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Did Jesus have any siblings?
Kareena, Sydney Australia
- Hung Hsiu-ch'uan, leader of the nineteenth-century Taiping Rebellion in China, claimed to be the "younger brother of Jesus Christ".
A. Morton, Bangkok Thailand
- The scriptures suggest that this is the case: "Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?" (Matthew 13.54-56). Matthew 1.25 also implies the married couple assumed a normal relationship following the birth of Jesus: "but [Joseph] knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus." Emphasis on the word "until".The Roman Catholic church explains away these and other statements as being metaphorical, referring to cousins and disciples. With such reliance placed upon metaphors, one could equally argue then that "son of God" is also a metaphor.
Terence Hollingworth, Blagnac France
- The Pope says "no". The Bible says "yes". You work it out.
Garrick Alder, London
- Well, I heard from a scholar type person on TV (so it has to be true) that Joseph's marriage to Mary was his second and that he had fathered 8 kids previously.Can anyone shed light on this? I guess that a chance of a virgin birth gave him a break.
Mark Butcher, Geneva, Switzerland
- According to the film 'Dogma' by Kevin Smith he did have siblings, one of whose descendants was Linda Fiorentino
Frances Foster, Leicester, UK
- Barabra Thiering's book "Jesus the Man", based upon an interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls is a good guide. She says that Jesus's brother James was, for some time, a political rival to Jesus. As they both were, through Joseph, decendants of David they had claims to be regarded as King. Jesus was "revolutionary" in that he thought he could be a priest as well, despite not being a Levite. Even if you believe in Christianity (she dismisses the virgin birth, etc as metaphorical) or not it's an excellent book.
richard, london uk
- If the Vatican deny it, it must be true
Paul Jarvis, Glasgow Scotland
- Since Jesus was the son of God and Mary, any other children of Mary would have beeb half-brothers and -sisters at best. Other children of Joseph would not be siblings.
Martin Pitt, Sheffield UK
- While this answer may be treated with suspicion by some who love to disagree with anything the Catholic Church teaches, it is the case that the Church affirms definitively that Mary was a perpetual virgin. This means (1) she was a virgin when Jesus was conceived, (2) she remained a virgin despite childbirth, (3) she did not have sexual relations, and therefore no other children.The Bible does not comment on this question specifically, but the saints and the tradition of the church have been very clear on this matter. The Bible certainly does not say that Mary had other children - references to brothers and sisters of Jesus must be understood in context. In many ancient languages, such words were used as synonyms for "kinsmen", "cousins", etc. I'm sure this answer will be virulently attacked, but the perpetual virginity of Mary is a defined dogma of the Catholic church.
Kurt Barragan, London
- Jesus had two half brothers. They were half because they were Mary and Joseph's, whereas Jesus was Mary and God's.
Lyndsey,
- Referring back to Frances Foster's mention of the film 'Dogma'. The dead man, Rufus, says to Jesus' great (x8) niece 'to believe in a virgin birth requires a leap of faith - to believe that a man remains married for the rest of his life and not have sex with his wife is sheer gullibility'. See the film, anything that casts Alanis Morrisette as God has to be worth a viewing!
Mark Butcher, Geneva Switzerland
- Certainly, the Bible mentions some of Jesus' siblings by name (Joseph, James, Judas, Simon - Mark 6:3). There is even some speculation that the latter of these three were three of the apostles. (ie. James = James The Less, Judas = Jude The Obscure, Simon = Simon The Zealot). However a reference to James The Less as the son of "Alphaeus" (Mark 3:18) seems to contradict this. (Having said that, in the different Gospels various names are given for some of the Apostles: eg. Levi=Matthew, so Alphaeus may be another name for Jesus' (Step-)Father Joseph.) A very strong suggestion that James The Less was Jesus' brother comes in Galatians 1:18-19 where Paul writes "I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles - only James, the Lord's brother" although admittedly, the interpretation is ambiguous and could mean that the James referred to was not an apostle, or that he was. Another indication that Jude The Obscure was brother to James The Less (and therefore possibly also to Jesus) comes in Jude's own epistle, which opens "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,". Also notice the stylistic similarities between the epistles of Jude and of James. Any suggestion that Mary preserved her virginity after the birth of Christ is nonsense. There is now biblical basis for it, only a dogmatic tradition. Indeed Matthew 1:25 "He [Joseph] had no union with her [Mary] until she gave birth to a son." undeniably states that the pair had a sexual relationship after the birth of Christ.
