THE LORD'S BROTHER (GALATIANS 1:19)

James, the Lord's brother. Named first of Jesus' brothers; later one of the “pillars” of the church in Jerusalem.

ALSO CALLED

James the Just (a name from Hegesippus, not from Scripture)

FROM

He is named among the family the people of Jesus' “own country” knew (Mark 6:1-3).

TRADE

Scripture does not say

FAMILY

At Nazareth the people name Jesus' brothers: “James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon”, with sisters who are not named.

WRITINGS

The letter of James (which James wrote it is a question on the Letters page)

BACKGROUND

Home, trade and family

FROM

FAMILY

  • At Nazareth the people name Jesus' brothers: “James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon”, with sisters who are not named. Mark 6:3 Matthew 13:55–56
  • Mary the mother of Jesus is named with the brothers in the upper room after the ascension. Acts 1:14
  • From the textThe letter of Jude opens “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James”; it does not say which James. Jude 1:1
  • From the textScripture does not say how James and the other brothers were related to Mary and Joseph; the three answers given are set out below. Our person data lists Joseph and Mary as his parents, which is one of those answers. Mark 6:3

WITH JESUS

His moments with Jesus

WHERE HE WENT

Acts and after

Dashed pins are places known only from later tradition, not from Scripture.

  • Nazareth · Jesus' “own country” (Mark 6:1), where the people named his brothers; Mark names Nazareth as the town Jesus came from (Mark 1:9). Mark 1:9 Mark 6:1–3 +1 more
  • Jerusalem · Where Scripture always finds him after the resurrection. Acts 12:17 Acts 15:13 +2 more
  • Antioch · Men “came from James” to Antioch in Syria (he is not said to have gone there). Galatians 2:11–12
  • Jerusalem: the temple (his death, in Hegesippus's account) · tradition · Hegesippus (about 170): thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and buried “on the spot, by the temple”.

IN ACTS AND THE LETTERS

  • After the ascension the Lord's brothers pray with the apostles, the women and Mary the mother of Jesus. Acts 1:14
  • “After three years” Paul spent fifteen days with Peter in Jerusalem and saw none of the other apostles “save James the Lord's brother”. Galatians 1:18–19
  • Freed from prison, Peter tells the believers at the house of John Mark's mother: “Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren.” Acts 12:12 Acts 12:17
  • At the Jerusalem council, after Peter, Barnabas and Paul have spoken, James answers: he quotes the prophets on the Gentiles, says “my sentence is, that we trouble not them”, and proposes the letter on idols, fornication, things strangled and blood. The apostles, elders and whole church agree. Acts 15:7–22
  • Paul says that James, Cephas and John, “who seemed to be pillars”, gave him and Barnabas “the right hands of fellowship”, asking only that they remember the poor. Galatians 2:9–10
  • At Antioch Peter ate with Gentiles until “certain came from James”; then he withdrew, and the other Jews and even Barnabas went with him. Galatians 2:11–13
  • On Paul's last visit to Jerusalem he goes in to James with all the elders present; they glorify God for his report and ask him to join four men in a vow, so all may know he keeps the law. Acts 21:17–26
  • Paul speaks of “the brethren of the Lord” having the right “to lead about a sister, a wife”, as the other apostles and Cephas did; he names none of them. 1 Corinthians 9:5
  • From the textThe letter of James opens “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” and does not say which James wrote it; that question belongs to the Letters page. James 1:1
  • From the textThe last verse that shows James alive is Acts 21:18. Scripture does not record his death. Acts 21:18

COMPANIONS

Who was with him

Each line joins him to someone Scripture places beside him.

  • Peter (Cephas) Paul stayed with Peter and saw James on the same visit; Peter sends news of his escape to James; both speak at the council; both are “pillars”. Galatians 1:18–19 Acts 12:17 Acts 15:7–14 Galatians 2:9
  • John son of Zebedee The third of the “pillars” with James and Cephas. Galatians 2:9
  • Paul Saw him in Jerusalem after his conversion, received “the right hands of fellowship”, and reported to him on his last visit. Galatians 1:19 Galatians 2:9 Acts 21:18–19
  • Barnabas Spoke before James at the council and received the right hand of fellowship with Paul. Acts 15:12–13 Galatians 2:9
  • Judas Barsabas and Silas Chosen to carry the council's letter to Antioch after James's proposal. Acts 15:22–27
  • Jude (Juda) Named with him among the brothers. Mark 6:3 Matthew 13:55
  • Mary the mother of Jesus Named with the brothers in the upper room. Acts 1:14
  • Symeon son of Clopas Early church · Eusebius (trans. A. C. McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1), 1890Hegesippus (about 170) says that after James's death Symeon, son of the Lord's uncle Clopas, was chosen the next bishop of Jerusalem, “because he was a cousin of the Lord”. Eusebius repeats it, “as they say”.[1]

