BROTHERS OF JESUS. — Relatives of Jesus who in the Gospels (Mt. 12:46; 13:55; Mc. 3:31; 6:3; Lc. 8:19–21; Io. 2:12; 7:3–5) and Act. 1:14 are called “his brothers” and in the epistles of St. Paul (I Cor. 9:5; Gal. 1:19) “brothers of the Lord” (οἱ ἀδελφοί τοῦ Κυρίου). Mt. 13:55 and Mc. 6:3 name four of these brothers: Giacomo, Iosé (Ἰωσήφ), or Giuseppe, Giuda, and Simone.
Two questions arise: 1) what degree of kinship existed between Jesus and his so-called brothers? 2) who, historically considered, were these brothers of G.?
I. THE DEGREE OF KINSHIP
The term “brothers” often had a very broad meaning. Both the Hebrew ἀδ. and the Greek ἀδελφός, as is evident from the many sacred and profane texts, can indicate: a) brothers in the proper sense (Gen. 4, 8; Mt. 4, 21; 17, 1, etc.); b) a blood relative of any degree (Gen. 13, 18; 28, 2; I Par. 23, 21); c) a neighbor or fellow kinsman (Deut. 15, 3; Ios. 22, 2; Iudc. 1, 3; Ier. 7, 15; Rom. 9, 3; Iac. 1, 9; Platone, Men., 8, 239; Senofonte, Anab., 7, 2, 25, 38). Hence the question arises: in what sense do the Evangelists use the word “brothers” when they speak of the brothers of G.? Are these his brothers in the strictest sense, that is, sons of s. Giuseppe and Maria Most Holy, or rather his relatives of unspecified degree?The various answers can be classified into 3 theories:
1. The “Helvidian” theory: it regards the brothers of G. as sons of s. Giuseppe and Maria Most Holy. This theory, upheld by Helvidius and by very few followers, was promptly rejected by the Fathers (s. Girolamo, De perp. virg. adversus Helv.: PL 23, 193-216), condemned (Denz-U, 91), and finally abandoned by everyone. Unfortunately, it was revived in the eighteenth century by certain reformers, and today it is upheld by virtually all Protestants.
2. The “Epiphanian” theory: it regards the brothers of G. as children whom s. Giuseppe had by a presumed previous marriage. This theory, which is based on the fables of the apocrypha, was subsequently upheld by the Greek Fathers, and today is defended by certain schismatic theologians.
3. The “Hieronymian” theory: it maintains that the brothers of G. are his cousins. This theory, already advocated by s. Girolamo and supported by all the Latin Fathers and by some of the Greek Fathers, may today be regarded as the official doctrine of the Catholic Church.
The latter theory finds proof both in the Gospel and in tradition. The Gospels clearly teach that neither Maria nor Giuseppe had any other children besides Jesus (Lc. 1-2; Mc. 6, 3; Io. 19, 27); tradition knows of cousins of Jesus, specifically: Giacomo, Simone, and Giuda, who are indicated as sons of Clopa, the brother of s. Giuseppe (Eusebio, Hist. Eccl., III, 11-20; 4, 22; 2, 22; PG 20, 196, 252-61, 380). Io. 19, 25 indicates that the wife of Clopa is the sister of the Mother of Jesus, identical with Maria the mother of Giacomo and Giuseppe, mentioned by the Synoptics (Mt. 27, 56; Mc. 15, 40; Lc. 24, 49).
It is therefore probable that the brothers of G. were the sons of Clopa, the brother of
s. Giuseppe, and of Maria, the sister of Maria the mother of Jesus: hence, cousins of Jesus. For other hypotheses, V. ALFEO, CLEOFA.
II. THE HISTORICAL PERSONALITY
It is necessary to address the question whether or not the cousins of the Savior were apostles.We consider it more probable that Jesus called some of his brothers to be members of the College of the 12 Apostles. This seems to be proved by St. Paul in I Cor. 9, 5. On the other hand, the argument which opponents of the apostolicity of the brothers of Jesus believe they find in Io. 7, 3-5 does not seem to have probative value, because John here does not speak of absolute unbelief, but rather of relative unbelief, thus compatible with the apostolate. Indeed, until the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles had an imperfect faith (Io. 14, 13-22; Act. 1, 8; Lc. 24, 21).
Giacomo, brother of Jesus, was the first bishop of Jerusalem; cf. Act. 15, 13; 21, 18; Gal. 1, 19; I Cor. 15, 7; Egasippo recounts many things about him (Eusebio, Hist. eccl., II, 4-6; PG 20, 197 sg.).
This brother of Jesus is in all probability identical with the apostle Giacomo d'Alfeo. The identification of Giacomo, brother of Jesus, with the apostle Giacomo d'Alfeo is not contradicted by the fact that the former is called son of Clopa and the latter son of Alfeo, because the name Clopa may etymologically be regarded as a Hellenized form of the Aramaic Halfoj; moreover, the father of the brothers of Jesus may have borne the names Alfeo and Clopa. St. Luke in Act. 1, 12, 15 presents us with only two Giacomos, namely the son of Zebedeo and the brother of Jesus; indeed, after mentioning the death of the former, he speaks of the latter as though he were the only one of this name among the leaders of the nascent Church.
Tradition knows no distinct Giacomo d'Alfeo, but knows very well Giacomo, brother of Jesus: it calls him an apostle, and although some texts give him this title in a broad sense, the oldest and most authoritative
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testi lo ritengono uno dei 12 Apostoli, identificandolo con Giacomo figlio d'Alfeo (cf. I Cor. 15, 5-7; Gal. 1, 19).
Giuda (v.), f. di G., autore dell'Epistola cattolica, si presenta ai suoi lettori come fratello di Giacomo (Jud. 1), perché quest'ultimo era più noto di lui.
E quasi certo che questo f. di G. sia identico con l'apostolo Giuda di Giacomo (Lc. 6, 11; Act. 1, 13), cognominato Taddeo o Lebbeo (Mt. 10, 3; Mc. 3, 18). Infatti la tradizione è quasi unanime a favore dell'apostolato di questo f. di G. A quanto si sa, solo Cirillo d'Alessandria a s. Crisostomo indirettamente tengono il contrario, appoggiandosi su ragioni esegetiche, non storiche.
Simone, f. di G., fu il secondo vescovo di Gerusalemme. Se si dà fede a Egesippo (Eusebio, Hist. eccl., III, 32: PG 20, 255) visse a lungo e soffri molto. Non è ben chiaro, ma probabile, che anche questo f. di G. facesse parte del Collegio dei 12 Apostoli; dev'essere lo stesso che Simone cananeo o zelote.
Su Giuseppe, f. di G., nulla si conosce.