Matt Becker, Oxford UK
- Yes, he had sisters and brothers.it's mentioned in the bible. Thomas is considered to be his twin brother as Thomas (two mass) means twin birth. If he had been a bachelor at the age of 33 he would not have had any credibility in that society. Children were betrothed at 14, married by at the latest 21 and were expected to be breeding up to the very high kill off rate that existed then. He also had a son Barabbas by his wife Mary Magdalin (the most slandered woman in history). After Jesus had tried, as the son of David, to wrest the throne from the Romans, Barabbas had to be saved as when he was old enough he had to try. Also virgin birth is as common as dish water in many societies still. In Latin and in those times virgin meant 'girl who has yet to menstruate'. If a married girl's first ovum was fertilised she would have given birth before she had ever menstruated and thus would experience a 'virgin' birth. By that definition of virgin, virgin birth is nothing special.
Richard Hines, Perth Western Australia
- I don't know about his siblings, but his mother Mary's sister is the Auntie Christ.
Richard Walbrook, Derby, England
- In middle eastern Jewish tradition, the body was left to rot, the bones collected, and the remains reburied in ossuaries.There is an ossuary, currently, I believe, on show in Toronto, which bears the inscription 'James, brother of Jesus'. Jesus was a relatively popular name, so to speculate that it is the brother of Christ is maybe pushing it, but some believe it.
John, Leicester UK
- An acquaintance of my mother's once said: "If it were good to have siblings, then Jesus would have had some too!"
Magdalena, Prague, Czech Republic
- According to Mark 6:3 Jesus had four brothers (and two sisters): "Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" Given that brother here is used in the same context as mother it is likely the author means that Mary did indeed have other children.
Nick, Ormsteel Bolivia
- Have any of the people so glibly quoting the Bible (especially those who keep talking about this 'until' business) actually read the bible in the original tongue? I always understood that the translations were pretty haphazard - and some of the quotes appear to be from the 'Good News' Bible, which is not even a good modernization of the King James! Doesn't this make such quibbles rather meaningless?
P aul, Prague Czech Rep
- The good news bible is NOT a translation of the king james bible, it is a more accurate translation from the original texts, utilising more accurate modern understanding of the ancient languages. That people consider the KJB to be the definitive translation when many modern ones are more accurate and much more easily understood seems strange to me. Not an answer to the question i know but a useful point nonetheless!
steve b, london uk
- I do know a little of the original Greek. The original Greek (Textus Receptus) of Matthew 1:26 describes Jesus as "protokon", which is "first". If Jesus had been Mary's only child, it would have used something like "monogene" - "only".
Simon Richardson, London, UK
- Who cares? The really interesting point is that this (semi-)mythological character seems to have turned out pretty well in spite of his father's homicidal tendencies and liking for plagues etc. Maybe having an absent father isn't such a bad thing after all.
Ian Iles, Taunton, UK
- To understand what Matthew means when he says "He (Joseph) had no union with her (Mary) UNTIL she gave birth to a son", one only has to look at the Hebrew meaning of "until" and other references in the bible. "Until" makes reference to ONLY the time that has passed before the occurence; therefore meaning "before". It does not mean that Joseph necessarily had relations with Mary after this time. Two examples in the bible which support this: 1 Timothy 4:13 "Till I come, attend to reading, to exhortation, and to the doctrine". This clearly doesn't mean that they should stop this when he returns, but rather "while I am gone". Another example from Psalms 109:1 "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit Thou at my right hand UNTIL I make Thy enemies Thy footstool". We know that that the Lord is eternally at God's right hand and not just "until" he makes His enemies His footstool.As for Jesus having siblings, the use of word "firstborn" is not meant to suggest that Mary had other children after Jesus, but that she bore no child prior to this. According to the Law of Moses, "thou shalt dedicate the first born of every household" (Exodus 13:11-16).When Matthew refers to Jesus' "brothers" (James, Joseph, Simon and Judas) and "sisters", since the bible never mentions that Mary bore other children, it is likely that they were his cousins or nephews. According to Jewish custom, as is African languages, there are no special terms for various degrees in family relationships, so cousins and nephews are all included as brother and sister. Lot and Abraham were refered to as "brothers" although the bible later describes them as uncle/nephew. "Thare's sons were called Abraham, Nachor and Aran; and Aran had a son called Lot" (Gen 13:8).
