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Jesus Was An Only Child

CHURCH POSITION

“He came to his hometown and began to teach the people in the synagogue, so they were astounded and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? Are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not his sisters with us’” (Matthew 13: 54-56)
SCHOLARS

"We do not have to see any peculiar significance in the fact that the eldest child of Joseph and Miriam was named Joshua, any more than they called their other sons Jacob, Joseph, Simeon, and Judah." (Schonfield, 1965, p. 52)

"One complication obviously had to be dealt with before the perpetual virgin status of Mary could be affirmed. In the Gospels (John 7:2; Mark 3:1) and in the writing of Paul (Gal 1:19), brothers and sisters of Jesus were mentioned. Slowly but surely these siblings were removed." (Spong, 1992, p. 212)
THE REALITY

The average person believes that Jesus was the only child of Mary and Joseph. Yet the Gospel of John says “…he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.” (John 2:12). The Gospel of Matthew says: “…Is not his mother called Mary? Are not his brothers called James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?” (13:54-56).

 

Some theologians argue that since Mary was a perpetual virgin (semper virgo), it was impossible for Jesus to have brothers or sisters. They argue further that the many references in the New Testament to Jesus’ brothers and sisters refer to stepchildren and/or cousins. The stepchildren theory was adopted by the Eastern Orthodox Church and is often referred to as the Epipanian view, after the Fourth Century bishop Epipanius. He proposed that Joseph had been previously married (for which there is no evidence) and Jesus’ siblings are all half brothers/sisters who are older than he. The cousin theory, adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, and generally referred to as the Hieronymian viewpoint, argues that these children were the children of Mary’s sister-in-law, whose name was also Mary, and who was married to Joseph’s brother, Clopas. Indeed, her sister-in-law Mary did have two children named James and Joseph [1], but no sisters, nor brothers named Simeon and Judah!  Moreover, the Greek text uses the word adelphoi  which is clearly “brother”, not cousin, which would be anepsioi. [2]

 

Previously we discussed the evidence for Mary’s perpetual virginity, which is somewhere between slim and none. Indeed, the evidence we have clearly shows that after Jesus was born, the couple continued to have sexual relations, and the 6 or more siblings of Jesus are the proof of that.

 

The most famous brother of Jesus is James (Ya’akov in Hebrew, Iacobus in Greek, Iacomus in Latin, Jacobus in Germanic, Jaime in Spanish) who led the Jerusalem branch of Jewish Christians (or what some have called “the Jesus cult”) until his murder [3] in 62 A.D.. Known as Jacob (James) the Just, the apostle Paul called him “the Lord’s brother” and acknowledged his supremacy in the early Christ movement. Indeed, when Jesus was asked: “Who is to be our leader” when he departs, Jesus said: “Wherever you are, you are to go to James the righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.” (Gospel of Thomas, v 12) [4]. James the Just was so well known that he is mentioned frequently in the books of Josephus (while Jesus was not) and his tomb was well known and venerated by the early Christians.

 

Jesus’ other brothers were Joseph, Simeon, and Judah (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55-56). He also had two sisters, but they were never named in the Gospels. In the Gospel of Philip, a 2nd century work, she is called Mary. In the Protoevangelium of James, another 2nd century text, she is inferred to be Salome. Epiphanius, a 4th century monk,  refers to these two women as Joseph's daughters by his first wife, and calls them Mary and Salome.  It should be noted that nearly half the women in 1st century israel were either called Mary of Salome. In the Coptic History of Joseph, a 5th century work,  two names are given - Assia and Lydia - and in agreement with Epiphanius, they are said to be Joesph's daughters with his first wife

After the death of James the Just in 62 A.D., his brother Simeon stepped in to continue the leadership of the Jesus cult, and following Simeon’s death, the sons of Judah [5] continued. Following their death, the leadership of the Jesus cult passed out of the hands of the family. Shortly after, it disappeared all together.

12/13/2007

[1] According to Shanks & Witherington (2003), Joseph was the second most common name at that time, and James/Jacob the 12th most common. Jesus was the sixth most common name. Simon/Simeon was the most common name. (p. 56)

[2] The Bible makes use of both of these words, anepsios and adelphos, throughout, so there can be no argument that brother is a generic word used for any male relationship. For example, Paul refers to Mark as the cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10).

