Were they Jesus's siblings?

[Sigma]

Because you only support Catholic book authors. I reject any religion that teaches out of founders and authored books and not straight out of the bible. You can use archaeological books that back up the bible and Jewish heritage and 1st century weddings to describe and back up the bible. But I don't trust man's finite mind to describe an infinite God.

You're the third protestant in this thread who's put words in my mouth. I never said I only support Catholic book authors. You're the one who's single-minded because you confine the living Jesus to the pages of only the Bible. And Maria Valtorta wasn't an author by profession. She was a person Jesus showed scenes of His life and talked to, then had her write down all she saw and heard and what He told her to say, so as to share with the world. He could start doing the same to you at any moment. Would you reject your experience with Jesus afterward just because it's not in the Bible?

 

[Rockerduck]

You're the third protestant in this thread who's put words in my mouth. I never said I only support Catholic book authors. You're the one who's single-minded because you confine the living Jesus to the pages of only the Bible. And Maria Valtorta wasn't an author by profession. She was a person Jesus showed scenes of His life too and talked to, then had her write down all she saw and heard and what He told her to say, so as to share with the world. He could start doing the same to you at any moment. Would you reject your experience with Jesus afterward just because it's not in the Bible?

Jesus has already told me things. I've got over 30 pages in the last 3 yrs.. I've got enough material to write a book. He has never told me to write a book on what He tells me, but He has had me go back and read what I wrote. But its not about me, its about Jesus only. I glorify Christ only who loves me and died for me.

 

[quietthinker]

Ahhhh, poor Mary, she married Joseph, cuddled up to him but never had a nookie. What a toss!
or was it seperate beds, seperate rooms? what a miserable marriage/ relationship......enough to make Joseph check out what else is on the scene!......let alone Mary when she came into oestrus.

 

[Sigma]

That's not in the word of God. Nothing about kinship is written in Matthew 12:46.

Again, the word "brother" is used in Matt. 12:46 and it has multiple definitions, e.g., "fellow-countryman," "disciple/follower," "one of the same faith," and "kinsman," e.g., sibling, cousin, nephew, uncle, etc. The context in Matt. 12:46 shows the definition "kinsman" applies. However, information needed to determine the type of kinship between Jesus and His kinsmen is lacking in those same verses and others.

It's because of Jesus through Maria Valtorta that we have a detailed look into Matt. 12:46 and know the type of kinship that applies. The brothers who arrived with Jesus's mother to speak with Him were Joseph and Simon of Alphaeus, the sons of His mother's spouse's brother, and thus His cousins. The same Joseph and Simon in Matt. 13:55/Mk. 6:3 (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. II, ch. 268, pp. 430-436).

 

[Aunty Jane]

It's because of Jesus through Maria Valtorta that we have a detailed look into Matt. 12:46 and know the type of kinship that applies.

How do you know that Maria Valtorta wasn’t just another delusional nutter who claimed to hear from Jesus?
Do you understand how many people claim to have visions and communication with Jesus? We have some here….do you believe them? If not, why believe Maria Valtorta? The fact that she was an Italian Catholic wouldn’t matter would it?

 

[Sigma]

How do you know that Maria Valtorta wasn’t just another delusional nutter who claimed to hear from Jesus?

Aside from the intrinsic knowing that I also experience when I read the Bible, there are the testimonies and actual studies done by professionals in various fields, who've analyzed and tested the credibility of Maria Valtorta personally and her literary works. Below are just a few:

(i) The results from the mathematical analysis of Maria Valtorta's Work by Professor Emilio Matricciani and Dr. Liberato De Caro, where they concluded:

In conclusion, what do these findings mean? That Maria Valtorta is such a good writer to be able to modulate the linguistic parameters in so many different ways and as a function of character of the plot and type of literary text, so as to cover almost the entire range of the Italian literature? Or that visions and dictations really occurred and she was only a mystical, very intelligent and talented “writing tool”? Of course, no answer grounded in science can be given to the latter question.

