Joses
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Joses (or Joseph) is the second of the brothers of Jesus appearing in the New Testament.
Joses is first mentioned in Mark 6:3, which related people talking about Jesus:
- "Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him."
A Joses is also appears in Mark 15:40, which mentions among the women present at Jesus' crucifixion a "Mary, the mother of James the Less and Joses".
The Gospel of Matthew closely mirrors these two passages in Matthew 13:55-57 and Matthew 27:56 but uses Joseph instead of Joses.
Mary, the mother of James and Joses, is identified with Mary of Clopas mentioned in John 19:25.
Since Joses is an uncommon variant of Joseph and appears in no other place in the book or the entire New Testament, it is likely that both verses refer to the same person.
Therefore, some traditions, first visible in the writings of Papias and later prevalent among Roman Catholics, have identified the sons of Mary of Clopas with the brothers of Jesus.
In the medieveal Legenda Aurea, Joses is also identified with Joseph Barsabbas, who in the Acts of the Apostles is mentioned as a candidate to fill the vacancy created by the death Judas Iscariot.
Some modern writers, such such as Robert Eisenman or James Tabor, however claim that Mary of Clopas actually refers to Jesus' mother as well[1], quite in conflict to the passage in John's Gospel that mentions both side by side. However, this view has not found acceptance.
