Who were the “brethren of Jesus” in light of The Perpetual Virginity of Mary?

aka J Shannon

The Biblical and historical records indicate that Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7; Micah 5:2), circa 3-4 BC) which is roughly 107 miles from Nazareth and 7 miles south of Jerusalem, grew into manhood in Nazareth and began a public ministry at roughly thirty years of age in the region of the Sea of Galilee (Referred to in Isaiah 9:1 as Galilee of the Gentiles and in Matthew 4:18, 15:29; Mark 1:16, 7:31; John 6:1), aka Lake Tiberius, also called Lake Kinneret (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 11:2, 13:27) or Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), from which he took many of his disciples. Towns in this area along or close to the lake shore included, Capernaum, Bethsaida. Magdala, Gennesaret, Tiberius with Cana [1] to the west and Nazareth to the southwest. Mount Tabor, the sight of the Transfiguration of Jesus, is in this region as well.

The Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM), the mother of Jesus [2], had a cousin named Elizabeth [3] who was the mother of John the Baptist. [4] The BVM’s father was Joachim and her mother was St. Anne and they had no other indisputably proven children, which would strongly suggest that the BVM had no siblings [5]. St. Anne [6] did have a sister named Sobe who several expositors [7] say was the mother of Elizabeth. If Elizabeth was indeed a first cousin of the BVM, which seems to be the case, then Jesus and John the Baptist were biological second cousins. John the Baptist would be a first cousin (once removed) of the BVM and Jesus would be a first cousin (once removed) of Elizabeth.  

John the Baptist appears to be the only biological relative of Jesus other than the BVM, which in a sense, fits with his role as the one who singularly prepares the way for the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3, 49:1-3; Jeremiah 1:5-9; Mark 1:3; Luke 1:13-17, 57; Luke 3:4; John 1:6-7).  Both John the Baptist and Jesus were murdered by those who resented their preaching/actions and were present together in-utero when the BVM went to visit Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea, after the Angel Gabriel appeared to her at the Annunciation of Christ’s conception (incarnation of God the Son in the flesh, Luke 1:26-45). Recall that it was also the Angel Gabriel who appeared to the priest, Zechariah, husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptist, informing him that he was to have a son (whose name was to be John), despite the advanced age of his wife Elizabeth, who had been barren of children her entire life (Luke 1:5-25). Their linkage/bond was therefore biological [8] and spiritual as well as integral to salvation history [9]. For further details, see Luke 1:5-80.

Salome was the wife of Zebedee who was a successful fisherman based in Capernaum on the northern-most portion of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:21), which at the time was a village not far from Bethsaida (the hometown of Simon [Peter] [10] and Andrew, sons of Jonah aka John, a fisherman, Matthew 16:17). Their children were two apostles named, James, (sometimes referred to as James the greater or older) and John, the apostle Jesus loved (John 13:23, 21:24), also sometimes referred to as John Mark (Matthew 10:2; Matthew 27:56). [11] The apostle John wrote the fourth Gospel, three epistles which bear his name and the Book of Revelation aka The Apocalypse. James [12] the Greater and John were present along with Peter at the transfiguration (Mathew 17:1-8) of Jesus and with him during his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37) when he sweat droplets of blood [13] (Luke 22:44). These three men were part of the original 12 apostles.

Salome is sometimes referred to as Mary of Salome. She was present at the foot of the Cross [14] (Matthew 27:55; Mark 15:40) along with the BVM, Mary Magdelene and Mary of Clopus (Matthew 27:55-56). Salome was also one of the women who went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, along with Mary Magdelene and Mary of Clopus, (Mark 16:1) on the Sunday morning following the Crucifixion of Christ on Friday. The historical and Gospel records indicate that James the Greater, and John, the sons of Salome and Zebedee, were not likely related to Jesus, either biologically or through marriage.