Chris Fowler, Mountain View, California, USA
- The word "brethren" is translated from the Greek word for "brother" -- "adelphos." This word may mean a spiritual brother, but it does not mean "cousin." The English word "cousin" in Luke 1:36 and 58 is translated from "suggenes" in the original Greek. This clearly shows that the New Testament, when referring to Jesus' family, makes them brothers and not cousins.In Matthew 1:25 we find that Christ is called the "FIRSTBORN" son of Mary. The word "firstborn" is translated from the Greek word, "prototokon" which means the firstborn among other children -- the oldest of several children in a family. If Jesus had been Mary's ONLY child, the Greek word "monogenes," meaning "only child," would have been used in the original Greek text. Jesus was the "only begotten" human son of the Heavenly Father (John 1:18). But He was the "first born" -- not an "only child" -- of Mary!As a final proof that Jesus Christ was not the ONLY CHILD of His mother, let us turn to Psalm 69:8, which all Bible scholars recognize as a prophecy concerning Christ. In this scripture we read, "I am become a stranger unto MY BRETHREN, and an alien unto MY MOTHER'S CHILDREN." Christ certainly was speaking of His PHYSICAL mother and brethren -- blood relatives -- in this prophecy. Christ's spiritual mother is the Church (Rev. 12:1-5) and His spiritual brethren are His followers -- those who compose the true Church today (Matt. 12:49-50, Rom. 8:16-17,29).
Ramon Sandoval, Smithfield, Virginia United States
- Considering that Jesus was created by his father, god, and then god went on to create all the other angels (including the ones who became the devil and his demons), then Jesus' brothers/sisters are all the angels AND Satan, himself!Then, once on the planet in human form, if he did have any (half) brothers or sisters, this would be the start of his second family.If god created us in his own likeness and shows us the way by example, then with all the divorces, re-marrying, adoption of one's new partner's children.... aren't we now, in contemporary society, just starting to achieve god's great plan.I've got a wayward brother who's been married a few times (4 kids by different mothers), I also have quite a few half nephews/nieces, etc.So what's all this rubbish about staying married and not spreading your oats -- god does it.
Johnathan Wilkinson, Surabaya Indonesia
- Jesus had a twin brother called Thomas. The name derives from the Hebrew word "teoom" meaning twin. Thomas doubted his brother's claims, hence he was called "doubting Thomas"
Hamish McSmall, Dundee Scotland
- Ask his Father.
Iain Stewart, Sydney, Australia
- Isn't is weird that sometimes (for instance when it comes to the question of hom*osexuality) the bible, even at its most confusing, is considered definitive; yet other times the same bible, at its clearest, (for instance when telling us the names of Jesus' siblings) is apparently "open to interpretation"... the thought also occurs that, surely for Jesus to be the "everyman" he is sold as, he must've had some sex somewhere along the way; equally, there are few men who would accept a sexless marriage in these "enlightened" times - one can hardly imagine poor old Joseph schlepping around with his Missus and not expecting a bit of how's-yer-father.
Gerry, Edinburgh
- This question is far more open than people think. Many people will simply point to the Bible and say "see, it says it right there". But this reading is largely based on a misunderstanding of how family relationships work in other cultures. Europe is rather unique in how it strictly defines familial relations. In many cultures, there is no distinction made between ones cousins (sometimes only on a certain side of the family) and ones direct brothers and sisters. It just so happens that the ancient Hebrews had such a culture. In fact, Arimaic lacks ANY word that distiguishes ones cousins from ones siblings. This is something the people back then would have understood, but was slowly "lost in translation" as time passed on.Tradition, on the other hand, taught from the earliest days that Jesus had no siblings. When put in that context, I would side with tradition.
Chris, Pittsburgh, PA USA
- To "side with tradition" is simply ignorance. To side with the Bible, which is not in any way ambiguous, is a concrete stand. The claim that some cultures don't make a distinction between brothers and cousins and the like is also irresponsible, as it is clear from scripture that the writers, inspired, by God, were clearly trying, and in fact were successful, to indicate that Jesus had siblings. Many posts have already pointed out that the Greek is exact in its rendering of "brother" and "firstborn" vs. "cousin" and "only". So, Jesus had brothers and sister, and if he did not, so what. Are we to believe that Mary and Joseph never had relations? There is no indication to that effect nor any indication that she or Joseph were somehow commanded to abstain from sex. Why would God want that? To what end or for what purpose? This is simply absurd!
carlos, Pomona, Ca USA
- Interesting though the point about Aramaic not having a word for sibling may be, the New Testament was (probably) written in Greek, a language which was understood across ethnic divisions in the eastern half of the Roman Empire. The Greek of the day did have such a word, and was therefore capable of being used with some precision.Many critics say that up to that point the Church had to rely on an oral tradition. Many cultures do, to this day, and to suggest that makes their history dubious is cultural arrogance.I think we can accept that Jesus had a clutch of brothers and sisters... or half-brothers and half-sisters if you like.
Paul Thompson, Perth Scotland
- If Jesus did have half siblings due to Mary's marriage to Joseph, where were they when Jesus was crucified and He said to John 'here is your mother'? Surely they would have been there to be with her? And yet I find it difficult to believe Mary and Joseph had no other children together.
