Catholic Encyclopedia: Brethren of the Lord, The
A group of persons closely connected with the Saviour appears repeatedly in the New
Testament under the designation "his brethren" or "the brethren of the Lord" (Matt
12:46, 13:55; Mark 3:31-32, 6:3; Luke 8:19-20; John 2:12, 7:3-5; Acts 1:14; I Cor 9:5). Four
such "brethren" are mentioned by name in the parallel texts of Matt 13:55 and Mark 6:3
(where "sisters" are also referred to), namely, James (also mentioned Gal 1:19), Joseph,
or Joses, Simon, and Jude; the incidental manner in which these names are given,
shows, however, that the list lays no claim to completeness. Two questions in
connexion with these "brethren" of the Lord have long been, and are still now more
than ever, the subject of controversy: (1) The identity of James, Jude, and Simon; (2) The
exact nature of the relationship between the Saviour and his "brethren".
(1) James is without doubt the Bishop of Jerusalem (Acts 12:17, 15:13, 21:18; Gal 1:19;
2:9-12) and the author of the first Catholic Epistle. His identity with James the Less
(Mark 15:40) and the Apostle James, the son of Alpheus (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18),
although contested by many Protestant critics, may also be considered as certain. There
is no reasonable doubt that in Gal 1:19: "But other of the apostles [besides Cephas] I saw
non, saving James the brother of the Lord", St. Paul represents James as a member of
the Apostolic college. The purpose for which the statement is made, makes it clear that
the "apostles" is to be taken strictly to designate the Twelve, and its truthfulness
demands that the clause "saving James" be understood to mean, that in addition to
Cephas, St. Paul saw another Apostle, "James the brother of the Lord" (cf. Acts 9:27).
Besides, the prominence and authority of James among the Apostles (Acts 15:13; Gal
2:9; in the latter text he is even named before Cephas) could have belonged only to one
of their number. Now there were only two Apostles names James: James the son of
Zebedee, and James the son of Alpheus (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13).
The former is out of the question, since he was dead at the time of the events to which
Acts 15:6ssq., and Gal 2:9-12 refer (cf. Acts 12:2). James "the brother of the Lord" is
therefore one with James the son of Alpheus, and consequently with James the Less, the
identity of these two being generally conceded. Again, on comparing John 19:25 with
Matt 27:56, and Mark 15:40 (cf. Mark 15:47; 16:1), we find that Mary of Cleophas, or
more correctly Clopas (<Klopas>), the sister of Mary the Mother of Christ, is the same
as Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joseph, or Joses. As married women are
not distinguished by the addition of their father's name, Mary of Clopas must be the
wife of Clopas, and not his daughter, as has been maintained. Moreover, the names of
her sons and the order in which they are given, no doubt the order of seniority, warrant
us in identifying these sons with James and Joseph, or Joses, the "brethren" of the Lord.
The existence among the early followers of Christ of two sets of brothers having the
same names in the order of age, is not likely, and cannot be assumed without proof.
Once this identity is conceded, the conclusion cannot well be avoided that Clopas and
Alpheus are one person, even if the two names are quite distinct. It is, however, highly
probable, and commonly admitted, that Clopas and Alpheus are merely different
transcriptions of the same Aramaic word Halphai. James and Joseph the "brethren" of
the Lord are thus the sons of Alpheus.
Of Joseph nothing further is known. Jude is the writer of the last of the Catholic
Epistles (Jude 1). He is with good reason identified by Catholic commentators with the
"Judas Jacobi" ("Jude the brother of James" in the Douay Version) of Luke 6:16 and Acts
1:13, otherwise known as Thaddeus (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18). It is quite in accordance
with Greek custom for a man to be distinguished by the addition of his brother's name
instead of his father's, when the brother was better known. That such was the case
with Jude is inferred from the title "the brother of James", by which he designates
himself in his Epistle. About Simon nothing certain can be stated. He is identified by
most commentators with the Symeon, or Simon, who, according to Hegesippus, was a
son of Clopas, and succeeded James as Bishop of Jerusalem. Some identify him with
the Apostle Simon the Cananean (Matt 10:4; Mark 3:18) or the Zealot (Luke 6:15; Acts
1:13). The grouping together of James, Jude or Thaddeus, and Simon, after the other
Apostles, Judas Iscariot excepted, in the lists of the Apostles, (Matt 10:4-5; Mark 3:18;
Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13) lends some probability to this view, as it seems to indicate some
sort of connexion between the three. Be this as it may, it is certain that at least two of
the "brethren" of Christ were among the Apostles. This is clearly implied in 1 Cor 9:5:
"Have we not the power to carry about a woman, a sister, as well as the rest of the
apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?" The mention of Cephas at the end
indicates that St. Paul, after speaking of the Apostles in general, calls special attention
to the more prominent ones, the "brethren" of the Lord and Cephas. The objection that
no "brethren" of the Lord could have been members of the Apostolic college, because
six months before Christ's death they did not believe in Him (John 7:3-5), rests on a
misunderstanding of the text. His "brethren" believed in his miraculous power, and
urged him to manifest it to the world. Their unbelief was therefore relative. It was not
a want of belief in His Messiahship, but a false conception of it. They had not yet rid
themselves of the Jewish idea of a Messiah who would be a temporal ruler. We meet
with this idea among the Apostles as late as the day of the Ascension (Acts 1:6). In any
case the expression "his brethren" does not necessarily include each and every
"brother", whenever it occurs. This last remark also sufficiently answers the difficulty
in Acts 1:13-14, where, it is said, a clear distinction is made between the Apostles and
the "brethren" of the Lord.