Mary [15], the wife of Alphaeus [16] was the mother of James the Younger aka James the Just and Joseph. James the Younger and Joseph then were the biological sons of Mary of Alpheus and Alpheus. When Alpheus died, she married Clopus. She is referred to as Mary of Clopus aka Cleophas, presumably because she was married twice, the second time to Clopus. She was probably a sister-in-law [17] of the BVM because she was married to Clopus (John 19:25), the presumed (biological) brother [18] of St. Joseph (spouse of the BVM and the foster father and guardian of Jesus). Clopus had children (from his first marriage) named Jude and Simon [19] aka Simeon (Matthew 13:55). St. Joseph was presumably a biological uncle of Jude and Simeon and were therefore his presumed biological nephews. That would make Jesus a first cousin of Jude and Simeon although, not biologically related because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the BVM, without the involvement of a man. [20]

James and Joseph, the sons of Alpheus and Mary of Alpheus, were stepbrothers (through second marriages of their surviving parents), to Simeon and Jude, since they had different fathers and different mothers. James and Joseph would then be stepcousins of Jesus through the marriage of Mary of Clopus and Clopus. None of these four men were biologically related to Jesus (who was not the biological son of St. Joseph, although technically, Clopus would have been a non-biological uncle to Jesus), but instead, were cousins, referred to as his “brethren” in Matthew 13:55 and other well-known passages. [21] The BVM was not their biological mother, but she could have been considered their aunt, through her marriage to St. Joseph (because of his brother Clopus).

James the Younger also called “James the Just” was apparently the first head of the Church in Jerusalem [22] but was not one of the 12 apostles (James the Greater was one of the apostles). James the Younger has been referred to as the “Lord’s brother” (St. Paul used the phrase in Galatians 1:19 where “brother”, like the word “brethren” was used to refer to a relative by marriage in addition to a biological cousin) when, technically, he would have been a non-biological cousin by marriage. [23] Some exegetes teach that these men were biological brothers of Jesus which is not true. We know from many pieces of evidence and by right reason [24], that the only biological child of the BVM was Jesus. Consider that while on the Cross, Jesus instructed his mother to henceforth consider John the apostle her son and John was told to consider her his mother (John 19:26-27). If the BVM had any other biological children, Jesus would have no reason to do this. [25] The idiom of the time was to call relatives such as cousins by the term brethren or even brothers, but this does not mean they were biological brothers (by nature). According to St. Jerome, the term brethren could also be used to refer to close friends or, those who were linked by non-biological kinship, ethnicity/sect etc. [26] The proper conclusion is that Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, had no siblings.

The received teaching from Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, that the BVM was not only a virgin at the conception of Jesus and after His birth (e.g. Matthew 1:25) but perpetually thereafter (by Sacred Tradition [27]), is strongly supported by what has been presented here. In fact, there is nothing in the historical or scriptural record to refute it. As such, the Perpetual Virginity of Mary (PVM) should be believed as an article of Christian faith which serves to make the incarnation of God the Son in the flesh, even more special than it would be, were the PVM not the case (Jesus and His mother being consecrated, life-long virgins). It would be entirely unfitting/unbecoming for the womb and parts of the body that supernaturally contained and birthed God in the flesh, to be subsequently perturbed by anything natural or unnatural thereafter. [28]

John the Apostle was the only one of the 12 apostles not to die for the faith. One wonders whether this was a kind of reward, being that he was the only male disciple who stood by Jesus during His crucifixion. [29] Perhaps he was referred to as “the disciple Jesus loved”, in part because of his unequaled loyalty to Jesus (he could foresee what John would do at the Cross), far in excess of the others who scattered, as Jesus had predicted (John 16:32). John the Apostle was probably the closest human confidant that Jesus had during His life on earth, (second only to His mother, the BVM). In support of this idea is the extensive and detailed account he received of the revelation of Jesus Christ during a rapturous [30] experience while on the island of Patmos, on the Lord’s Day, (Revelation 1:9-10).

Selected References:

Bechtel, Florentine. The Brethren of the Lord. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907.

Carroll, Warren H. The Founding of Christendom (Christendom Press, 1985).

Gospel of Pseudo Matthew, seventh century Latin reworking of the Protoevangelium of James.

Ludolph of Saxony, The Life of Jesus, Part One, Volume 1, chapters 2, 3 and 5, circa 1472.