(ii) The results from the astronomical and meteorological analysis of Maria Valtorta's Work by Professor Emilio Matricciani and Dr. Liberato De Caro, where they concluded:

It seems that she has written down observations and facts really happened at the time of Jesus’ life, as a real witness of them would have done. The question arises, unsolved from a point of view exclusively rational, how all this is possible because what Maria Valtorta writes down cannot, in any way, be traced back to her fantasy or to her astronomical and meteorological knowledge. In conclusion, if from one hand the scientific inquire has evidenced all the surprising and unexpected results reported and discussed in this paper, on the other hand our actual scientific knowledge cannot readily explain how these results are possible.

(iii) In David Webster, M.Div.'s chapter "Proof by Geography and Topography and Archaeology" of A Summa and Encyclopedia to Maria Valtorta’s Extraordinary Work, he relates:

An additional line of incontrovertible evidence (which Valtorta was encouraged by Jesus to include for the benefit of “the difficult doctors” of the Church) deals with the vast amount of geographical, climatic, agricultural, historical, astronomical, and cartographical information given in her work. Authorities in these fields have verified the accuracy of what she has reported with appropriate astonishment. Valtorta accurately identifies this agricultural and climatic information that is often unique to Palestine with the appropriate calendar period which she often specifically identifies. Without any evidence of planning and with hardly any corrections, Valtorta ends up with a perfectly flowing 3½ year story line with Jesus appropriately in Jerusalem and Judea for Passover and Pentecost in all four spring seasons, and at the Tabernacles in all three fall seasons of His ministry. Valtorta shows Jesus to have traversed the land of Palestine from one end to another in at least six cycles (some 4,000 miles), ministering in some 350 named locations, including places in Palestine known only to specialized archaeologists. Not once, however, does she have Jesus (or any one of the other 500 characters) in a place inconsistent with either the story line or distance or timing necessities.

(iv) In Professional engineer Jean-François Lavère's The Valtorta Enigma, he writes:

The work [The Poem of the Man-God] overflows with exact data from the viewpoint of history, topography, architecture, geography, ethnology, chronology, etc. Furthermore, Maria Valtorta often provides precise details known only by some scholars, and in certain cases, she even records details totally unknown at the time she recorded them, and which archeology, history, or science have later confirmed.

 

[Aunty Jane]

Aside from the intrinsic knowing that I also experience when I read the Bible, there are the testimonies and actual studies done by professionals in various fields, who've analyzed and tested the credibility of Maria Valtorta personally and her literary works. Below are just a few:

(i) The results from the mathematical analysis of Maria Valtorta's Work by Professor Emilio Matricciani and Dr. Liberato De Caro, where they concluded:



(ii) The results from the astronomical and meteorological analysis of Maria Valtorta's Work by Professor Emilio Matricciani and Dr. Liberato De Caro, where they concluded:



(iii) In David Webster, M.Div.'s chapter "Proof by Geography and Topography and Archaeology" of A Summa and Encyclopedia to Maria Valtorta’s Extraordinary Work, he relates:



(iv) In Professional engineer Jean-François Lavère's The Valtorta Enigma, he writes:

You seem to think that the devil is a simpleton who has no power or knowledge of anything. He was there among the faithful angels observing creation, and I assure you he is no slouch when it comes to the art of deception…..he is an evil genius, so much smarter than any human, able to outsmart our brightest scientific minds, who swallow the evolution myth hook line and sinker….because it sounds “scientific”…..and a “Creator” is hardly provable. He is smart, but he is not smarter than God.

The devil can make black seem white and evil seem good…..he can possess people and mislead them, and they in turn mislead others. Even “signs and wonders” that can fool the majority who still think that miracles, such as took place in the first century, still occur today.….they don’t. The real miracles served their purpose and were withdrawn…..

Catholic “sainthood” is a joke. It is God who chooses his “saints”, not any church….and certainly not by Catholic criteria…..no miracles are required.

