Mark 6:3 (WEB)
Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended at him.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Mark 6:3 (KJV)
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Key words
- ὁ τέκτωνho tektōn · Greek
- 'the carpenter' — a builder or craftsman.
- ὁ υἱὸς τῆς Μαρίαςho huios tēs Marias · Greek
- 'the son of Mary' — the only person the text calls Mary's son.
- ἀδελφόςadelphos · Greek
- 'brother.' In the Semitic idiom behind the Gospels (Hebrew ach), 'brother' also covers cousins and other kin: Lot is Abraham's 'brother' (Genesis 14:14), Laban is Jacob's 'brother' (Genesis 29:15).
Why it matters
The people of Nazareth name James, Joses, Judas and Simon as Jesus' 'brothers.' Pitre's answer to the objection has three parts: 'brother' in Semitic usage is broad; James and Joses are elsewhere the sons of a different Mary (Mark 15:40; Matthew 27:56); and no New Testament text ever calls anyone but Jesus 'the son of Mary.' The named brothers are relatives, and Mary's perpetual virginity stands.