Prat, Ferdinand. Jesus Christ: His life, His Teaching, and His Work, 2 vols. (Milwaukee, 1950).

St. Jerome. Against Helvetius, circa 383 AD, which includes, the topic, The Perpetual Virginity of Mary.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Third Part, question 29, articles 1 and 2, re: The Espousals of the Mother of God.

The Holy Bible

The Protoevangelium of James, circa 120 AD.

Wong. Christopher Y. Mary of Cleophus, EWTN article.

End Notes:

[1] The site of the first miracle performed by Jesus where he turned water into wine (at the request of His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary), during the wedding feast of Cana, (John 2:1-11).

[2] Scripture clearly teaches that Mary is the mother of Jesus, the Son of God and God in the flesh (Luke 1:31-35, 45; John. 2:1, 3; Acts 1:14). Jesus Christ is also known as the Son of Mary (Mark. 6:3) and the “Son of your handmaid”, a reference to Psalms 86:16, 116:16 and to what the Blessed Virgin Mary said in Luke 1:38. The latter is discussed in The Life of Christ, by Ludolph of Saxony, pages 102-103.

[3] Luke 1:36.

[4] Luke 1:57-64.

[5] See reference #23 below for a counter theory that is discussed in The Life of Christ, by Ludolph of Saxony.  

[6] There is a highly questionable theory that St. Anne had a sister named Hesmonia which is mentioned by Ludolph of Saxony without specific attribution. It appears less likely than the opinion of the Greeks that St. Anne’s sister was named Sobe. See reference 7, below.

[7] The name of Sobe as the possible mother of St. Elizabeth seems to have first been mentioned in the 7th century by Hippolytus of Thebes, Andrew of Crete, Epiphanius Monachus and later by Nicephorus Callistus and Andronicus, all of whom recorded the information found in the following: “There were three sisters of (from) Bethlehem, daughters of Matthan the priest, and Mary his wife… the eldest was (named) Mary, the second was Sobe, the youngest's name was Anne. The eldest being married in Bethlehem, had for a daughter Salome the midwife; Sobe the second likewise married in Bethlehem, and was the mother of Elizabeth; last of all the third (Anne) married in Galilee (Joachim), and brought forth Mary the mother of Christ.”

Whether Salome the midwife, (daughter of the eldest child of Matthan and Mary who was also named Mary) mentioned here as a niece of Anne and Sobe was related to the biblically well-known woman, Mary of Salome, is unknown. It seems unlikely (but possible) since the BVM was a contemporary of Mary of Salome and Salome the midwife would likely be significantly older than the BVM given that her mother was allegedly the oldest and St. Anne the youngest of the children of Matthan the priest and Mary. Nevertheless, if true, it would make Salome the midwife, a first cousin to the BVM just as Elizabeth appears to have been and it would make James the Older and the Apostle John second cousins of Jesus as John the Baptist appears to have been, (assuming that Salome the midwife and Mary of Salome are the same person). There is no evidence in the gospel record that Mary of Salome was a midwife. Therefore, the analysis presented in this piece re: Mary of Salome (wife of Zebedee) having sons who were not biologically related to Jesus should probably stand unless additional evidence is forthcoming.

[8] They were both life-long virgins, like the BVM. Scripture indicates that St. John the Baptist was conceived miraculously (Elizabeth had been baren her entire life) from two human parents, but Jesus was conceived even more miraculously because he had no human father: the Holy Ghost supernaturally conceiving Him in the womb of the BVM.

[9] The prophet Jeremiah foresaw the role of John the Baptist in writing: “Before I formed you in the bowels of your mother I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you, and made you a prophet to the nations…for you shall go to all that I send you and whatever I command you, you shall speak.”, (Jeremiah 1:5,7).

[10] Jesus changed Simon’s name to Cephas (Peter) which means “rock” to indicate that he was to be the one on whom Christ would establish His Church on earth. This is the origin of the Petrine ministry which established Peter as the first leader of the Church on earth. (Matthew 16:16-19; John 21:15-17).

[11] Brothers, James (the Greater) and John as well as brothers, Simon (Peter) and Andrew were from established fishing families who worked on the northern (broadest) portion of the Sea of Galilee.