You seem to have no trouble believing what you have been taught, despite the scriptural evidence to the contrary, that is presented to you. You cannot be convinced of anything against your will…..that is how God judges all of us…..the reader of hearts knows who is serving God through the teachings of his son, and who is merely serving men and upholding man made traditions and dogma.

 

[Sigma]

You seem to think that the devil is a simpleton who has no power or knowledge of anything. He was there among the faithful angels observing creation, and I assure you he is no slouch when it comes to the art of deception…..he is an evil genius, so much smarter than any human, able to outsmart our brightest scientific minds, who swallow the evolution myth hook line and sinker….because it sounds “scientific”…..and a “Creator” is hardly provable. He is smart, but he is not smarter than God.

The devil can make black seem white and evil seem good…..he can possess people and mislead them, and they in turn mislead others. Even “signs and wonders” that can fool the majority who still think that miracles, such as took place in the first century, still occur today.….they don’t. The real miracles served their purpose and were withdrawn…..

Catholic “sainthood” is a joke. It is God who chooses his “saints”, not any church….and certainly not by Catholic criteria…..no miracles are required.

You seem to have no trouble believing what you have been taught, despite the scriptural evidence to the contrary, that is presented to you. You cannot be convinced of anything against your will…..that is how God judges all of us…..the reader of hearts knows who is serving God through the teachings of his son, and who is merely serving men and upholding man made traditions and dogma.

Again you put words in my mouth. Anyway, no matter how deceptive satan is, Jesus says we shall know them by their fruits and that an evil tree cannot bear good fruit. If Maria Valtorta's literary works were of satan, we'd see bad fruit in them, but there isn't, as I and numerous others can attest.

Also, no scriptural verses that show Jesus's kinsmen Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) were His siblings have been presented, only verses they believe do and I've refuted them all. You haven't even replied to those latest arguments in post #65.

 

[Sigma]

...use of the term first born strongly implies a second born and possibly more

Even an only child is called a firstborn, so how does Jesus having been called "firstborn" "strongly imply" He had siblings?

Nowhere is a near relative like uncle, cousin, nephew etc. used for adelphos

Incorrect. See below.

אָח ('âch; plural 'âchiem)
Definition
Strong

A primitive word; a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance (like H1)): - another, brother (-ly), kindred, like, other. Compare also the proper names beginning with «Ah-» or «Ahi-».


Greek Equivalent Words:
Strong #: 80 ‑ ἀδελφός (ad‑el‑fos')...

ἀδελφός (adelphos; plural adelphoi)
Definitions
Liddell-Scott-Jones

2. kinsman, ib.Ge.13.8, al.;...

The Septuagint translators substituted the Hebrew words "אחים" ('âchiem) in Gen. 13:8 with the Greek equivalent "ἀδελφοὶ" (adelphoi) and "אָח" ('âch) in Gen 14:14 with the Greek equivalent "ἀδελφός" (adelphos) to show kinship between Abraham and Lot, which lineage shows were that of uncle and nephew: "εἶπεν δὲ Αβραμ τῷ Λωτ Μὴ ἔστω μάχη ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ σοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ποιμένων μου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ποιμένων σου. ὅτι ἄνθρωποι ἀδελφοὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν." (Gen. 13:8) and "ἀκούσας δὲ Αβραμ ὅτι ᾐχμαλώτευται Λωτ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ, ἠρίθμησεν τοὺς ἰδίους οἰκογενεῖς αὐτοῦ, τριακοσίους δέκα καὶ ὀκτώ, καὶ κατεδίωξεν ὀπίσω αὐτῶν ἕως Δαν." (Gen. 14:14)

The Septuagint translators substituted the Hebrew word "אָח" ('âch) in Gen. 29:15 with the Greek equivalent "ἀδελφός" (adelphos) to show kinship between Jacob and Laban, which lineage shows were that of uncle and nephew: "Εἶπε δὲ Λάβαν τῷ ᾿Ιακώβ· ὅτι γὰρ ἀδελφός μου εἶ, οὐ δουλεύσεις μοι δωρεάν· ἀπάγγειλόν μοι, τίς ὁ μισθός σου ἐστί;" (Gen. 29:15

