Article on "The 'Brothers' and 'Sisters' of Jesus." --They weren't the children of Mary

[mdgspencer]

see The Brothers and Sisters of Jesus

“Neither Hebrew nor Aramaic had a special word meaning ‘cousin’. So the Jews normally called cousins “‘brothers,’” this informative article begins.

 

[Dan_Defender]

They also didn’t have a word for ‘nephew’. So the ‘brothers’ of Jesus could just as easily have been his nephews, sons of a cousin.

 

[De_Maria]

Or even, His close friends.

 

[Gorgias]

Or even, those listening to Him talk. (Mt 12:49)

 

[C.Longinus]

That’s who HE defines them as. The brethren of the Lord were the ones who wanted to take Him by force.