Degree of Consanguinuity Between Jesus and His Brothers
The New Testament names James the Just, Joses, Simon, and Jude as the brothers (Greek adelphoi) of Jesus (Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55, John 7:3, Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 9:5.
The etymology of the word "brother" (a-delphos) originally comes from "of the same womb" ("a-delphys"), though in New Testament usage the Christian and Jewish meaning of "brethren" is wider. However, in Christian tradition there is disagreement from an early date over whether the Greek term adelphos referred to by these narratives are full brothers, half brothers, or merely stepbrothers. According to some scholars the most natural inference from the New Testament is that the adelphoi were children of Mary and Joseph born after Jesus.; Tertullian, possibly Hegesippus, and Helvidius accepted this view In reference to this it is occasionally noted that James (Jacob Iakobos) as oldest of the brothers takes the name of Joseph's father (also James, Iakobos in the Solomonic genealogy of Jesus in Matthew), when in Bible times the grandson occasionally gets the name of the grandfather.
The term "brother" (adelphos) is distinct in Greek from "cousin" (anepsios), and the second-century Christian writer Hegesippus distinguishes between those who were "cousins" of Jesus (anepsioi) and his "brothers."
Read more about this topic: Brothers Of Jesus
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