Familial Brother(s) of the Lord? On Recent Disagreements on Galatians 1.19 and 1 Corinthians 9.5

This article examines recent attempts by mythicists to mitigate the references to Jesus’ family in Galatians 1:19 and 1 Corinthians 9:5. This article deals with two major theories: (1) that Gal 1:19 is an interpolation, and (2) that the references to “brother(s) of the Lord” in Gal 1:19 and 1 Cor 9:5 are actually cultic titles. It is shown that neither of these options is likely. A comparison with the available data indicates Paul almost certainly was referring to Jesus’ historical siblings. This has ramifications both for historical research and also theological impacts on doctrines that maintain Jesus had no blood siblings.