Sons Named After Fathers

[DianaCC]

In Mark 6 and Matthew 13 there is a guy named Joses (some texts have Joseph) said to be a brother of Jesus. Of course this can’t be another son of Mary. But for the sake of argument, if we say he is, then he would be a son in the Bible named after his father.

Are there any other examples of sons named after their fathers in the Bible?

 

[NHInsider]

I can’t think of any, now that you mention it.

Joses’ father’s name is Cleophas (or Clopas). . . .

 

[Aelred_Minor]

I can’t think of an example, though the hubbub over John the Baptist being named John when there was no one in his family with that name does seem to indicate at least that children were given the names of family members in general.

The “brothers of Jesus” obviously were not Mary’s children, but there is a very old tradition of believing they were the children of Joseph by an earlier marriage. Then there is the cousins theory, first proposed I believe by St. Jerome.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

I can’t think of any, now that you mention it.

Joses’ father’s name is Cleophas (or Clopas). . . .

Where is the source for this? There is mention of Mary the wife of Clopas, but where is Joses identified as her son, or especially specifically as Clopas’ son. I also recall a mention of Mary the mother of James and Joses, but do we know this is the same person as Mary the wife of Clopas, and if so that James and Joses were sons by him and not by, say, an earlier husband?

 

[NHInsider]

The “brothers of Jesus” obviously were not Mary’s children, but there is a very old tradition of believing they were the children of Joseph by an earlier marriage. Then there is the cousins theory, first proposed I believe by St. Jerome.

Joseph may have had other, older sons, but Joses is identified as the son of Mary of Clopas (John 19:35, Mark 15:40). Some traditions indicate that Clopas was a brother of St. Joseph.

 

[StJudePray4Me]

I think it is/was common and customary for Jews to name children after deceased relatives, not living relatives.

 

[SonCatcher]

Tobit gave his son the same name

[BIBLEDRB]Tobit 1:9[/BIBLEDRB]

 

[Jeffe]

When those mentioned in scripture to be “brothers” or “sisters” of Jesus are actually cousins and close relatives, as was the norm of the culture to include those close to the family as uncles, aunts, sisters, and brothers.

Hope this helps!

 

[_L]

I think the most likely explanation is that “the brethren of the Lord” are siblings through a previous marriage of Joseph, cousins, or a combination of both. In the protoevanglium of James, eventhough it is not scripture, it talks about how at the time of his marriage to Mary Joseph was considerably older than her (which had made him anxious about the marriage to begin with) and that he was a widower with children. So this theory would make sense considering the mentioning of the brethren of Jesus, and the fact that Joseph is presumed to have died in or around Jesus’ teenage years perhaps due to his old age. This would also make sense in light of the fact that Jesus handed the care of Mary over to St. John because Jesus’ step siblings were probably considerably older than Jesus and had families of their own to take care of and even they may not even have been living in the Jerusalem area anyways so John was probably the best candidate to take care of her.