesus |year=2002 |publisher=Watkins}}.</ref> The Catholic apologist [[Karl Keating]] argues Mary and Joseph rushed without hesitation straight back to Jerusalem when they realized Jesus was lost, which they would surely have thought twice about doing if there were other children (Jesus's blood brothers or sisters) to look after.<ref name="Keating" />

The [[Gospel of John]] records the [[Sayings of Jesus on the cross#3. Behold your son: behold your mother|sayings of Jesus on the cross]], i.e., the pair of commands "Woman, behold your son!" and "Behold, thy mother!" ({{bibleref2|John|19:26–27}}), then states "from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home". Since the era of the [[Church Fathers]] this statement has been used to reason that after the death of Jesus there were no other biological children to look after Mary, and she had to be entrusted to the disciple.<ref name="Miravalle2008">Arthur B. Calkins, "Our Lady's Perpetual Virginity," in Mark Miravalle, ed. (2008), ''Mariology: A Guide for Priests, Deacons, Seminarians, and Consecrated Persons'' {{ISBN|978-1-57918-355-4}} pp. 308–309</ref><ref name="Miravalle62">Mark Miravalle, 1993, ''Introduction to Mary'', Queenship Publishing {{ISBN|978-1-882972-06-7}}, pp. 62–63</ref><ref name="KBaker334">''Fundamentals of Catholicism'', Kenneth Baker 1983 {{ISBN |0-89870-019-1}} pp. 334–35</ref> Constantine Zalalas argues it would have been against Jewish custom for Jesus to give his mother to the care of the disciple if Mary had other living sons, because the eldest son would always take responsibility for his mother.<ref>{{Citation |last=Zalalas |first=Constantine |title=Holy Theotokos: Apologetic Study}}.</ref> Karl Keating says, "It is hard to imagine why Jesus would have disregarded family ties and made this provision for his Mother if these four [James, Joseph/Joses, Simon, Jude] were also her sons".<ref name="Keating">{{Citation |last=Keating |first=Karl |title=Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on "Romanism" by "Bible Christians" |page=284 |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qn37ImknvSAC |publisher=Ignatius Press |isbn=978-0-89870-177-7}}</ref> [[Pope]] [[John Paul II]] also says the command "Behold your son!" was the entrustment of the disciple to Mary in order to fill the maternal gap left by the death of her only son on the cross.<ref>''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'', weekly ed. in English, 30 April 1997, p. 11 [http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2bvm49.htm Article at EWTN] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924045920/http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2bvm49.htm |date=24 September 2015 }}</ref> According to [[John of Shanghai and San Francisco]] Joseph’s sons regarded Mary as a stepmother and therefore showed her less care and affection than John, her adopted son.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maximovitch |first=St. John |title=The Orthodox veneration of the Mother of God |publisher=St. Herman of Alaska Press |year=2012 |edition=Fr. Seraphim Rose |pages=33}}</ref>  [[Vincent Taylor (theologian)|Vincent Taylor]] points out difficulties in these interpretations of the text: it ignores both the fact that Jesus's brothers opposed his claims, and the position of honour of John, the [[Disciple whom Jesus loved|beloved disciple]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Taylor |first=Vincent |title=The Gospel According to St Mark |page=248 |year=1952 |place=London |publisher=MacMillan}}</ref>

==Descendants of Jesus's family==
[[File:Eusebius of Caesarea Armenian Gospel Icon.png|thumb|Eusebius of Caesarea, medieval Armenian manuscript from [[Isfahan]], Persia]]

The early Christian historian [[Sextus Julius Africanus]] (died {{circa|240}}), in his "Genealogy of the Holy Gospels", referred to "relatives of our Lord according to the flesh" whom he called ''' ''desposyni'' ''', meaning "from the Lord's family".{{sfn|Rosik|Wojciechowska|2021|p=108}} Of these individuals, only the 2nd century [[Early bishops of Jerusalem|Bishop of Jerusalem]] [[Judah Kyriakos]] is historically attested by name.