Shirley Rodgers, Lincoln, United Kingdom
- Yeshua (Jesus) was abandoned by his brothers and sisters at the crucifixion. They did not come to believe in him until after His resurrection. Jacob (who wrote the book of James) is one of Yeshua's 1/2 brothers whose faith was very great, but not at the time of Yeshua's death. He was not there. The word of G-d records this in Psalm 69:8. I stated this earlier in these posts, but will quote it here"...all Bible scholars recognize as a prophecy concerning Christ. In this scripture we read, 'I am become a stranger unto MY BRETHREN, and an alien unto MY MOTHER'S CHILDREN.' "
Ramon, Smithfield Virginia
- What I find interesting about all "anti-tradition" responses, dating back to Luther and Calvin, is that we are to accept their personal interpretation of Scripture, but not the Tradition passed on by the Catholic Church. Who are they that we should take their interpretation? Oral tradition was the means of telling ALL these until the Bible was actually put to paper. Although written in Greek, the actual scribe would choose the Greek word based on his understanding of an oral tradition passed down. Therefore, it is possible that the Arameic "brother", referring to all relations, could be actually written in Greek and misunderstood by future generations. And as far as translations go, let's remember depending on which you are reading, you may have read from the original text translation (Septuagent) or the Protestant bible which came many years later. Remember as well, Jesus commanded His apostles to preach and teach. He did not command any of them to "write"...if He had, then aren't the many who didn't remiss in their duties? He established a "teaching Church" long before any word was written down. How was it then written? Passed down by oral tradition, which is what the Catholic Church does even today. Jesus promised to protect His Church from all error...how has that been done with all the division and inconsistencies in the Protestant church? One side feels the other is in error, and vice versa. Who is right? Luther or Calvin? They taught such different things. Which one is Christ protecting from error? So, since by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ promised to protect those oral traditions from error, might we not take them at their word?
Melanie, New Orleans United States
- Myths are malleable and mutable. You pays your money and you takes your choice. The ossuary of Jesus' brother James turned up in Israel not too long ago. Relics will occur, let us say, to fit the myth. That is part of the power, and persistence of myth.
Anthony Gumbrell, Seattle USA
- I think so too! Jesus did have siblings according to the bible!But according to MY relatives no one believes it, because in 2007 on the 14th of May the POPEsaid "Jesus has siblings and that is us the whole world!"
Dewinsman Anton, Southend-on-Sea, UK
- From the human perspective, he had. But per the divinity all about 'NO'.
Nagesh Reddy, Hyderabad, India
- I think the original question makes a huge presumption - that Jesus actually existed. There is no contemporaneous evidence other than a book, the Bible, which contradicts itself over and over again.
John Gribben, Belfast, Ireland
- It could be possible that Joseph had another wife before he married Mary. I believe he was much older than her when they married. The term "brothers" could perhaps mean step brothers? Possibly.
Diana, Atlanta, Ga USA
- I think what a lot of us are looking for is the truth about the historical Jesus. When I was young and Catholic, the nun said that no, he didn't have siblings--they were cousins, and that Joseph was in his 90s (and therefore couldn't "cut the mustard.") There's a lot of energy around keeping the Virgin unsullied. People are threatened by the notion of siblings because it makes Jesus and his mother more human and less divine. In some ways, to me, whether he had siblings or not doesn't matter. I'm very much interested in the truth, but I also appreciate the story and its rich metaphors, symbolism, and thoughts that are important and more ancient than Jesus. Myths (which are stories, not false things) are what we need to recover in this society - the mystical, not the factual and the ethical. Read the Nag Hammadi library (Dead Sea scrolls and other ancient texts) for some fascinating pre-Christian mysticism and other texts with post-Christian influence and renderings.
Joe, Vancouver Canada
- Brothers and sisters, our lord was born of virgin Mary. Jesus or Emmanuel had no brothers or sisters. It's not a catholic dogma to say Mary was a virgin, she was actually a virgin in the true sense. Assuming that we are all Christians, whether Christ had brothers or sisters, how does it deepen our faith? Some issues are not worthwhile pursuing. What is happening now is people are using info from the web as fact. You can get anything from the net so don't ever think that what you read from blogs and Google is the honest truth.
Max Savanhu, Mandara, Harare, Zimbabwe
- Yes, he had brothers that was born after him from Mary and Joseph. I also think Jesus had a sister too.
Janet F Lopez, Rochester,ny united State
- Jesus didn't exist anyway. The bible is a fable written by poets.
Rob, Kent England