HOW THE STORY ENDS

Scripture says, tradition says

SCRIPTURE SAYS

  • From the textScripture does not record how or when James died. The last we see of him is the meeting with Paul and the elders in Jerusalem (Acts 21:18-25). Acts 21:18–25

TRADITION SAYS

  • James was set on the pinnacle of the temple at Passover and asked to turn the people from Jesus; he answered that Jesus “sitteth in heaven at the right hand of the great Power”. He was thrown down, stoned, prayed “forgive them, for they know not what they do”, and was struck dead with a fuller's club. “And immediately Vespasian besieged them.”[1] Who says so: Hegesippus, Memoirs book 5, quoted by Eusebius, Church History 2.23.4-18, Hegesippus about AD 170; Eusebius about 325
  • McGiffert (1890) points to “the legendary character of Hegesippus' account” in its details, such as the scribes asking James to calm the crowd, and quotes Schaff on his ascetic portrait of James: “an overdrawn picture from the middle of the second century”. He still accepts that James was stoned.[2] Who says so: A. C. McGiffert, notes 493, 500 and 512 to Eusebius 2.23, quoting Philip Schaff, 1890
  • Clement of Alexandria wrote that James “was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and was beaten to death with a club by a fuller”.[1] Who says so: Clement of Alexandria, Hypotyposes book 7, quoted by Eusebius, Church History 2.1.4, about AD 200
  • Jerome says James “ruled the church of Jerusalem thirty years, that is until the seventh year of Nero, and was buried near the temple”, and that his tombstone was known until the siege of Titus and the end of Hadrian's reign.[3] Who says so: Jerome, Lives of Illustrious Men 2, AD 392
  • Eusebius says the “chair of James” at Jerusalem “has been preserved until now”.[1] Who says so: Eusebius, Church History 7.19, about AD 325

WRITINGS

Writings tied to him

LETTERS

The letter of James (which James wrote it is a question on the Letters page)

OPEN QUESTIONS

Where readers have differed

Sons of Joseph by an earlier marriage

First found in the apocryphal Protevangelium of James (its stories go back to the 2nd century), where Joseph says “I have children”; Origen (about AD 245 or later), who reports that “some say” it, “basing it on a tradition in the Gospel according to Peter, as it is entitled, or ‘The Book of James’”; Eusebius (about 325), for whom James “was known as a son of Joseph”; some in Jerome's day (“as some think”); J. B. Lightfoot (1865, 10th ed. 1890), “the strongest advocate” of it in McGiffert's words; still the established view of the Greek Church, McGiffert (1890) notes

Lightfoot's chief argument: on the cross Jesus gave his mother to “the disciple … whom he loved”, and “from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John 19:26-27), which he finds hard to believe if she had sons of her own. McGiffert grants that this view “has the oldest tradition in its favor”, though none of the traditions, he adds, is old enough “to be of great weight”. John 19:26–27 [5][6][1][3][13][2]

Younger sons of Joseph and Mary

Tertullian (early 3rd century), whose argument, Lightfoot judges, “seems to imply” it; Helvidius (about 380), against whom Jerome wrote; A. C. McGiffert (1890), who names Andrews, Schaff and Weiss with him and notes that the view is “widely accepted in the Protestant Church”; H. E. Jacobs (ISBE, 1915)

The plain sense of “brother” and “sisters” beside “his mother” (Mark 6:3); Mary's “firstborn son” (Luke 2:7); and the brothers' unbelief (John 7:5), which, McGiffert argues, keeps them out of the Twelve. Mark 6:3 Luke 2:7 John 7:5 [2][23][13][4]

Cousins: the sons of Mary the wife of Clopas

Jerome, Against Helvidius (about AD 383); since then the established view of the Latin Church, McGiffert (1890) notes; W. H. Mill (1843), as reported by Lightfoot and McGiffert

