Who were the brothers and sisters of Jesus?

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This was an excellent article, and one I needed to read. Thank you for sharing!
 
You linked to an article by Cynthia Trainque, a Catholic journalist. She is not a scholar or an authoritative source. James, Jude, Joses and the other “brothers and sisters” mentioned in the NT were probably either Joseph’s children by an earlier marriage (“the Epiphanian view”) or nephews and nieces (“the Hieronymian view”). These terms derive from the two rival interpretations that were current among theologians in the 380s, under the pontificate of Damasus.

Just last month we had another long thread on the same subject.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.) Jesus’s Brothers Eastern Catholicism
 
I think the article assumes a type of sibling but this is not necessary. The word brother can be describing nature, race, kindred, or affection.

Gen. 29:15 - Laban calls Jacob his “brother” even though Jacob is his nephew. This demonstrates that brother means kinsmen or cousin in this case.

Deut. 23:7; 1Chron. 15:5-18; Jer. 34:9; Neh. 5:7 - Here the word “brethren” obviously denotes kinsmen. Hebrew and Aramaic have no word for “cousin.”

Acts. 1:15 - The gathering of Jesus’ “brothers” amounts to about 120. Mary did not give birth to 120 sons.
 
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