(2) The texts cited at the beginning of this article show beyond a doubt that there
existed a real and near kinship between Jesus and His "brethren". But as "brethren" (or
"brother") is applied to step-brothers as well as to brothers by blood, and in Scriptural,
and Semitic use generally, is often loosely extended to all near, or even distant,
relatives (Gen 13:8, 14:14-16; Lev 10:4; 1 Par 15:5-10, 23:21-22), the word furnishes no
certain indication of the exact nature of the relationship. Some ancient heretics, like
Helvidius and the Antidicomarianites, maintained that the "brethren" of Jesus were His
uterine brothers the sons of Joseph and Mary. This opinion has been revived in
modern times, and is now adopted by most of the Protestant exegetes. On the orthodox
side two views have long been current. The majority of the Greek Fathers and Greek
writers, influenced, it seems, by the legendary tales of apocryphal gospels, considered
the "brethren" of the Lord as sons of St. Joseph by a first marriage. The Latins, on the
contrary, with few exceptions (St. Ambrose, St. Hilary, and St. Gregory of Tours among
the Fathers), hold that they were the Lord's cousins. That they were not the sons of
Joseph and Mary is proved by the following reasons, leaving out of consideration the
great antiquity of the belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary. It is highly significant
that throughout the New Testament Mary appears as the Mother of Jesus and of Jesus
alone. This is the more remarkable as she is repeatedly mentioned in connexion with
her supposed sons, and, in some cases at least, it would have been quite natural to call
them her sons (cf. Matt 12:46; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19; Acts 1:14). Again, Mary's annual
pilgrimage to Jerusalem (Luke 2:41) is quite incredible, except on the supposition that
she bore no other children besides Jesus. Is it likely that she could have made the
journey regularly, at a time when the burden of child-bearing and the care of an
increasing number of small children (she would be the mother of at least four other
sons and of several daughters, cf Matt 13:56) would be pressing heavily upon her? A
further proof is the fact that at His death Jesus recommended His mother to St. John. Is
not His solicitude for her in His dying hour a sign that she would be left with no one
whose duty it would be to care for her? And why recommend her to an outsider if she
had other sons? Since there was no estrangement between Him and His "brethren", or
between them and Mary, no plausible argument is confirmed by the words with which
he recommends her: <ide ho uios sou>, with the article before <uios> (son); had there
been others sons, <ide uios sou>, without the article, would have been the proper
expression.
The decisive proof, however, is that the father and mother of at least two of these
"brethren" are known to us. James and Joseph, or Joses, are, as we have seen, the sons
of Alpheus, or Clopas, and of Mary, the sister of Mary the Mother of Jesus, and all
agree that if these are not brothers of the Saviour, the others are not. This last argument
disposes also of the theory that the "brethren" of the Lord were the sons of St. Joseph by
a former marriage. They are then neither the brothers nor the step-brothers of the
Lord. James, Joseph, and Jude are undoubtedly His cousins. If Simon is the same as
the Symeon of Hegesippus, he also is a cousin, since this writer expressly states that he
was the son of Clopas the uncle of the Lord, and the latter's cousin. But whether they
were cousins on their father's or mother's side, whether cousins by blood or merely by
marriage, cannot be determined with certainty. Mary of Clopas is indeed called the
"sister" of the Blessed Virgin (John 19:25), but it is uncertain whether "sister" here
means a true sister or a sister-in-law. Hegesippus calls Clopas the brother of St. Joseph.
This would favour the view that Mary of Clopas was only the sister-in-law of the
Blessed Virgin, unless it be true, as stated in the MSS. of the Peshitta version, that
Joseph and Clopas married sisters. The relationship of the other "brethren" may have
been more distant than that of the above named four.
The chief objection against the Catholic position is taken from Matt 1:25: "He [Joseph]
knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son"; and from Luke 2:7: "And she
brought forth her firstborn son". Hence, it is argued, Mary must have born other
children. "Firstborn" (<prototokos>), however, does not necessarily connote that other
children were born afterwards. This is evident from Luke 2:23, and Ex 13:2-12 (cf.
Greek text) to which Luke refers. "Opening the womb" is there given as the equivalent
of "firstborn" (<prototokos>). An only child was thus no less "firstborn" than the first of
many. Neither do the words "he knew her not till she brought forth" imply, as St.
Jerome proves conclusively against Helvidius from parallel examples, that he knew her
afterwards. The meaning of both expressions becomes clear, if they are considered in
connexion with the virginal birth related by the two Evangelists.
For the Cousin Theory: St. JEROME, <Adv. Helvid.> in <P.L.>, XXIII; MILL,
<Pantheistic Principles>, 220-316; VIGOUROUX, <Les Livres saints et la critique>, V,
397-420; CORLUY, <Les frères de N.S.J. C.> in <Etudes> (1878), I, 5, 145;
MEINERTZ, <Der Jacobusbrief und sein Verfasser> (Freiburg im Br., 1905), 6-54;
CORNELY, <Introductio> (Paris, 1897), III, 592 sqq.; SCHEGG, <Jacobus der
Br¨der des Herrn> (Munich, 1883); LAGRANGE in <Rev. Bibl.> (1906), 504, 505.
For the Step-Brother Theory : LIGHTFOOT, <Comm. on Gal.>, 252-291. For the
Helvidian View : HASTINGS, <Dict. Bib.>, I, 320; ZAHN, <Forschungen>, VI,
<Brueder und Vettern Jesu> (Leipzig, 1900).
F. BECHTEL
Transcribed by Gerard Haffner
Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).
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