The Septuagint translators substituted the Hebrew word "אחים" ('âchiem) in 1 Chr. 23:21–22 with the Greek equivalent "ἀδελφοὶ" (adelphoi) to show it was kin the daughters of Eleazar married, which lineage shows was their cousins: "καὶ ἀπέθανεν Ελεαζαρ, καὶ οὐκ ἦσαν αὐτῷ υἱοὶ ἀλλ᾽ ἢ θυγατέρες, καὶ ἔλαβον αὐτὰς υἱοὶ Κις ἀδελφοὶ αὐτῶν." (1 Chr. 23:22)

As you can see, one of the definitions of the word "ἀδελφός" (adelphos) is "kinsman," and it can be used to refer to a sibling, cousin, nephew, uncle, etc. In Matt. 13:55/Mk. 6:3, Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) are called Jesus's "brothers," or "ἀδελφός" (adelphos). The context in this verse shows they were His kinsmen. However, information needed to determine the type of kinship, e.g., sibling, cousin, nephew, uncle, etc., between Jesus and His kinsmen is lacking in those same verses and others.

I've provided evidence that confirms Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) in Matt. 13:55/Mk. 6:3 were Jesus's brothers, as in kinsmen, and shows that the type of kinship between them and Jesus was that of cousins, not siblings as you believe. This was accomplished primarily by identifying James. See opening post.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

Even an only child is called a firstborn, so how does Jesus having been called "firstborn" "strongly imply" He had siblings?

No they are not!

The Septuagint translators substituted the Hebrew words "אחים" ('âchiem) in Gen. 13:8 with the Greek equivalent "ἀδελφοὶ

Now you need to establish that the Septuagint use is the most valid use ion light of the definition I posted.

You also need to establish that Mary or Joseph and brothers or sisters who settled in to Nazareth and had children who would be Jesus' cousins. Remember Nazareth was not their original town.

Adelphos:

Dictionary Aids
Vine's Expository Dictionary: View Entry
TDNT Reference: 1:144,22
KJV Translation Count — Total: 346x
The KJV translates Strong's G80 in the following manner: brethren (226x), brother (113x), brother's (6x), brother's way (1x).
Outline of Biblical Usage [?]

1. a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother
2. having the same national ancestor, belonging to the same people, or countryman
3. any fellow or man
4. a fellow believer, united to another by the bond of affection
5. an associate in employment or office
6. brethren in Christ
   1. his brothers by blood
   2. all men
   3. apostles
      Thayer's Greek Lexicon [?](Jump to Scripture Index)
      STRONGS G80:
      