[3] The references to James’ murder are indirect. He was stoned, and presumed dead, but his death was never certified. This led to the legends that he survived the stoning and went on to evangelize in France and England, dying in Glastonbury in 82 A.D. (Gardner, 2001).

[4] If you accept the theory that Jesus was the “crown prince” but that his birth had been questionable, then his brother James, next in line, would be the undisputed “crown prince”, and Jesus’ comment here is understandable in that regard.

[5] According to 1 Corinthians (9:5), the “brothers of the Lord” all had wives.
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READER'S FORUM    
Date:     2006-05-23 Username:   drj Helpful:   5 of 6
Most of the paintings of Jesus and his family can be dated from the 8th Century and onwards. These are based on myths and legends.
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Date:     2006-08-27 Username:   jimfoxy Helpful:   3 of 3
I think this is a fair summary of the issue. It seems to me that if the Bible intended for us to believe that Mary and Joseph never had normal marital relations that an entirely different set of terms would have been used. So, I think that your points are well taken. The idea that Joseph was an elderly widower seems to be a late tradition. I don't see any mention of it in scripture.
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Date:     2007-12-06 Username:   Pantera Helpful:   2 of 3
Yeshu's brothers were named Yaa'kov ("haTzaddik"- The Righteous), Yoset, Shimeon ("haToma' - the Twin) and Yehuda. His sisters were named Miriyam (Mary) and Shlomet (Salome) in Aramaic. Yaa'kov, or James, sometimes called Oblias ("bulwark"), was the Mebekkar or leader of the Jesus cult until his death in 62CE. Yaa'kov was said to have taken the vows of a Nazarene, allowing his beard and hair to grow. After Yaa'kov's assassination, another of Jesus' brothers, Shimeon (Simon) assumed the mantle of leadership. This dynastic succession continued (through the line of Yoset) until circa 140 CE. Judah, the last "Jewish Christian or Ebionite" bishop, outlived the Bar Kochba rebellion, (132-135 C.E.) until the eleventh year of the reign of Antoniunus Pius. The designation appended to his name, "Kuriakos" (kyriakos), indicates that Bishop Judah was descended from the family of Jesus. Eusebius reports that the Desposyni [the Master's relatives], all descendants of Jesus, survived to become leaders of various "Christian" churches, according to a strict dynastic succession. Malachai Martin writes that Pope Silvster the First ordered Jesus' descendants hunted down and killed to ensure the Roman Papal primacy.
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Date:     2007-12-08 Username:   gkhaas Helpful:   2 of 2
Thanks, Pantera. You have any citations -- names of works, and coordinates (page number, whatever) within the work-- for these very specific assertions?
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Date:     2007-12-09 Username:   drj Helpful:   2 of 2
Hi GK and Pantera. The gospels tell us only that Jesus had sisters (Matthew 13:56) but doesn't say how many. The Protoevangelium of James says there were 2 and gives them the names Melkha and Eskha. Epiphanius in the 4th century also refers to them but gives them the names Mary and Salome and claims they are half sisters. Another 4th century work, History of Joseph, gives them the names Lydia and Assia.
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Date:     2007-12-10 Username:   Pantera Helpful:   3 of 3
Yes, gkhass ____ Jesus’ brothers are of course mentioned in several Bible verses. Matthew 12:46, Luke 8:19, and Mark 3:31 say that Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. The Bible tells us that Jesus had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Matthew 13:55). The Bible also tells us that Jesus had sisters, but they are not named or numbered in the Bible (Matthew 13:56). In John 7:1-10, His brothers go on to the festival while Jesus stays behind. In Acts 1:14, His brothers and mother are described as praying with the disciples. Later, in Galatians 1:19, it mentions that James was Jesus’ brother. The most natural conclusion of these passages is to interpret that Jesus had actual blood siblings. Eusebius confirms that James was Jesus' genetic brother "in the flesh." The Desposyni are mentioned by Hegissipus (c.110-c.180) in a lost work, fragments of which are are quoted by Eusebius in Historia Ecclesiae, 3.20. Among them is the following note, ascribed to the reign of Domitian (81-96 CE): " There still survived of the kindred of the Lord the grandsons of Judas, who according to the flesh was called his brother. These were informed against, as belonging to the family of David, and Evocatus brought them before Domitian Caesar: for that emperor dreaded