Hi,

Question on the times scripture references the "brothers of Jesus".

Some explain that since in aramaic (like arabic today) there is no word for cousin for example, they simply used brother.
Also, the same word used to describe Jesus' brothers was used in other instances for example between Abraham & Lot (uncle/nephew).

But my question is, if these weren't Jesus' actual brothers, why wouldn't the Gospel writers use the word "relative" or "cousin" instead? This exists in greek doesn't it? And when St Jerome translated it into latin, why didn't he change the term if it was understood that they were not his brothers?

Luke 1:36 tells of the Angel Gabriel speaking to Mary and referring to Elizabeth as a "cousin" or "relative" depending on the Bible.
What is the original greek word used in this verse and why wouldn't this be the word chosen instead of just "brothers"?

The way we could see it is if St Joseph was an older widower that had sons from his previous marriage.
These men would then become step brothers of Christ. But, the old St Joseph hypothesis itself isn't super convincing to me.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks all.

That St. Joseph was an old man is not convincing to me as well. Most artists depicted him as an older man because they thought it was so. And, so many came to believe it was Gospel.

After doing the "Consecration to St. Joseph - The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father" by Father Donald Calloway, MIC I believe that St. Joseph was a younger man. Father Calloway gives a lot of explanations about that.

It sounds right that the use of the word "cousin" should be used. It takes a lot of explaining to a Protestant who believes Jesus had brothers and sisters, therefore thinking Mary was not ever-virgin.

Because they were Jews and that isn't how Jews talked.

But it is important to note that if you pay attention, you will notice that the actual names of the mother of the brothers of Jesus are named in the gospels. The gospels explicitly distinguish several different Mary's, there is Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas, and, this is the important part 'Mary the mother of James and Alpheus', who are James and Alpheus? They never explain, but the most likely explanation is that these are the 'brothers' of Jesus! The author of the epistle of Jude calls himself brother of James, and it is likely that 'Jude' is a diminutive of Alpheus.

This naming convention goes against Jewish custom, children were always referred to as children of the father, not the mother. So you 'Simon son of Jonah's, and 'the sons of Zebedee', 'Judas, the son of Simon the Iscariot' etc, that this Mary would be called 'the mother of James and Alpheus' is extremely unusual it's inclusion needs to be justified, the most likely justification is that they needed to make clear that they were not sons of the same Mary who is the mother of Jesus.

Right so my question isn't so much, who are those that are referred to as brothers of Jesus, my question is rather, why was Elizabeth referred to as a 'relative' of Mary but those men were referred to as 'brothers' of Jesus. If there was an issue with word choice in the language at the time, why wasn't Elizabeth called sister?

Why wouldn't the 'brothers' of Jesus be referred to in the same way that Elizabeth was referenced to Mary? As a "relative".

Not questioning the perpetual virginity of Mary, just wondering on the specific wording of these scripture passages.
Elizabeth was referred to as a relative of Mary so obviously, there was some way of communicating that people were related without calling them "brothers" or "sisters" otherwise, the scripture verse in Luke would have noted the Angel Gabriel saying "your sister Elizabeth" rather than "your relative" or "cousin".

Also, while Jesus, Mary, the apostles etc. spoke Aramaic, the Gospel writers wrote in Greek. Later it was translated to Latin.
Words for "relatives" or "cousins" exist in Greek and Latin so why not change "brother" to "relative"?

This is the question that comes up when we look at translations on the paraphrase<->literal continuum. Making that change involves deciding what the translator thinks the term means as opposed to simply conveying what it says and leaving the exegesis to the reader.

It's a poorly prosecuted argument, IMO. The Greek word for brother certainly can refer to extended family members. We have instances of it in the LXX as any good lexicon will demonstrate. With that said, it's silly to think that an analysis of how a word can be used settles how it is actually be used in any given case. I see people of all theological persuasions pull this stunt, and it is maddening. It's always so convenient when it just so happens the theology I hold can be justified by some grammatical or semantic possibility.

So more realistically, Catholics don't (or shouldn't) hold that the adelphoi ("brothers") Matthew talks about are cousins because that's within the word's semantic range. Rather they should just argue it on the grounds of tradition and leave it at that. Doom's response is typical of what is wrong with the argument and shows why it is very poor. Because, in fact, adelphoi, while it can refer to extended family, is not the normal word to refer to extended family (including cousins). When adelphoi is so used, it's usually used rhetorically to emphasize the closeness of the relationship. As such, adelphoi is used metaphorically of cousins to emphasize the familial/fraternal connection. THAT is what Catholics ought to be arguing, that Matthew chose the word not because that's just how they talked (its not) but because the closeness of that connection (either literal or as a foil) is important in the narrative structure.

Against this, the non-Catholic response ought not to be to try to show that adelphoi can't be used that way. It should be to look at the use of the word in the narrative. What is trying to be emphasized, and what does that emphasis say about what adelphoi would most likely refer to? In other words, this should be an exegetical question first and above all -- not read as a chance to disprove Catholicism on some important issue. Matthew didn't write to be an anti-Catholic apologist, and he shouldn't be read as such.

My own assessment is not that the Catholic view is wrong, but that in my highly limited reading of the subject, I've not seen enough to demonstrate that Matthew was using the word in a non-literal way. Since I don't have the tradition to appeal to, the move for me is to take the term in its more natural reading unless demonstrated otherwise. And whatever we say, again, about how the word can be used, the natural reading most certainly is a literal brother.

This is where and when we became actual brothers and sisters of Christ, where we will share the same eternal flesh as Thomas witnessed at the second appearance in the upper room, and what Faustina saw in Plock Poland and was told to paint a picture of of the image of what she saw, with the words, "Jesus I trust in You."

Mary knew. Mary accepted what was offered to Her. To become the queen of heaven. Approached by an angel and informed completely as to Her task, Her reply, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Your will.” And Mary said: "My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. Because he hath regarded the humility of His handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is His name. And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him."
As Christs’ mother Mary new more than any human as to Christs divinity and ultimate plan. She had revelation, when she said, "Do whatever he tells you". John 2:5. She knew Her son and His plan as God. She went home with John after His resurrection. Proof Jesus was an only child, Jewish custom was to give your mother to your best friend, in this case it was to his brothers and sisters. On the cross he spoke to you by name before you were born, "Ecce Mater tua", "Disciple, behold your mother". This is where we became actual physical brothers and sisters of Jesus. Jesus made Mary your Mother. On His crucifixion it was John, one of the many and all beloved disciples there at that time. “Disciple." We are now the disciples whom Jesus loves. We carry on as disciples. and now we have Mary home as John did. We listen to Her, pray and ask for guidance from the Queen of Council. The more we listen to Mary, the more we pray to Her and ask Her for guidance, the more The Queen of Martyrs points us first hand directly to the Christ, Jesus Her son, our brother. This explains why The Gospel of John is so different than the synoptic Gospels. From the first lines the Gospel of John reads, "In the beginning was the Word, the spirit, the Church. And the Word was with God, Jesus Christ in the Eternal flesh, present before anything was ever created was even created. And the Word was God, The Father, seated with Jesus, face to face. Right here, the trinity existed before creation. The Queen of Council also was the driving force for the information revealed in Revelations. John had the answers from Mary. Mary was there with John and gave council as to Jesus' role in a way that only the mother of God could know. He had the answers from Mary, the New Arc of the Covenant, the Queen of Martyrs, and God Bearer, Oh Blessed Mother Mary.

John 19:27 Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took Her unto his own home.

Peace always,
StePhen Andrew