      
      ἀδελφός, -οῦ, ὁ (from α copulative and δελφύς, from the same womb; cf. ἀγάστωρ) [from Homer down];
      1. a brother (whether born of the same two parents, or only of the same father or the same mother): Matthew 1:2; Matthew 4:18, and often. That 'the brethren of Jesus,' Matthew 12:46, 47 [but WH only in marginal reading]; Matthew 13:55f; Mark 6:3 (in the last two passages also sisters); Luke 8:19; John 2:12; John 7:3; Acts 1:14; Galatians 1:19; 1 Corinthians 9:5, are neither sons of Joseph by a wife married before Mary (which is the account in the Apocryphal Gospels [cf. Thilo, Cod. Apocr. N. T. i. 362f]), nor cousins, the children of Alphæus or Cleophas [i. e. Clopas] and Mary a sister of the mother of Jesus (the current opinion among the doctors of the church since Jerome and Augustine [cf. Bp. Lightfoot's Commentary on Galatians, diss. ii.]), according to that use of language by which ἀδελφός like the Hebrew אָח denotes any blood-relation or kinsman (Genesis 14:16; 1 Samuel 20:29; 2 Kings 10:13; 1 Chronicles 23:22, etc.), but own brothers, born after Jesus, is clear principally from Matthew 1:25 [only in R G]; Luke 2:7 — where, had Mary borne no other children after Jesus, instead of υἱὸν πρωτότοκον, the expression υἱὸν μονογενῆ would have been used, as well as from Acts 1:14, cf. John 7:5, where the Lord's brethren are distinguished from the apostles.
      See further on this point under Ἰάκωβος, 3. [Cf. B. D. under the word Brother; Andrews, Life of our Lord, pp. 104-116; Bib. Sacr. for 1864, pp. 855-869; for 1869, pp. 745-758; Laurent, N. T. Studien, pp. 153-193; McClellan, note on Matthew 13:55.]
      2. according to a Hebrew use of אָח (Exodus 2:11; Exodus 4:18, etc.), hardly to be met with in secular authors, having the same national ancestor, belonging to the same people, countryman; so the Jews (as the σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ, υἱοἰ Ἰσραήλ, cf. Acts 13:26; [in Deuteronomy 15:3 opposed to ὁ ἀλλότριος, cf. Acts 17:15; Acts 15:12; Philo de septen. § 9 at the beginning]) are called ἀδελφοί: Matthew 5:47; Acts 3:22 (Deuteronomy 18:15); Acts 7:23; 22:5; 28:15, 21; Romans 9:3; in address, Acts 2:29; Acts 3:17; Acts 23:1; Hebrews 7:5.
      3. just as in Leviticus 19:17 the word אָח is used interchangeably with רֵַעַ (but, as Leviticus 19:16, 18 show, in speaking of Israelites), so in the sayings of Christ, Matthew 5:22, 24; Matthew 7:3ff, ἀδελφός is used for ὁ πλησίον to denote (as appears from Luke 10:29ff) any fellow-man — as having one and the same father with others, viz. God (Hebrews 2:11), and as descended from the same first ancestor (Acts 17:26); cf. Epictetus diss. 1, 13, 3.
      
      
      
      I prefer to take the far more extensive lexicons and greek experts than just the basic generic definition of a concordance.
      

      Incorrect. See below.

      and as I told you that is the Septuagint from the Hebrew. But you do not find that definition as kinsmen in the new Testament.
      
      
      And you need to establish that Mary or Joseph had brothers or sisters who lived in Nazareth and the Pharisees knew they were the cousins of Jesus so they could make that pronouncement. Also adelphoi (feminine) would never be used of cousin. Once again in the times of Jesus they had 2 words for cousins or kinsmen and they were not adelphos or adelpoi.
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

 

[amigo de christo]

I don't know, Sigma. Everyone whom believed on the Lord Jesus, Christ is known as a brother and sister, adopted with the Father in heaven taking us in as his children.

That is true . but notice it says for not even his brethren believed on him . JESUS had flesh brothers and sisters .
Half anyway . CAUSE THE ONLY FATHER JESUS HAD IS GOD . no earthly father , fathered HIM .
as you probably already know . The CC has changed many things . SORRY to have to be the bearer of what folks call bad news ,
but then i aint sorry either . Let no man , let no woman , let no child follow that place , EVER . And due to the FACT
i love them all , you can bet i will help them to come out of that place . Where we sit MATTERS pardener .
What table we partake of does matter . And we cannot partake of BOTH tables either . Now raise those hands and let the King
be praised .

 

[MatthewG]

That is true . but notice it says for not even his brethren believed on him . JESUS had flesh brothers and sisters .
Half anyway . CAUSE THE ONLY FATHER JESUS HAD IS GOD . no earthly father , fathered HIM .
as you probably already know . The CC has changed many things . SORRY to have to be the bearer of what folks call bad news ,
but then i aint sorry either . Let no man , let no woman , let no child follow that place , EVER . And due to the FACT
i love them all , you can bet i will help them to come out of that place . Where we sit MATTERS pardener .
What table we partake of does matter . And we cannot partake of BOTH tables either . Now raise those hands and let the King
be praised .

