Son of Somebody?

This is a series of lessons in historical / critical Bible study that lead to new discoveries about the blood relatives of the Jesus of history. 

 

PART I.  CLEARING AWAY DISTRACTIONS

 Like planning for an archaeological dig to find artifacts that will lead us to sound conclusions about any historical occurrence, we start my clearing the area of our interest of debris (Part I) and distractions (Part II).   But first, a word on

Bible Study Tools: 

If one has access to a computer and a good Internet connection, sources for a Bible study are free and easy to use.  (Go to my study page.) 

I use them and also books – inexpensive books, that is, like a Revised Standard Study Bible,

 

a simple system for finding words in the Bible (concordance),

the writings of Eusebius (which include Hegesippus) and

the works of general-historian Josephus. 

A computerized Bible program with concordances and several versions may also be purchased for less than $10. 

Each of the books of primary writings I mentioned is in reprint form for around $10 each. 

Other printed material recommended is an Introduction to the New Testament and a concordance and a Bible word study book in one. 

If you need a fine Intro to the New Testament, I’ll send you one for a fraction of the cost (I have a lot of them). 

Study is more fun with the books, if that’s how you like to have your fun.  But it’s faster with the computerized versions, especially if posting studies on the web for you free of charge. 

   Unfortunately, the popular Bible translations are absolutely bogus: a word study book is essential.  Better, get And I would not recommend any study book compiled before 1995, since so much fresh scholarship has been included since then.  I use the KJV / New Jerusalem / Young’s Literal / Greek parallel Bible software I bought at K-mart for $9.99 for about everything I do.  I also use internet search engines, but primarily BOOKS.

   If you want to go the next step, you may easily learn new testament Greek or purchase a good Greek lexicon.  I find a lot of very expensive Bible study tools free on the internet or at auction on eBay.  I recently picked up the Greek foundation for the New English Bible on eBay for less that $10.  That is an expensive book. 

   The best secondary resource I know for New Testament history in regards to Jesus’ brothers is the incredible book James the Brother of Jesus by Eisenman.  Another of his books is very good, but impossible to find, which is The Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians.  I have several copies of this book if anyone’s looking for it.  But caution – these Eisenman books aren’t for Baptist fundamentalists or other people on a third-grade reading level.  They are for serious Bible students looking for historical sources to help them trace the historical Yahshua / Jesus.  OK.  On with it.

~ ~ ~

We encounter a great distraction with assumptions Bible Translators make concerning sons.   We look at “son” in the King James Version, the foundation of most of the other translations.  (“Son” in the Bible is ‘uioV or huios; “bar” and “ben” also mean “son.”)

 

“The son of” somebody:

Matthew 10:2.  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3.  Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4.  Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Mark 2:14.  And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus….

 

In Bible versions like the KJV, what does it mean when certain words are in italics?

 

Mark 3:16.  And Simon he surnamed Peter; 17.  And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 18.  And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19.  And Judas Iscariot….

 

What do you think I mean by underlining son in the following verses?

 

Mark 6:3. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?

Luke 3:23.  And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli….

Luke 6:13.  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14.  Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,  15.  Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16.  And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot….

John 1:41.  He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.  42.  And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone.

John 1:45. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph (Iwshf).

John 6:42.  And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how doth he now say, I am come down out of heaven?

John 6:70.  Jesus answered them, Did not I choose you the twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71.  Now he spake of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot….

John 13:26.  Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I shall dip the sop, and give it him. So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh and giveth it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

John 19:25.  Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas (Klopa, Klopa), and Mary Magdalene.

 

Discursion - KLOPA: 

John 19:25 is an interesting verse.  From the Greek, it reads like this:

“Now stood alongside the stake the Iesou the mother of him and the sister of the mother of him Maria the (fem.) the (masc.) Klopa and Maria the Magdalene.”

 

How many were alongside the stake?  Was Jesus’ mother’s sister also named Mary?  And who is Klopa, the man with the name of a woman?  Part of the mystery is solved in the next verse.

 

John 19:26.  When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!  27.  Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

 

Would it make any sense that “the disciple standing by” was “the Klopa”?   Would it be possible that “the Klopa” might be her son?  “Behold thy son,” he said.

 

It might be good to get various word study opinions on the identity of this person (if it is a person) before we unmask him/her through historical sources.

 

Luke 24:13.  And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. …  15.  … Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.  16.  But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. … 18.  And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas (Kleopas), answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

Acts 1:13.  And when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were abiding; both Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus (‘alfai, ‘alfai), and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

Acts 1:23.  And they appointed two, Joseph (Iwshf, Iōsēf) called Barsabas, who was surnamed (called) Justus (IoustoV, Ioustos), and Matthias.   {bar Shabbos means “son of rest” or “Sabbath”}

Acts 13:21.  And afterward they asked for a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for the space of forty years.

 

This exercise clears away the distracting assumptions of early translators to make way for getting to the heart of the matter.  Now that we have broken down some traditional relationships and perhaps formed one or two new ones, we can get to the business of gathering together the debris and sorting through it.  Perhaps we will find something valuable before even breaking ground.

 

{to be continued . . . => }