Jerome argues that Paul counts “James the Lord's brother” among the apostles, that only two apostles were called James, and so the Lord's “brethren” were kinsmen, sons of the Mary who stood at the cross (John 19:25). Galatians 1:19 John 19:25 [4][2]

IN SCRIPTURE

Every passage

CHAPTERS · 13

Mark 6 Matthew 13 John 7 Acts 1 1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 9 Galatians 1 Galatians 2 Acts 12 Acts 15 Acts 21 James 1 Jude 1

PASSAGES · 13

Mark 6:1–6 Matthew 13:54–58 John 7:2–10 Acts 1:14 1 Corinthians 15:7 1 Corinthians 9:5 Galatians 1:18–20 Galatians 2:1–14 Acts 12:17 Acts 15:1–35 Acts 21:17–26 James 1:1 Jude 1:1

WHAT SCRIPTURE DOES NOT SAY

  • Scripture never calls him “the Just” or “bishop”; both titles come from the 2nd century and later.
  • Scripture does not say how he was related to Joseph and Mary, when he came to believe (only that the risen Lord “was seen of James”, if that is the same James), or whether he married.
  • Scripture does not say whether he wrote the letter that bears the name James.
  • Scripture does not record his death.

IDENTIFICATIONS THIS PAGE RELIES ON

  • From the textAfter Acts 1:13 two men called James act in Acts: James the brother of John, killed by Herod (Acts 12:2), and the James to whom Peter sends word in the same chapter and who later speaks at the council (Acts 12:17; 15:13). James son of Alphaeus is named only in the list of Acts 1:13. Acts 1:13 Acts 12:2 Acts 12:17 Acts 15:13
  • Scholars' viewThat this James of Acts is the one Paul calls “the Lord's brother” comes from setting Acts beside Galatians, where James, Cephas and John are the “pillars” (Galatians 1:19; 2:9). Lightfoot (1890) and McGiffert (1890) both read them as one man. Galatians 1:19 Galatians 2:9 [13][2]
  • Early church · Eusebius (trans. A. C. McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1), 1890“The Just” is not a name Scripture gives him. Hegesippus (about AD 170), quoted by Eusebius, says he “has been called the Just by all from the time of our Saviour to the present day; for there were many that bore the name of James.”[1][2]
  • From the textPaul writes that the risen Lord “was seen of James” (1 Corinthians 15:7) but does not say which James. 1 Corinthians 15:7
  • Early church · Eusebius (trans. A. C. McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1), 1890Eusebius takes that James to be the Lord's brother: “he appeared unto James, who was one of the so-called brethren of the Saviour”. 1 Corinthians 15:7 [1]
  • Later tradition · Jerome (trans. E. C. Richardson, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 3), 1892A story first found in the lost Gospel according to the Hebrews, which Jerome (392) quotes: James had sworn not to eat bread until he saw the Lord risen, and the risen Lord took bread, blessed it and gave it to him, saying “my brother eat thy bread, for the son of man is risen from among those that sleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:7 [3]
  • Later tradition · Eusebius (trans. A. C. McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1), 1890Hegesippus (about AD 170) also draws James as a lifelong ascetic: “he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh”, wore linen, was “permitted to enter into the holy place”, and prayed so much that “his knees became hard like those of a camel”. McGiffert (1890) quotes Schaff's verdict that this is “an overdrawn picture”.[1][2]

