Book of James

[CatholicKrishna]

What is known about the authorship of the book of James? I will be discussing this with a Protestant who is being taught that it’s the half-brother of Jesus.

Thanks in advance.
Krishna. (I am Catholic, my name is Krishna.)

 

[fanntumb]

Krishan - for authorship I think this link gives a good overview:

usccb.org/nab/bible/james/intro.htm

This conversation MAY end up leading to a discussion about whether Jesus had siblings and then on to a discussion about Mary’s perpetual virginity. This material will give you good background on those topics:

catholic.com/library/Brethren_of_the_Lord.asp

Hope this helps.

 

[Dave]

Basically there was no word for ‘cousin’ in Aramaic, so the word ‘brother’ substituted for anybody that could have been a close relative. Therefore James could have easily been a cousin, but not a brother.

Also, if James were indeed Jesus’ brother, son of Mary, why did Jesus on the cross entrust the care of his mother to the apostle John?

 

[JimG]

It’s also possible that James could have been brother of Jesus, but not son of Mary. That could happen if Joseph had been a widower when he was betrothed to Mary, and James was his son from that previous marriage. But this is just speculation.

 

[Malachi4U]

Try these links too:

campbellcounty.com/~ourlady/Are%20Baptist%20Teachings%20about%20Mary%20Biblical.htm

catholic-legate.com/articles/james.html

newadvent.org/cathen/02767a.htm

newadvent.org/cathen/02767a.htm

My wife actually believed Jesus had ‘brothers’ from His mother Blessed Mary and Joseph.:whacky: She was brought up protestant and just assumed this was true. She had never been told many of the things written in the articles above. I was the first one she ever knew that told her this was all hogwash about His brothers. She has not admitted that Jesus did not have brothers but she does admit the protestant claim is weak at best. That is headway believe it or not.:yup: She also refuses to teach our kids that He had brothers. (Perhaps she just won’t admit to me I was right and she was wrong?)

 

[J_Chrysostomos]

Dave:

Basically there was no word for ‘cousin’ in Aramaic, so the word ‘brother’ substituted for anybody that could have been a close relative. Therefore James could have easily been a cousin, but not a brother.

Ah, but Greek does. Note that in Luke 1:36 Elizabeth is called Mary’s “cousin” (or kinswoman), not her “sister.” This is the Greek word syngenis, not adhelfos. I know there is a debate over whether perhaps Matthew was originally written in Aramaic, but pretty much all of the other gospels were Greek (even though the semitisms come through), but even so it is clear that Matthew translated his own gospel into Greek very early.

Also, if James were indeed Jesus’ brother, son of Mary, why did Jesus on the cross entrust the care of his mother to the apostle John?

This is the passage that has led me to question whether Mary had other children. It is general Protestant teaching to say that she did (though Luther and Calvin affirmed the Blessed Virgin’s perpetual virginity). As for me, I respect and honor the mother of God for her pattern of selflessness and her testimony through the ages. Whether she remained a virgin after Jesus’ birth or was born without originial sin to me is a non-issue at present.

 

[Flounder]

The Septuagint is written in Greek, by Jews, but uses brother for non-brothers. I don’t think you can automatically assume Matthew meant “brother,” even if he might have translated his gospel into Greek. The fact Aramaic didn’t have a word for cousin wouldn’t have been an oversight that the Aramaic peoples never got around to fixing. I think it must’ve been an unimportant distinction culturally.
The early church was split on whether the brethren of Christ were cousins or step-brothers from a previous marriage of Joseph, but the perpetual virginity of Mary is a consistent and ancient belief.