eric, sorry but I had respond to your message editing any text possible because our combined messages had too many characters…here goes…
I don’t know the number of times “adelphos” is used but yes, it is my understanding that Jesus’ brothers were James, Joses, Simon and Judas and that every NT use of the word “adelphos” literally means “brother” whereas “anepsios” was used to mean “cousin” (as in Colossians 4:10) .
Let’s look at some of the uses, as they pertain to Jesus and His “brothers.” …… Matthew 13: 55
Yes this is correct and it literally means “brothers”…no problem…and since these brothers are always mentioned as being with Mary, the context is clear (to me, at least!).
Mark 3: 31……
yes, again, no problem here…
Each of these verses uses the same Greek word for “brother” “adelphos.” Many Christians believe that this refers to Jesus’ brothers, or Mary’s other offspring. However, the Bible refutes these claims when looked at more closely. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,
remember that Jesus’ brothers were not believers until later on (John 7:5) therefore I would not expect these first apostles to be his brothers
15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; B]yes, James and John were brothers and son of Zebedee.
There were at least three James that I know of in the Bible and this is one of them.The others were: James (son of Alphaeus) the Apostle and James (the Epistle writer)
18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.Mark 3: 14-19 James and John here are portrayed as brothers. However, notice that Zebedee is the father of John and James his brother. This is further explained in the following verse:
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, ……
Mark 10: 35….Now we find out that both James and John were the sons of Zebedee. In this case, the word “brother” refers to actual brothers, related by blood through the same father.
3 “Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” And they were offended at Him.
Mark 6: 3
Here is a perfect example of the word “brother” used to portray a relationship between people who were close to each other, though not necessarily biologically related. As we learned earlier, James was the son of Zebedee. The other “brothers” mentioned here were also not biologically related to Jesus as the following verses will explain. 36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,
Acts 4: 36
This Joses aka Barnabas was not the same as Jesus’ brother. Furthermore, Barnabas was an apostle, but not one of the original 12.
Jesus was not from Cyprus, therefore could not be biologically related to Joses.
Exactly, so it is further clear that he is not the same Joses as the one known as Jesus brother and son of Mary.
16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
Luke 6: 16 71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.
John 6: 71 Neither Judas was biologically related to Jesus.
right again.
42 …… “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).John 1: 42 Simon was also not biologically related to Jesus.
This is simply possible due to the broad meaning of the word “adelphos.” Here is the Strong’s dictionary meaning of the word: ….edited,
I understand that in the OT there were places when adelphos meant other things, but my understanding is that in the NT it always means brother literally unless the text indicates otherwise.
I know it is hard keeping all the names straight…I am doing my family’s genealogy and going back 8 generations, you won’t believe how many people have the same names (surnames, even!)…I suggest using a “list of people in the bible” or something…I found this website that is somewhat helpful, but I’m sure there are others. about-jesus.org/people.htm
God Bless