How many brothers did Jesus have? And did he have sisters too?

Answer 1

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The Scriptures give no reason why Mary should have remained a virgin.So did Jesus have any half brothers and half sisters?
That Mary had other children besides Jesus is clear from the questions asked by Jesus' townfolk who where well acquainted with his family:"Where did he get all this?What kind of wisdom is he endowed with?....Is this not the carpenter,the son of Mary,a brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?Are not his sisters our neighbours here?"-Mark6:2,3,NA.
That Jesus had natural (half)brothers is also indicated by the fact that on one occasion he was told that'your mother and your brothers are standing out there and they wish to speak to you'We further read that "not even his brothers had confidence in him"-Matt.12:47;John 7:5,NA

Source(s):

Watchtower magazine

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Asker's Comment:

very factual and to the point.Good to hear he had brothers and sister(s).

Answer 2

0 because the stories are fake....

Answer 3

He was the only one that Mary bore in her womb for nine months

Answer 4

jesus didnt have brothers, but he did have kids :)

Answer 5

nill because there was only 1 son of god unless mary did something very naughty with joesiph

Answer 6

the bible claims that he had
Some people claim that Jesus had brothers, which means his mother, Mary, did not remain a virgin after Jesus’ birth. To support this, they quote Mk 6:17 “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him.”
John 19:25 “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Clophas, and Mary Magdela.

Mt 27:56 “Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee”.

MK 15:40 “There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome.”

MK 15:47 “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid.”

Lk 5:9-10 “For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men’.

Mark 1:19, “He walked a little farther and saw James, the sons of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets.” .......

The rest of the Gospels show that the word “brother” means a male relative not necessarily a sibling. Also, “sister” means a female relative. Eusebius of Caesarea’s church history, Book 3, Chapter 11
(http://www.cbn.org/bibleresources/theolo… says that Joseph, foster father of Jesus, was a brother of Clophas. This would make James and Joseph (Joses) first cousins to Jesus and Mary’s sister, Mary the wife of Clophas, was a sister-in-law, not a sibling (John 19:25).

Looks like he had no brothers just some friends.
But let me tell you something.
It doesnt matter anyway because the bible is just a book of a imagined story someone had. And the people took it further.

Answer 7

(m)

Mt. 13.55 and Mk 6.3 name the following as brothers of Jesus: James, Joseph (Joses - the manuscripts vary on the spelling), Simon and Judas.But Mt 27.56 says at the cross were Mary the mother of James and Joseph. Mark 15,40 says Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses was there.

So, although the proof is not conclusive, it seems that--unless we suppose these were others with the same names, that the first two, James and Joseph (Joses) had a mother other than the Mother of Jesus.

Therefore the term brother was used for those who were not sons of Mary the Mother of Jesus. So the same easily could be the case with the other two, Simon and Judas.

Further if Mary had other natural sons and daughters too at the time of the cross, it would be strange for Jesus to ask John to take care of her.Especially, James the "brother of the Lord" was alive in 49 AD (Gal 1:19). He should have taken care of her.

Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham (cf. Gen 11.27-31) is called his brother in Gen 13.8 and 14.14-16. The Hebrew and Aramaic "ah" was used for various types of relations: Cf.
Michael Sokoloff, "A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic" (Bar Ilan University Press, Ramat-Gan, Israel, 1990, p. 45.) Hebrew had no word for cousin.They could say "ben-dod" which means son of a paternal uncle, but
for other kinds of cousins they would need a complex phrase, such as "the son of the brother of his mother" or, "the son of the sister of his mother". For complex Aramaic expressions see Sokoloff, p. 111 and 139.

Source(s):

http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/JES…