It's much easier to simply lay out all the "brothers" in the Bible and ask which one(s) are supposed to be "blood brothers", "friends", members of an affinity group, "kin",or "cousins".
Don't have an answer? Which James is the son of Joseph and when does he gain admittance to the Apostles and what does he do with the other James (we know Herod killed James the Greater)?
I guess I wasn't exhaustive enough. Let's go straight to the text. Bible Gateway
1 Matthew 4:21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
This is James the greater, son of Zebedee, brother of John. This is a no brainer. Note how This James is often paired with John in the future, to avoid confusion.
2 Matthew 10:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
James the Greater, son of Zebedee.
3 Matthew 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus.
4 Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
The disputed James in question. Either, by "plain English" the son of Joseph and half-brother of Jesus or James the Lesser, kin of Jesus. Note the names of the other kin: Joses, Simon and Judas.
5 Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
James the Greater. His brother being John is a clue.
6 Matthew 27:56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.
Mary here is either the mother of James the Lesser, who has a brother named Joses, or this reference to the Mother of the Lord is made in a cryptic roundabout fashion.
7 Mark 1:19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
James the Greater
8 Mark 1:29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
James and John. Ergo, James the Greater.
9 Mark 3:17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
Ditto.
10 Mark 3:18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus.
11 Mark 5:37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
James the Greater. Brother John.
12 Mark 6:3 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? And they were offended at him.
James the Lesser, same as #4 above.
13 Mark 9:2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
James the Greater. Brother John.
14 Mark 10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire
Ditto.
15 Mark 10:41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.
Ditto.
16 Mark 13:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
Ditto.
17 Mark 14:33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
Ditto.
18 Mark 15:40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
Mary here is clearly the mother of James the less (and his brother Joses). This passage mirrors the one given above in number 6 and makes it clear that this Mary is the mother of James the Lesser.
19 Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Same women. Still mother of James the Lesser.
20 Luke 5:10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
James the Greater.
21 Luke 6:14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
Ditto.
22 Luke 6:14 Luke 6:15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes
James the Lesser
23 Luke 6:16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
Who has a brother named Judas? Both James the Lesser and our mystery James, son of Joseph.
24 Luke 8:51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.
James and John. Gotta be James the Greater.
25 Luke 9:28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
John and James. The Greater.
26 Luke 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Ditto.
27 Luke 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
Another one of those "ambiguous" passages where this Mary is either the Mother of Jesus the Lord but mentioned only as the mother of James, or this refers to Mary the mother of James the Lesser, a comopletely different person.
28 Acts 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Both Jameses. No mystery appearance by the third "James the Brother of the Lord" who suddenly takes over the Church in Jerusalem, according to Protestant legend.
29 Acts 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
James the Greater dies in Acts 12.
30 Acts 12:17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
James the Lesser is still alive. Must be him. Unless you hold to the theory that suddenly and without warning he is written out of the story at this point and replaced by a son of Joseph without notice.
31 Acts 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Ditto.
32 Acts 21:18 And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
Ditto.
33 1 Corinthians 15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
James an apostle is mentioned. This is either the surviving Apostle, James the Lesser, or some new character.
34 Galatians 1:19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
"James the Lord's brother" makes his one and only appearance in Scripture. Is this a new character?
35 Galatians 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
Paul mentions James again, along with other Apostles. No attempt is made to explain what happened to James the Lesser.
36 Galatians 2:12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Ditto.
37 James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James fails to mention that Jesus is his brother. Seems odd.
38 Jude 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
Jude is a brother of James. Just like James the Lesser.
And that's it. 38 mentions of "James" in the Scriptures. Most are comopletely unambiguous. Now, there are two competing theories on the rest of the references.
#1. James the Lesser, son of Alphaeus, brother of Judas, brother of Joses is a relative of Jesus's earthly family and is in this way referred to as a "brother" of Jesus. He also has a mother named Mary, but not the same mother as Jesus.
#2. James, a son of Joseph and Mary, is a half-blood brother of Jesus. He is mentioned in a list of Jesus's "brothers" early in his ministry and then disappears from the narrative until sometime around Penetecost and the death of James the Greater.
At this time, he displaces James the Lesser into oblivion and takes control of the fledgling Church at Jerusalem, immediately being put into a position of control. All based on having a common mother with Jesus, and not based upon his being an Apostle of Jesus prior to His death and Resurrection, or being privy to any of the secret conversations Jesus had with his disciples.
(And we are the ones who elevate Mary!)
Furthermore, one must believe it strict coincidence that James the Lesser has a mother named Mary and a brother named Joses.
And we must believe that the importance of James the brother of the Lord is so great that one refers to his mother, the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, the woman who bore God Incarnate in her womb, as "the mother of James and Joses."
SD