Well... It's both in scripture... and in our history books....
False.
I'll show you why below.
Jesus's brothers Joseph, Simon, James, Judas (Jude/Thaddeus), and unnamed sisters in Matt. 13:55-56/Mk. 6:3-4 are called His
"ἀδελφοί" (sing. ἀδελφός adelphos; pl. ἀδελφοὶ adelphoi) and
"αδελφαι" (sing. ἀδελφή adelphē; pl. αδελφαι adelphai)
, translated to
"brothers" and "sisters" in English. The aforementioned Koine Greek words have multiple definitions, e.g., "fellow-countryman," "disciple/follower," "one of the same faith," and "a near kinsman/kinswoman, or relative," etc.
The context of Matt. 13:55-56/Mk. 6:3-4 shows the meaning "a near kinsman/kinswoman, or relative" applies to Jesus's brothers and sisters. However, a kinsman/kinswoman/relative can be a sibling, cousin, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, etc., and information needed to determine the
type of kinship that applies here is lacking in those same verses.
I've shown below the
type of kinship Jesus's brothers Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) were to Him.
This was accomplished primarily by identifying James.
Early Christian and Scriptural References
I. "
Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus (Clopas), who
was the mother of James the bishop and apostle, and of
Simon and
Thaddeus (Jude/Judas), and of one
Joseph." (Papias of Hierapolis [
c. 60–130 AD],
Fragments of Papias, Frag. 10,
cf. Jn. 19:25)
II. "...
James, who is
called the brother of the Lord ... as appears to me,
the son of Mary sister of the mother of our Lord ... after ordained by the apostles
bishop of Jerusalem,
wrote a single epistle, which is reckoned among the seven Catholic epistles" (
cf. Jud. 1:1) and "...
Mary who is described as
the mother of James the Less was
the wife of Alphaeus and sister of Mary the Lord's mother" (Jerome of Stridon [
c. 347–420 CE],
De Viris Illustribus,
De Perpetua Uirginitate Beatae Mariae,
cf. Jn. 19:25)
III. Eusebius of Caesarea [
c. 260–340 AD] relates the following in his
Historia Ecclesiastica:
James,
the brother of the Lord, was the "...
author of the first of the so-called catholic epistles" and that while it is disputed, "as is the case likewise with the epistle that bears the name of Jude, which is also one of the seven so-called catholic epistles," it is known they have been "...read publicly in very many churches." (Bk. I, ch. 23,
cf. Jud. 1:1)
"
James ...
surnamed the Just ...
bishop of the church of Jerusalem. This James was
called the brother of the Lord..." and "
Paul also makes mention of the same James the Just, where he writes, 'Other of the apostles saw I none, save
James the Lord's brother.'" (Bk. II, ch. 1)
"...those of the apostles and disciples of the Lord ... with those that were related to the Lord according to the flesh ... pronounced
Symeon (Simon),
the son of Clopas ... to be worthy of the episcopal throne of that parish. He was
a cousin, as they say,
of the Saviour. For Hegesippus records that
Clopas was a brother of Joseph." (Bk. III, ch. 11)
"Josephus, at least, has not hesitated to testify this in his writings, where he says, 'These things happened to the Jews to avenge
James the Just, who
was a brother of Jesus, that is called the Christ.'" (Bk. II, ch. 23)
"...the
brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name
was James" (Flavius Josephus [
c. 37-100 CE],
Antiquitates Iudaicae, Bk. XX, ch. 9)
"...
James the Just bishop of Jerusalem" and "...but
there were two Jameses:
one called the Just ... thrown from the pinnacle of the temple ... and beaten to death with a club by a fuller, and
another who was beheaded." (Bk. II, ch. 1) (Clement of Alexandria [c. 150–215 AD],
Hypotyposes, Bk. VII,
cf. Ac. 12:1-2)
"...
James the brother of the Lord, succeeded to the government of the Church ...
called the Just ..." (Bk. II, ch. 23) and "after James the Just had suffered martyrdom ...
