The brothers of Jesus or the adelphoi (Greek: ἀδελφοί, translit. adelphoí, lit. "of the same womb, brothers") are named in the New Testament as James, Joses, Simon, Jude, and unnamed sisters are mentioned in Mark and Matthew. They may have been: (1) sons of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph; (2) sons of Joseph by a former marriage; or (3) sons of Mary of Clopas, named in Mark 15:40 as the "mother of James and Joses", who has been identified as either the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a sister-in-law to Joseph.
There are three major views on their relationship to Jesus:
- Full-siblings view: This view asserts that the siblings were the biological children of both Joseph and Mary, making them full siblings of Jesus. This interpretation takes the references to Jesus' brothers and sisters in a straightforward manner, suggesting that Mary had other children after the birth of Jesus. Main proponents of this belief were the Ebionites, a 2nd century Jewish Christian sect, who rejected both the incarnation and divinity of Jesus.
- Half-siblings view (Helvidian): This view, most commonly held by Protestant traditions, suggests that the brothers and sisters were Jesus' half-sbiling, sharing the same mother but not the same father and born after Jesus. This perspective is rooted in the belief that Jesus conception was a divine act by the Holy Spirit.
- Stepsiblings (Epiphanian): This view argumented that the brothers and sisters mentioned are child of Joseph from a previous marriage, and hence stepbrothers of Jesus; this is still the official position of the Eastern Orthodox churches.
- Cousin View (Hieronymian): This view argued that both Mary Joseph had been a life-long virgin. It held that the "brothers of Jesus" were the sons of Mary the "mother of James and Joses" mentioned in Mark 15:40, with the wife of Clopas and sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus mentioned. The Catholic Church continues to teach that the adelphoi were cousins of Jesus.