SOURCES

Where this page comes from

  • Eusebius (trans. A. C. McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1), Church History (1890), 1.12.1-4; 2.1.1-5, 10-13; 2.15-16; 2.23; 2.24; 3.11; 3.19-20; 3.25.4; 3.31.2-5; 3.32.1-6; 3.37.1; 3.39.9, 15; 4.22.4; 5.8.3; 6.14.6-7; 6.25.5; 6.36.2; 7.19; 7.25.15.
  • A. C. McGiffert, Notes to Eusebius, Church History (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1) (1890), book 1 ch. 12 notes 201, 212; book 2 ch. 1 notes 235, 239, 241, 244, 246; ch. 15 notes 389-391; ch. 16 note 394; ch. 23 notes 493, 500, 516, 522, 523; book 3 ch. 20 notes 720, 724; ch. 25 note 798; ch. 31 notes 858, 866, 868; book 6 ch. 36 note 2046.
  • Jerome (trans. E. C. Richardson, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 3), Lives of Illustrious Men (1892), chapters 2 (James, with Richardson's note 2343), 4 (Jude), 5 (on Hebrews), 6 (Barnabas, with note 2364), 8 (Mark).
  • Jerome (trans. W. H. Fremantle, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 6), Against Helvidius; Letter 108 (to Eustochium) (1893), Against Helvidius 15 and 19 (the tract dated about AD 383 by the editor); Letter 108, section 8 (dated AD 404 by the editor).
  • Origen (trans. John Patrick, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 9, ed. Allan Menzies), Commentary on Matthew (1896), book 10, section 17, The Brethren of Jesus; ANF vol. 9 first published Buffalo, 1896; checked against the 1903 Scribner reprint (archive.org scan antenicenefather0009unse_s0x0).
  • Alexander Walker (trans.), Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8, Apocrypha of the New Testament: introduction; Protevangelium of James, chapter 9; The Journeyings and Martyrdom of St. Barnabas the Apostle (1886).
  • Irenaeus (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1), Against Heresies (1885), 3.1.1 (also in Eusebius 5.8.3); 3.12.10.
  • A. Cleveland Coxe (ed.), Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, Introductory Note to the Epistle of Barnabas (1885).
  • Clement of Alexandria (trans. William Wilson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2), Stromata (1885), book 2, chapters 6 and 20; book 5, chapter 10.
  • Tertullian (trans. S. Thelwall, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4), On Modesty (1885), chapter 20; the editor's note 701 dates the work 'not earlier than a.d. 208'.
  • Hippolytus (trans. J. H. MacMahon and S. D. F. Salmond, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5), The Refutation of All Heresies; and, among the dubious pieces, On the Seventy Apostles (1886), Refutation book 7, chapter 18 in the ANF numbering, with note 873; On the Seventy Apostles, nos. 1, 6-7, 13-14, 24, 56, 65, with note 2027 ('Probably spurious, but yet antique').
  • John Chrysostom (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11), Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles (1889), Homily 14, on Acts 6 (preached AD 400, by the editor's preface).
  • J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, 10th edition (1890), note on 1:19, p. 84; 'The Name and Office of an Apostle', pp. 95-96; dissertation 'The Brethren of the Lord', pp. 252-291.
  • Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 6 (Acts to Revelation) (1706-1721), on Acts 7:14-16; 13:13; 15:38.
  • M. G. Easton, Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), entries Barnabas; Jude; Mark; Philip (2); Stephen.
  • William Smith, Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884), entry Mark.
  • Charles Souvay, St. Stephen (The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 14) (1912).
  • John Francis Fenlon, St. Barnabas (The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2) (1907).
  • Joseph MacRory, St. Mark (The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 9) (1910).
  • S. F. Hunter, Philip, the Evangelist (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) (1915), vol. 4, p. 2369; checked against the printed 1915 edition (archive.org scan internationalst00orrgoog).
  • J. H. Farmer, Mark, John (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) (1915), vol. 3, p. 1987; checked against the printed 1915 edition (archive.org scan bibleencyclopedi03orruoft), which reads “815 AD”.
  • H. E. Jacobs, Barnabas (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) (1915), vol. 1, pp. 405-406; checked against the printed 1915 edition (archive.org scan bibleencyclopaed01unknuoft).
  • H. E. Jacobs, Brethren of the Lord (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) (1915), vol. 1, pp. 518-519; checked against the printed 1915 edition (archive.org scan bibleencyclopaed01unknuoft).
  • S. D. Press, Stephen (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) (1915), vol. 5, p. 2851; checked against the printed 1915 edition (archive.org scan bibleencyclopedi05orruoft), which prints “c 36 or 37 AD”.
  • A. T. Robertson, Paul, the Apostle (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) (1915), part 3, III. Chronology of Paul's Career, (1) The Death of Stephen; vol. 4, p. 2271; checked against the printed 1915 edition (archive.org scan internationalst00orrgoog).
  • Jacobus de Voragine (Caxton's English of 1483, ed. F. S. Ellis), The Golden Legend, vol. 6: The Lives of SS. Simon and Jude (1900).
  • C. M. Kerr, Philip (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) (1915), vol. 4, p. 2368, the apostle's later life; read in the printed 1915 edition (archive.org scan).

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