Originally posted by tamborine lady:
Do you think Mary and Joseph had other children, after she gave birth to Jesus? In other words did Jesus have half brothers and sisters?
Yes, I think it's possible, and probable, but it is not difinitive.
The word for "brother" in New Testament Greek is
adelphos. But the word does not always refer to a relationship of uterine brotherhood.
Aadelphos can, depending on context, be used to mean brother, near kinsman or relative, one of the same nation or nature, one of equal rank and dignity, an associate, or even a member of the Christian community.
In Mark 6:3 (cf. Matt. 13:55), the people of Nazareth ask, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Jude, and Simon?". There is adequate context to imply that these are literally brothers as we know it.
On the other hand, in Mark 15:40 (cf. Matt. 27:56), standing near the cross with Mary Magdalene and Salome is a certain Mary, who is the mother of James the less and Joses. A bit later, in Mark 16:1 (cf. Luke 24:10), this same Mary is referred to more simply as "Mary [the mother] of James." Similarly, in Matthew 27:61 and Matt. 28:1, this same Mary is referred to as "the other Mary," to distinguish her from Mary the Mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. So what's the point? Look at John 19:25: "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the [wife] of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." In these verses, it can be inferred that two of the brothers, James the less and Joses, were cousins.
Now, as far as Jude, (the same Jude who wrote the Epistle of Jude) Jude 1 records that Jude is the brother of James. If James is Jesus' brother, then Jude, too, is Jesus' brother. But if James is Jesus' cousin, the Jude, too, is Jesus' cousin.
So, to conclude, is it possible that Jesus had siblings? Yes, it's possible, but it's not biblically difinitive.