the advent of Christ, as Herod had done. So he asked them whether they were of the family of David; and they confessed they were. Next he asked them what property they had, or how much money they possessed. They both replied that they had only 9000 denaria between them, each of them owning half that sum; but even this they said they did not possess in cash, but as the estimated value of some land, consisting of thirty-nine plethra only, out of which they had to pay the dues, and that they supported themselves by their own labour. And then they began to hold out their hands, exhibiting, as proof of their manual labour, the roughness of their skin, and the corns raised on their hands by constant work. Being then asked concerning Christ and His kingdom, what was its nature, and when and where it was to appear, they returned answer that it was not of this world, nor of the earth, but belonging to the sphere of heaven and angels, and would make its appearance at the end of time, when He shall come in glory, and judge living and dead, and render to every one according to the course of his life. Thereupon Domitian passed no condemnation upon them, but treated them with contempt, as too mean for notice, and let them go free. At the same time he issued a command, and put a stop to the persecution against the Church. When they were released they became leaders of the churches, as was natural in the case of those who were at once martyrs and of the kindred of the Lord. And, after the establishment of peace to the Church, their lives were prolonged to the reign of Trajan." Fr. Malachi Martin, a member of the Vatican advisory council and a Vatican librarian, noted in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church" that: "...A meeting between Sylvester (Pope Sylvester I) and the Jewish Christian leaders took place in 318 C.E....The vital interview was not, as far as we know, recorded but the issues were very well known and it is probable that Joses, the oldest of the Christian Jews, spoke on behalf of the Desposyni and the rest." "...That most hallowed name, Desposyni, had been respected by all believers in the first century and a half of Christian history. The word literally meant, in Greek, "belonging to the Lord." It was reserved uniquely for Jesus' blood relatives. Every part of the ancient Jewish Christian church had always been governed by a desposynos, and each of them carried one of the names traditional in Jesus' family---Zachary, Joseph, John, James, Joses, Simeon, Matthias, and so on. But no one was ever called Jesus. Neither Sylvester nor any of the thirty-two popes before him, nor those succeeding him, ever emphasized that there were at least three well-known and authentic lines of legitimate blood descent from Jesus' own family..." "...The Desposyni demanded that Sylvester, who now had Roman patronage, revoke his confirmation of the authority of the Greek Christian bishops at Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Ephesus, and in Alexandria, and to name desposynos bishops to take their place. They asked that the practice of sending cash to Jerusalem as the mother church be resumed... These blood relatives of Christ demanded the reintroduction of the Law [Torah], which included the Sabbath and the Holy Day system of Feasts and New Moons of the Bible. Sylvester dismissed their claims and said that, from now on, the mother church was in Rome and he insisted they accept the Greek bishops to lead them." "...It was the last known discussion between the Jewish Christians of the original mother church and the non-Jewish Christians of the new “Christian” church. By his adaptation, Silvester, backed by Constantine, had decided that the message of Jesus was to be couched in Western terms by Western minds on an imperial model. The Jewish Christians had no place in such a church structure. They managed to survive until the first decades of the fifth century. Then, one by one, they disappear.... But most of them die---by the sword (Roman garrisons hunted them as outlaws), by starvation (they were deprived of their small farms and could not or would not adapt themselves to life in the big cities), by the attrition of zero birthrate....The desposyni have ceased to exist. Everywhere, the Roman Pope commands respect and exercises authority." (Martin, Putnam & Sons, 1981) I'll have to check my notes on Jesus' sisters and get back to you
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Date:     2007-12-22 Username:   rabbiray1 Helpful:   0 of 4
Yeshuah was the only child of Mairiam but not of Yesuf. Yesuf was 35 years of age but Mairiam was only 14 years of age......
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Date:     2008-01-04 Username:   drj Helpful:   2 of 2