Idk

 

[amigo de christo]

Idk

Well more than likey those others were the offspring of jospeh and mary .
What i do KNOW , for a fact is , no earthly father sired CHRIST . MARY was a virgin
Up till at least after the BIRTH OF CHRIST . After that grown men and women that are married , HAVE RELATIONS .
just a friendly reminder to all who might be concerned .

 

[MatthewG]

He did live for thirty or thirty three years so, mary and jospeh could have had children after ward.

 

[Sigma]

JESUS had flesh brothers and sisters .
Half anyway .

The opening post show those believed to be Jesus's siblings were actually His cousins.

 

[Sigma]

...use of the term first born strongly implies a second born and possibly more

The term "firstborn" isn't limited to children with siblings, even a woman's first and only born child is called their firstborn because they're literally their first born. So, how does Jesus having been called "firstborn" in itself "strongly imply" He had siblings?

Nowhere is a near relative like uncle, cousin, nephew etc. used for adelphos

Incorrect. In post #169, I've given examples of the Septuagint transl. substituting the Hebrew words "אָח" ('âch; plural אחים 'âchiem) with their Greek equivalents "ἀδελφός" (adelphos; plural ἀδελφοὶ adelphoi) to refer to kinsmen, such as cousins, nephews, and uncles. In the NT, the words "ἀδελφός" (adelphos; plural ἀδελφοὶ adelphoi) and "ἀδελφή" (adelphē) are used, and one of their definitions is "kinsman" or "kinswoman":

Greek Dictionary

Forms of the word
Dictionary: ἀδελφός, -οῦ, ὁ
Greek transliteration: adelphos
Simplified transliteration: adelphos

Numbers
Strong's number: 80
GK Number: 81

Statistics
Frequency in New Testament: 343
Morphology of Biblical Greek Tag: n-2a

Gloss:
brother, fellow countryman, neighbor (often inclusive in gender); by extension a fellow believer in the family of faith; in the plural brothers regularly refers to men and women

Definition:
a brother, near kinsman, or relative; one of the same nation or nature; one of equal rank and dignity; an associate, a member of the Christian community

Greek Dictionary

Forms of the word
Dictionary: ἀδελφή, -ῆς, ἡ
Greek transliteration: adelphē
Simplified transliteration: adelphe

Numbers
Strong's number: 79
GK Number: 80

Statistics
Frequency in New Testament: 26
Morphology of Biblical Greek Tag: n-1b

Gloss:
sister, fellow countrywoman; by extension a female believer, a sister in the family of faith

Definition:
a sister; near kinswoman, or female relative, a female member of the Christian community

A kinsman or kinswoman can refer to a sibling, cousin, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, etc. In Matt. 13:55 and Mk. 6:3, Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) were called Jesus's "ἀδελφοὶ" (adelphoi), and the context shows that the definition "kinsman" applies, but the information needed to determine whether they were His siblings, cousins, nephews, or uncles, etc., is lacking in those same verses.

Whether or not you concede that one of the definitions of the words "ἀδελφός" (adelphos; plural ἀδελφοὶ adelphoi) and "ἀδελφή" (adelphe) is "kinsman" or "kinswoman", there's still the evidence in the opening post that shows Jesus's kinsmen Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) were the sons of Mary's spouse's brother, Alphaeus, and thus His cousins.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

The term "firstborn" isn't limited to children with siblings, even a woman's first and only born child is called their firstborn because they're literally their first born. So, how does Jesus having been called "firstborn" in itself "strongly imply" He had siblings?

Because He is called "firstborn" which by normal grammar and understanding explicitly means they are the first of at least two.
go ask a dozen people if first born means there were most likely others. But not in context of our discussion but as a generic thought. when people have only one child, they say they are their "only child" not first born. But then again that requires knowing language without an agenda.