==See also==
* [[Gospel of James]]
* [[James Ossuary]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
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* {{Cite book |last=Rosik |first=Mariusz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_jRTEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 |title=A Structural Commentary on the So-Called Antilegomena |last2=Wojciechowska |first2=Kalina |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |year=2021 |isbn=9783525573389 |volume=2. The Letter of Jude: Expecting for the Mercy}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rousseau |first=John J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGlCPgAACAAJ |title=Jesus and His World |last2=Arav |first2=Rami |publisher=Fortress Press |year=1995 |isbn=9780334026266}}
*{{Cite book |last=Schreiner |first=Thomas R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e4LnmpXcy0sC&pg=PA110 |title=Galatians |publisher=Zondervan |year=2011 |isbn=9780310492160}}
*{{Cite book |last=Segal |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VdDm3fXTRkAC&pg=PA184 |title=Tragedy and Civilization: An Interpretation of Sophocles |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=1999 |isbn=9781474230476}}
*{{Cite book |last=Shanks |first=Hershel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnDSKgmm4gEC&pg=PA94 |title=The Brother of Jesus |last2=Witherington |first2=Ben |publisher=A&C Black |year=2003 |isbn=9780826470195}}
* {{Cite book |last=Silver |first=Jesse Forest |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=305QAQAAMAAJ |title=The Lord's Return: Seen in History and in Scripture as Pre-millennial and Imminent |publisher=Fleming H. Revell |year=1914 |page=272 |access-date=1 October 2024}}<!-- normally I would not cite a 1914 book, but it is only here to show that it is not a particularly new insight-->
*{{Cite book |last=Strauss |first=Mark L. |title=The Challenge of Bible Translation |publisher=Zondervan |year=2009 |isbn=9780310321859 |editor-last=Scorgie |editor-first=Glen G. |chapter=Current Issues in the Gender-Language Debate |editor-last2=Strauss |editor-first2=Mark L. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pYkn5RbltmwC&pg=PA134}} 
* {{Cite book |last=Verbrugge |first=Verlyn D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J3gzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15 |title=New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology: Abridged Edition |publisher= Zondervan Academic |year=2017 |isbn= 978-0-310-53755-7 |page=15 |access-date=29 September 2024}}
*{{Cite book |last=Vuong |first=Lily C. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PWifdAZbuugC&pg=PA12 |title=Gender and Purity in the Protevangelium of James |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=2013 |isbn= 9783161523373}}
*{{Cite book |last=Wassen |first=Cecilia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vUgKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |title=Jesus the Apocalyptic Prophet |last2=Hägerland |first2= Tobias |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2021 |isbn= 978-0-56769379-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Witherington |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Witherington III |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QzNgJ_9fOAwC&pg=PA193 |title=The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-rhetorical Commentary |publisher= Eerdmans |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8028-4503-0}}
*{{Cite book |last=Zervos |first=George Thelemis |title=A Feminist Companion to Mariology |publisher=A&C Black |year=2005 |isbn= 978-0-31032185-9 |editor-last=Levine |editor-first= Amy-Jill |chapter=Christmas with Salome |editor-last2=Robbins |editor-first2= Maria Mayo |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZgECo-krHAwC&pg=PA89}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Citation |last=Jerome |title=Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 6 |year=c. 383 |editor-last=Philip Schaff |editor-last2=Henry Wace |editor-last3=Kevin Knight |chapter=The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary – Against Helvidius |chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3007.htm |others=Translated by W.H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W.G. Martley |place=[[Buffalo, New York]] |publisher=Christian Literature Publishing Co. (retrieved from [[New Advent]]) |author-link=Jerome}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Hunter |first=David G. |date=Spring 1993 |title=Helvidius, Jovinian, and the Virginity of Mary in Late Fourth-Century Rome |url=https://www.academia.edu/2428119 |journal=[[Journal of Early Christian Studies]] |volume=1 |pages=47–71 |doi=10.1353/earl.0.0147 |s2cid=170719507 |access-date=2016-08-30 |number=1}}
* {{Citation |last=John J Rousseau, Rami Arav |title=Jesus and His World |year=1995 |chapter=Jesus' Family Tree |chapter-url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/tree.html |publisher=Augsberg Fortress (retrieved from [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]])}}

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