Symeon (Simon), the
son of the Lord's uncle,
Clopas, was appointed the next bishop ... because he was
a cousin of the Lord." (Bk. III, ch. 22) (Hegesippus [
c. 110-180 AD],
Hypomnemata)
Additional Scriptural Support
The teaching that Mary of Cleophas (Clopas/Alphaeus) was the mother of Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) of Alphaeus (Cleophas/Clopas), as well as the sister-in-law of Jesus's mother, Mary of Joseph, can be further supported by these verses:
"his (Jesus's) mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas" (Jn. 19:25)
"Mary, mother of James" (Mk. 16:1)
"Mary of James" (Lk. 24:10)
"Mary, mother of James and Joseph" (Matt. 27:56)
"Mary, mother of James the Less and Joseph" (Mk. 15:40)
If, at the very least, you agree that "James" in Matt. 13:55/Mk. 63 and the apostle "James" in Gal. 1:19 were the same person,
consider the following about two of the twelve apostles named "James:"
Apostle James,
son of Zebedee, whose brother [sibling] was Apostle
John, and their mother is only known to have been the mother of "the sons of Zebedee." It's indisputable that of the two, this James-apostle doesn't correlate with the "James" in Matt. 13:55/Mk. 6:3 and Gal. 1:19. (Matt. 4:21;20:20;27:56, Mk. 1:19;3:17;10:35, Lk. 5:10, Ac. 12:1-2)
Apostle James,
son of Alphaeus, whose brothers [siblings] were Apostle
Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) and
Joseph. It's indisputable that of the two, this James-apostle correlates more with "James" in Matt. 13:55/Mk. 6:3 and Gal. 1:19. (Matt. 10:3, Mk. 3:18, Lk. 6:15-16, Ac. 1:13)
Summary
Papias of Hierapolis [
c. 60–130 AD] indicated "
Apostle James of Alphaeus" and "
James the bishop of Jerusalem" were the same person, as well as the
brother [sibling] of Simon,
Joseph, and
Jude (Judas/Thaddeus), and that
these four were the sons of Mary and
Alphaeus (Cleophas/Clopas). (
Fragments of Papias, Frag. 10)
Jerome of Stridon [
c. 347–420 CE] indicated "
James the bishop of Jerusalem," "
James the brother of the Lord," "
James the Less," and the "
author of the Epistle of James," were the same person. He also said this James was the
son of Jesus's mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Alphaeus (Cleophas/Clopas,
cf. Jn. 19:25), which coincides with Papias's testimony, and thus Jerome would've known he was
Apostle James of Alphaeus as well. (
De Viris Illustribus,
De Perpetua Uirginitate Beatae Mariae)
Eusebius of Caesarea [
c. 260–340 AD] indicated "
James the bishop of Jerusalem," "
James the brother of the Lord," "
James the Just," and the "
author of the Epistle of James," were the same person. He also said,
"Apostle Paul makes mention of the same James the Just, where he writes, 'Other of the apostles saw I none, save
James the Lord's brother.'" (
Historia Ecclesiastica, Bk. I, ch. 23, Bk. II, ch. 1)
Clement of Alexandria [
c. 150–215 AD] indicated "
James the bishop of Jerusalem" and "
James the Just" were the same person. (
Hypotyposes, Bk. VII)
Flavius Josephus [
c. 37-100 CE] indicated "
James the brother of the Lord" and "
James the Just" were the same person. (
Antiquitates Iudaicae, Bk. XX, ch. 9)
Hegesippus [
c. 110-180 AD] indicated "
James the brother of the Lord" and "
James the Just" were the same person. (
Hypomnemata)
The scriptural verses and crossover agreement between all my sources, even if not every surname is listed by each individual source, collectively show that James in Matt. 13:55/Mk. 6:3;apostle James of Alphaeus; James the Less; James the Just; James the bishop of Jerusalem; James "the brother of the Lord;" and the author of the
Epistle of James were the same person, and the son of Joseph's brother, Alphaeus, and his wife Mary of Cleophas (Clopas/Alpaheus), and thus he and his siblings Simon, Joseph, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) were Jesus's cousins.