Simon, brother of Jesus
Simon is described in the New Testament as one of the brothers of Jesus.
In, people ask concerning Jesus, "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?" while in they ask, "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?"
The Catholic Church defined that "brothers of Jesus" are not biological children of Mary, because of the dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary, by virtue of which it rejects the idea that Simon and any other than Jesus Christ God could be a biological son of Mary, suggesting that the so-called Desposyni were either sons of Joseph from a previous marriage or else were cousins of Jesus. The Catholic Encyclopedia suggests that Simon may be the same person as Simeon of Jerusalem or Simon the Zealot. Protestant interpreters who deny the perpetual virginity of Mary usually take Simon to have been a half-brother of Jesus.
James Tabor, in his controversial book The Jesus Dynasty, suggests that Simon was the son of Mary and Clophas. While Robert Eisenman suggests he was Simon Cephas, known in Greek as Peter, who led the Jewish Christian community after the death of James in 62 CE.
