Filing in Narrative Gaps
The Infancy Gospel of James
answers numerous other questions in his gospel book by providing episodes not
contained in the Canonical Edition. For example, how could Mary have been born
without sin? Answer: Mary’s mother, Anna, conceived without having sex (chapter
4). How could Jesus be Mary’s only child if he had brothers and sisters?
Answer: The other children were from Joseph’s first marriage (chapter 8). How
could one know that Mary was a virgin even after giving birth? Answer: A
miracle. After the birth of Jesus, skeptical Salome performed a medical exam,
and she found Mary to still be a virgin (chapter 20). The assessment of
Mary’s virginity is not consistent with Gospel according to Matthew, which
clearly communicates that Mary and Joseph had intercourse after Jesus was born.
(David Trobisch, On the Origin of Christian Scripture: The Evolution of the
New Testament Canon in the Second Century [Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
2023], 47)
“When Joseph awoke from sleep, he
did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife but had no
marital relations with her [καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν] until she had borne a son;
and he named him Jesus” (Matt 1:24–25). The story implies that Joseph and Mary
had sex after Jesus was born. According to the editorial narrative of the
Canonical Edition, Jesus had four brothers and at least two sisters. “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?” (Mark 6:3). “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? And are not all his sisters with us?” (Matt
13:55–56). According to the editorial narrative of the Canonical Edition, the
Letters of James and Jude were written by Jesus’s brothers. (Ibid., 151 n. 22)
