<P> By the 3rd century, the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary had become well established; important early Christian theologians such as Hippolytus (170--235), Eusebius (260 / 265--339 / 340) and Epiphanius (c. 310 / 320--403) defended it . The early church had not accepted that Mary had any children apart from Jesus . Eusebius and Epiphanius held that these men were Joseph's sons from (an unrecorded) former marriage . Epiphanius adds that Joseph became the father of James and his three brothers (Joses, Simeon, Judah) and two sisters (a Salome and a Mary) or (a Salome and an Anna) with James being the elder sibling . James and his siblings were not children of Mary but were Joseph's children from a previous marriage . Joseph's first wife died; many years later, at the age of eighty, "he took Mary (mother of Jesus)". According to Epiphanius the Scriptures call them "brothers of the Lord" to confound their opponents . Origen (184--254) also wrote that "according to the Gospel of Peter the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary". </P> <P> The apocryphal History of Joseph the Carpenter, written in the 5th century and framed as a biography of Joseph dictated by Jesus, describes how Joseph had with his first wife four sons and two daughters . His sons' names were Judas, Justus, James, and Simon, and the names of the two daughters were Assia and Lydia . Years after his first wife died, he took Mary . Therefore, the brothers of Jesus would be the children of Joseph by his first wife . </P> <P> The Protoevangelium of James explicitly claims that Joseph was a widower, with children, at the time that Mary is entrusted to his care . </P> <P> The Catholic Encyclopedia, citing the texts contained in the apocryphal writings, writes that: </P>

Which of jesus brothers wrote books in the bible