Joses is a name, usually regarded as a form of Joseph, occurring many times in the New Testament:

• Jose, one of the names in the genealogy of Jesus: Luke 3:29

• Joses, one of the four brothers of Jesus (Greek: ἀδελφοὶ, translit. adelphoi, lit. ‘brethren’)^[2].Greek New Testament, Matthew 13:55: “οὐχ οὖτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται μαριὰμ καὶ οἱ … Continue reading, ^[3].Mark 6:3.

• Joses, brother of James the Less: Mark 15:40, Matthew 27:56

• Joses, the first name of Barnabas: Acts 4:36^[4].Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.

Joses is a short Greek form of Joseph. Unlike Greek Joseph however, which remains frozen as Joseph in all grammatical cases, Joses functions like a true Greek name and is declined in Greek, taking the ending -etos in the genitive case, hence Josetos, “of Joses”.

Although spelling of Joseph is fairly constant in Greek, spellings of the short forms Joses and Josis vary. Tal Ilan‘s catalogue of Jewish name inscriptions of the period (2002) notes variation is the spelling of “Joseph” (indeclinable in Greek) and various shorter (and sometimes declined) Greek variants but also notes that the full form Joseph is dominant with 47 of 69 Greek inscriptions.^[5]Bauckham in Quarles Buried Hope Or Risen Savior: The Search for the Jesus Tomb 2008 Page 84 “In Greek this short form of the name is rarer and does not seem to have any consistent spelling.41 … Continue reading

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him.” (Mark 6:3, ESV)

“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” (Matthew 13:55, ESV)

A minority of (Alexandrian, Western) Greek manuscripts in Matthew 13:55 read “Joseph” (Ἰωσήφ) the standard spelling of the name.^[6]Greek New Testament, United Bible Societies, – footnotes to Mark 6:3 and critical apparatus NA24. Roman Catholics hold that Joses the brother of Jesus is the same as Joses the brother of James referred in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40.^[7]Karl Keating (1988), Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on “Romanism” by “Bible Christians”, Ignatius Press, p. 284-288, ISBN 9780898701777., ^[8]Camerlynck, Achille (1910), “St. James the Less”, The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8, New York: Robert Appleton Company (retrieved from New Advent).

“There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.” (Mark 15:40, ESV)

“There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” (Matthew 27:55-56, ESV)

The text in Mark continues to say “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where [Jesus] was laid.” (15:47 ESV). In the New Testament, the name “James the Less” appears only in this verse in Mark 15:40, who, by parallel accounts of the women at the crucifixion is usually equated with “Mary the mother of James,” and with Mary of Clopas, mentioned only in John 19:25. According to a tradition of Hegesippus (Eusebius III.11) this Clopas was a brother of Joseph making his wife Mary, Jesus’ aunt and this James the younger and Jose to be Jesus’ cousins.^[9]ed. Wilhelm Schneemelcher New Testament Apocrypha – Gospels and Related Writings. p483

James Tabor presents that Mary the mother of James is the same person with Mary the mother of Jesus and that Clopas was her second husband,^[10].Tabor, James D. (2006). The Jesus Dynasty: A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-8723-1. thus making Joses half brother of Jesus. Roman Catholic tradition follows Jerome‘s view that Mary the mother of James (wife of Clopas) is the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus, though they need not be literally sisters, in light of the usage of the said words in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.^[11]Camerlynck, Achille (1910), “St. James the Less”, The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8, New York: Robert Appleton Company (retrieved from New Advent).

A “Joses” appears in the bishop lists of Epiphanius (“Josis”) and Eusebius (“Joseph”) of the early bishops of Jerusalem.^[12].Richard Bauckham, Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church p 76.

In the medieval Golden Legend, Joses is also identified with Joseph Barsabbas, also called Justus, who in the Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:23 is mentioned as a candidate to fill the vacancy created by the death of Judas Iscariot. Justus is listed third in the hereditary line of succession of the Desposyni after James the Just and Simeon of Jerusalem as Bishops of Jerusalem.