Hi Rabbi. There is nothing in the gospels that indicates Joseph's age. Indeed, it was the custom for men at that time to be married before the age of 20. The idea that Joseph was an "old" or "older man" is part of the mythology that grew up in order to defend the perpetual virginity of Mary and to de-emphasize the important of the family of Jesus who had their own sect and who competed with the other early Christian sects for power and members. If they accepted the idea that Jesus had blood brothers it would have been expected, in those dynastic days, that the surviving blood relatives would lead the movement. But the non Jewish movement did not have blood relatives in it, and hence the effort to create the "old" and "widower" stories about Joseph and the changes in the gospel accounts to remove the influence and involvement of his family. Having said that, if you have some evidence for what you're saying, we'd certainly like to look at it.
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Date:     2008-01-05 Username:   Pantera Helpful:   2 of 2
rabbiray1 - "Rebbenu," you say Miriam was 14? That's almost an old maid. ;) Back then the age of consent was set at the first niddah, which could be as young as nine (the prophet Muhahhad - PBBH- had a wife exactly that age). "Yeshuah was the only child of Mairiam?" What about Yeshu's brothers Yoset, Yaa'cov, Yudah("ha-Toma"), and Shimeon? To perpetuate Mary's status as "ever virgin," the Roman Catholic Church has long asserted they were actually step-bothers, the sons of Yusef by a previous marriage. I've never seen convincing proof, however. What's your source for Yusef and Miriam's ages? There's been much speculation on this. Got citations?
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Date:     2008-01-17 Username:   rabbiray1 Helpful:   0 of 1
I was raised in a Jewish home and Miriam would have had to first go through her "bat-mitsvah" before she could have been given in marriage and a girl will go to her "bat-mitsvah" at age 13
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Date:     2008-03-23 Username:   rambux Helpful:   1 of 1
The notion of Mary and Jospeh being perpetually chaste (and Jesus therefore having no brothers and sisters) is, of course, a myth perpetuated by the Church of Rome. Interesting how the author quotes scripture here without question (in contrast to the bit about the empty tomb and Jesus living in Nazareth). Not that I think hie's wrong in this case, it just reveals an inconsistency in his treatment of topics.
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Date:     2008-04-27 Username:   rambux Helpful:   0 of 1
I think the author of the article needs to be more precise in his article about who he is addressing. Many established traditions of Christianity have ALWAYS accepted that Jesus had sibblings.
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Date:     2008-05-28 Username:   OldScribe Helpful:   1 of 1
I cover this issue in depth ay http://www.historian.net/jesfam.html The first stratum material clearly shows someone born in the normal manner and with at least 6 younger siblings.
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Date:     2008-05-28 Username:   DavidGibbs Helpful:   1 of 1
All four Gospels as well as the writings of Paul say that Jesus had brothers and sisters. There is no getting away from that. However, if you believe this, the Roman Church says that you are going to roast in hall. They have the keys to the kingdom of Heaven and they will not let you in if you disagree with them. So you are given a choice. Mary's birth canal was a one way street. No brothers, no sisters, no sinful sexual intercourse. Sex is sinful unless you have it with the Holy Ghost. Mary was without sin.
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Date:     2008-07-31 Username:   nikoladdimitrov Helpful:   1 of 1
Of course Jesus was not the only child - He was the firstborn child of Joseph and Mary. After Jesus, they had several other children - boys and girls. Please find more info about Jesus at the Life of Jesus web site.
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Date:     2008-08-02 Username:   Pantera Helpful:   0 of 0
DavidGibbs - The Church of Rome also says the Holy Spirit impregnated Miriam magically, through her auditory canal (the left one, I think). "Eary", isn't it? Rome may have they keys, but the door is not locked. Never was.
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Date:     2009-07-13 Username:   LadySidhe Helpful:   1 of 1
I find it interesting that the more fundamentalist groups insist upon this "perpetual virginity" idea. According to the bible, God said "Go forth and multiply." Seems pretty straightforward to me. It was Saul/Paul who had a bug in his ear about sex, and modern christianity is directly descended from the teachings of that misogynistic nutball.
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