Incorrect. In post #169, I've given examples of the Septuagint transl. substituting the Hebrew words "אָח" ('âch; plural אחים 'âchiem) with their Greek equivalents "ἀδελφός" (adelphos; plural ἀδελφοὶ adelphoi) to refer to kinsmen, such as cousins, nephews, and uncles. In the NT, the words "ἀδελφός" (adelphos; plural ἀδελφοὶ adelphoi) and "ἀδελφή" (adelphe) are used, and one of their definitions is "kinsman" or "kinswoman":

And as I have repeated, that was used only in the OT but you will not find adelphos used a near kin in the NT. loook at the definition and the construct I posted.

A kinsman or kinswoman can refer to a sibling, cousin, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, etc. In Matt. 13:55 and Mk. 6:3, Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) were called Jesus's "ἀδελφοὶ" (adelphoi), and the context shows that the definition "kinsman" applies, but the information needed to determine whether they were His siblings, cousins, nephews, or uncles, etc., is lacking in those same verses.

Whether or not you concede that one of the definitions of the words "ἀδελφός" (adelphos; plural ἀδελφοὶ adelphoi) and "ἀδελφή" (adelphe) is "kinsman" or "kinswoman", there's still the evidence in the opening post that shows Jesus's kinsmen Joseph, Simon, James, and Judas (Jude/Thaddeus) were the sons of Mary's spouse's brother, Alphaeus, and thus His cousins.

No it does not apply for it is not used that way in the NT as the Greek shows for NT use.

As for Alpheus:

Identification with Matthew and James the Less[edit]​

Usually, in the Western Catholic tradition, there are believed to be two men named Alphaeus. One of them was the father of the apostle James and the other the father of Matthew (Levi).[8] Though both Matthew and James are described as being the "son of Alphaeus," there is no Biblical account of the two being called brothers, even in the same context where John and James or Peter and Andrew are described as being brothers. Despite this, Eastern Church tradition typically states that Matthew and James were brothers.[9][10][11][12] The apocryphal Gospel of Peter also refers to Levi as the son of Alphaeus.[13]

Maybe James and John are cousins and Peter and Andrew are cuosins for they are called "adelphos" also . ONce again by first century they had two perfectly good words that are defined as cousins!

And Joseph Having Come to a Feast with his Sons...

The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew — Unknown And Joseph having come to a feast with his sons, James, Joseph, and Judah, and Simeon and his two daughters, Jesus met them, with Mary His mother, along with her sister Mary of Cleophas, whom the Lord God had given to her father Cleophas and her mother Anna, because they had offered Mary the mother of Jesus to the Lord. And she was called by the same name, Mary, for the consolation of her parents. [1690] And when they had come together, Jesus sanctified and blessed them, and He was the first to begin to eat and drink; for none of them dared to eat or drink, or to sit at table, or to break bread, until He had sanctified them, and first done so. And if He happened to be absent, they used to wait until He should do this. And when He did not wish to come for refreshment, neither Joseph nor Mary, nor the sons of Joseph, His brothers, came. And, indeed, these brothers, keeping His life as a lamp before their eyes, observed Him, and feared Him. And when Jesus slept, whether by day or by night, the brightness of God shone upon Him. To whom be all praise and glory for ever and ever. Amen, amen.

You rely on traditio0n while I rely on grammar and contemporary writings that didn't make SCripture.

Other than several centuries old oral tradition, you have no proof.

Find me one instance where you can prove adelphos means kinsmen (uncle, cousins, nephew) in New Testament times and you can keep this door open, other wise you should accept this tradition of Mary ever virgin, is an evewr lie.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

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)

Now I know many people think Jews are not very smart, but they are intelligent enough not to name two daughtees of the same parents "Mary".

 

[Ronald Nolette]

"...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)

And where did Hegesippus get this supposed info.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

his (Jesus's) mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas" (Jn. 19:25)

Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not have a sister; she was an only child1. However, there is a mention of a "Mary of Cleophas" in the Bible, who is referred to as Mary's sister2345. It is unclear whether this Mary of Cleophas is the same person as Mary, the mother of Jesus. According to some historians, Mary of Cleophas was likely Mary's sister-in-law4.