[12] James the Greater (older), one of the 12 apostles’, was murdered by King Herod Agrippa. “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword.”, (Acts 12:1-2).

[13] A medical condition referred to as hematidrosis which occurs as a result of severe stress through autonomic nervous system activation/discharge.

[14] There were actually 4 Mary’s at the foot of the Cross; the BVM, Mary Magdelene, Mary of Salome, Mary of Clopus in addition to John the Apostle, the only disciple of Jesus who did not abandon him. From the above it seems reasonable to conclude that John the Apostle’s mother (Mary of Salome) was with him at the foot of the Cross. She would have heard Jesus before he died, consign His mother the BVM, to the care of her son, John the Apostle (John 19:26-27) and would have understood that it was because the BVM had no other children.

[15] Mary of Alphaeus was also at the foot of the Cross (Mark 15:40; John 19:25) and came to the tomb (Mark 16:1) along with Mary Magdelene and Mary of Salome.

[16] Alphaeus was the father of James (the younger also known as James the Just), and Joseph.

[17] This hypothesis is discussed by Christopher Y. Wong, in Mary of Cleophus, article found at EWTN website.

[18] In the extensive genealogy of Jesus found in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, Jacob is listed as the father of St. Joseph (Matthew 1:16). Therefore, Jacob was likely the father of Clopus as well, if they were biological brothers.

[19] This Simon aka Simeon was not Simon Peter (Cephas).

[20] “…behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”, (Matthew 1:20-21). Ludolph of Saxony following earlier Christian writers asserts that the name Jesus in Hebrew means savior. Thus, His name is indicative of His purpose/office, as is the word Christ which means redeemer.

[21] St. Jerome, in his written disputation with Helvetius, listed these passages as follows; Matthew 12:46, 13:55-56; Mark 6:3; John 2:12, 7:3-4,5, 10:17; Acts 1:14; 1 Corinthians 9:4-5; Galatians 1:18-19.

[22] James the Younger aka James the Just, is thought to be the author of the New Testament epistle of James.

[23] St. Jerome, representing the Western Tradition of the Church, (in his written disputation with Helvetius), considered the possibility that St. Anne had two daughters; the BVM and Mary of Clopus, (which would make her the biological sister of the BVM). Her sons, James and Joseph, would then be first biological cousins of the Lord Jesus Christ. This seems extremely unlikely however given what is known (from historical, scriptural, the testimony of Sacred Tradition, the second century Protoevangelium aka Apocryphal Gospel of James (representing the Eastern Tradition of the Church), and apocryphal sources such as the Gospel of Pseudo Matthew) many of which include the claim that St. Anne (mother of the BVM) and her husband Joachim promised the Lord that if they were blessed by a child, they would consecrate it to God. Accordingly, from roughly the age of 3, the BVM became a consecrated virgin in the Temple. This was specifically asserted in the Protoevangelium of James, 4:7. Another problem with the idea that Mary of Clopus was the biological sister of the BVM is that St. Anne would not likely have named both daughters Mary. In this regard it should be noted that Ludolph of Saxony in, his, The life of Jesus Christ, Part One, Volume I, page 61), includes a dubious theory in which St. Anne allegedly gave birth to three daughters (all of whom were allegedly named Mary), in succession, by three different fathers after each preceding one had died (Joachim, Clopus [aka Cleophas] and Salomas), and from this one might conclude that the offspring of the other two Mary’s were biological cousins of Jesus. This theory seems highly suspect since it would be rather incredulous for one mother to name three daughters the same thing. Moreover, one of Anne’s husbands, according to this account was the brother of St. Joseph (Clopus) which would mean that the BVM’s mother, married the brother of her son-in-law. While not impossible, it also suggests that Clopus would likely have been a generation older than St. Joseph. There is also the problem under this hypothetical scenario, (Ludolph of Saxony also on p. 61 of his The life of Jesus Christ, suggested that St. Anne’s third husband was Salomas), that instead of calling her Mary of Zebedee (after her husband, Zebedee the Galilean fisherman), whose sons were, James the Greater and John the Apostle, she was allegedly referred to by her father’s name (Mary of Salomas) thus denying her marriage to Zebedee, which would have been contrary to the custom of the time.

