Matthew 13:55 (WEB)
Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Matthew 13:55 (KJV)
Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Key words
- ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱόςho tou tektonos huios · Greek
- 'the carpenter's son' — Matthew's form of the Nazareth question (Mark 6:3 has 'the carpenter, the son of Mary').
- οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦhoi adelphoi autou · Greek
- 'his brethren' — James, Joses, Simon and Judas; the word adelphos also covers cousins and kin (Genesis 31:37; 1 Chronicles 23:22 LXX).
Why it matters
The people of Nazareth name Jesus' 'brethren' and 'sisters.' Pitre lists this verse in the Introduction among the texts that seem flatly to contradict Mary's perpetual virginity (p 13) and answers it in chapter 5: James and Joses have a different mother, 'the other Mary' (Matthew 27:56, 61), and Semitic 'brother' covers cousins. The objection is stated here so the reader knows exactly what must be explained.