In the medieval Golden Legend, Joses is also identified with Joseph Barsabbas, also called Justus, who in the Acts of the Apostles Acts 1:23 is mentioned as a candidate to fill the vacancy created by the death of Judas Iscariot. Justus is listed third in the hereditary line of succession of the Desposyni after James the Just and Simeon of Jerusalem as Bishops of Jerusalem.

We are told practically nothing about this particular Mary, save that she was the mother of two children one of whom Jesus chose as an apostle, namely, James (Matthew 27:55-61; Mark 15:40, 47; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10, see Luke 23:49-56.

Some writers identify her as “the other Mary” (Matthew 27:61), or as the wife of Cleopas or Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3; Luke 24:18, or as a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We do know that she was one of the women who followed Jesus and, having sufficient wealth, ministered unto Him and His disciples in material things thereby assisting them in their work (Luke 8:2, 3.

The narrative suggests that her two fine sons likewise followed her from Galilee to Jerusalem. “It is interesting to note that two mothers with their sons joined the company of the disciples and that three out of the four became members of the apostolic group.” We feel that Mary’s sons were older than Jesus else they probably would not have dared to interfere with Him by force (Mark 3:21).

Mary was among the women from Galilee who followed Jesus to Jerusalem there to witness His death on the cross (Matthew 27:56;Mark 15:40).

She was likewise a spectator at the tomb and fled when told by the angels that Jesus was not there (Mark 16:8).

She was among the first to bear spices to anoint the dear dead body of her Lord, and with joy went forth to declare that He was alive forevermore.

She was the mother of a son who became an apostle, known as “James the Less,” or James the Little to distinguish him from the more conspicuous apostle of the same name. She thus sacrificed both her sustenance and her son for the service of the Master.

Motivated by the inner urge of gratitude to Him for all He had done for her, she became generous, faithful, loving and true. Hers was a simple faith and a trusting love.

Thousands of Christian women down the ages have been likened to her because she loved her Lord and served Him unobtrusively. Kuyper, comparing this Mary with Mary Magdalene by an analogy of our two types of letters, calls Mary Magdalene “a vowel” and Mary, the mother of the apostle, “a consonant.”

The same analogy holds if we compare Peter with James the Less. We should then name Peter, who always took the initiative, the vowel, and James, who always remained in the background, the consonant. This Mary and those other quiet women were very much like James. They were consonants, they harmoniously joined in with the song of love that was sung for Jesus, but they were not originally creative.

Then applying this analogy and pointing out that the world generally deems quiet, unobtrusive and ordinary service somewhat tame and unambitious, Kuyper goes on to remark—

But God’s scale of values weighs differently than ours does. In our alphabet, God gave us five vowels and twenty-one consonants. And He has given the human race very few people to assume the solo parts. To the many others He has granted only the capacity to harmonize when others lead in creation’s hymn of love and praise. That situation is quite appropriate. Only in that way can a supreme harmony be attained. A company of successive soloists would be repulsive to our aesthetic taste.

(joh’ sseess) Personal name in Mark 6:3 , one of the brothers of Jesus.

In Matthew 13:55 KJV follows some Greek manuscripts in reading Joses for a brother of Jesus, but modern translations follow the earliest manuscripts in reading Joseph.

Some Bible students see Joses as a dialectical pronunciation or a Greek substitute for the Hebrew Joseph.

Compare Matthew 27:56 .

Mark 15:40 mentions another Joses, the brother of James the Less, whose mother’s name was Mary.

This latter Joses is mentioned as if he were a disciple of Jesus.

Barnabas’ original name was Joseph in the Greek of Acts 4:36 . KJV reads this as Joses.

• One of the physical brothers of Jesus

• Matthew 13:55

• Matthew 27:56

• Mark 6:3

• Mark 15:40

• Mark 15:47

• A Levite, surnamed Barnabas by the apostles

• Acts 4:36

jo’-sez, jo’-zez (Ioses):

(1) One of the brethren of Jesus (Mark 6:3; in Matthew 13:55 the Greek is “Joseph,” and the Revised Version (British and American) so renders).

(2) A son of Mary, perhaps identical with (1) (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40,47).

See BRETHREN OF THE LORD.

(3) A name of Barnabas (Acts 4:36 the King James Version, where again Greek and the Revised Version (British and American) have “Joseph”).

See BARNABAS.

Brothers of Jesus