The totality of the evidence would seem to fit best with Mary of Clopus being a sister-in-law to the BVM through her marriage to St. Joseph’s brother Clopus (after the death of Alphaeus), since it explains why she was referred to as Mary of Clopus in addition to Mary of Alphaeus. Moreover, since the term sister-in-law was not used in New Testament scripture, it is to be expected that Mary of Clopus might be described as the sister of the BVM.

It should also be noted that St. Jerome did not accept an earlier Christian Church presumption in some quarters, that St. Joseph was a widower with children who later in life took on the task of chaste spouse to the BVM and foster-father and guardian of Jesus. Against Helvetius, he asserted the chaste, life-long virginity of St. Joseph. This view is most compatible with the BVM being the spouse of the Holy Spirit in virtue of His role in the conception of Jesus (the incarnation of God the Son, in the flesh). As a God-fearing Jew, St. Joseph would have been very familiar with the prophetic teaching with respect to how Messiah would come into the world, (the sign expected from the Lord himself was that a virgin would conceive and bear a son who would be called Emanuel, Isaiah 7:14). Recall this: (“When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emman′u-el’ (which means, God with us”, Matthew 1:18-23). St. Joseph would have understood clearly that the Holy Spirit was actually the spouse of the BVM in the flesh (the clear intent of Matthew 1:25 as well, given that it says “He [St. Joseph] knew her not till she brought forth her first-born son and he called his name Jesus”). To have sexual relations with her would have been unthinkable. God clearly places a very high value on virginity. It is logically consistent that He would have the foster father of Jesus be a life-long virgin, especially in view of the BVM’s vow to remain a virgin. Recall that the apostle whom Jesus loved (John) was a life-long virgin as was John the Baptist.

[24] Since we know that Jesus was the first-born son of the BVM (Matthew 1:25), no brothers or sisters could have been born to the BVM prior to the birth of Jesus. There is no mention in the New Testament record of their being any other named children of Mary for example, when she fled with St. Joseph into Egypt, when she returned to Nazareth, when the Holy Family journeyed to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years old, at the wedding feast of Cana or during the subsequent three-year ministry of Jesus. Apparent references to “brethren” of the Lord, the “Lord’s brethren”, brothers or sisters should be understood as referring to cousins, close family friends and or religiously committed followers.

[25] St. Jerome made this point in his written disputation with Helvetius in paragraphs 14 and 15.

[26] See the extensive discussion on this subject in paragraphs 16 and 17 of St. Jerome’s written disputation with Helvetius. Moreover, the word “brethren,” in the widest possible scriptural usage, can refer to a brother, a nephew (Genesis 14:16); a cousin (Numbers 16:10); a husband (Canticles 4:9; Esther 16:12); members of the same race (Numbers 20:14); an ally (Amos 1:9); and a friend (Job 6:15).

[27] Part of this Tradition includes information found in the Protoevangelium of James, circa, 120 AD. For a more detailed discussion, see: What the Early Church Believed: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary | Catholic Answers Tract, which includes a list of Church Fathers who taught the Perpetual Virginity of Mary with some actual quotations from their writings. The PVM was well-established very early, not a later invention.

[28] “You had good reason to be horrified at the thought that another birth might issue from the same virginal womb from which Christ was born according to the flesh. For the Lord Jesus would never have chosen to be born of a virgin if he had ever judged that she would be so incontinent as to contaminate with the seed of human intercourse the birthplace of the Lord’s body, that court of the eternal king” Pope Siricius I, (Letter to Bishop Anysius [A.D. 392]).

[29] In Luke 23:49 we read that “all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee and stood at a distance and saw these things.” Only the 4 Mary’s and St. John the Apostle stood at the foot of the Cross.

[30] The description strongly suggests that John was swept up in the spirit while at prayer, something understood as ecstasy, elevation, transport and in some cases, physical levitation by the great mystics such as St. Francis, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Bernard, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Peter of Alcantara and others.