'Brother' in the Bible

Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.Don’t trust any brother,for every brother will certainly deceive,and every friend spread slander.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:They will not mourn for him, saying,“Woe, my brother!” or “Woe, my sister!”They will not mourn for him, saying,“Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty!”

This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’

No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.”

so each man would free his male and female Hebrew slaves and no one would enslave his Judean brother.

At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must send him out free from you. But your ancestors did not obey Me or pay any attention.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth’s kingdoms.

“As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity because he practiced fraud, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people.

“Now, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One person speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear what the message is that comes from the Lord!’

I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains”—the declaration of the Lord God—“and every man’s sword will be against his brother.

A priest may not come near a dead person so that he becomes defiled. However, he may defile himself for a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, or an unmarried sister.

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Edomfor three crimes, even four,because he pursued his brother with the sword.He stifled his compassion,his anger tore at them continually,and he harbored his rage incessantly.

You will be covered with shameand destroyed foreverbecause of violence done to your brother Jacob.

Do not gloat over your brotherin the day of his calamity;do not rejoice over the people of Judahin the day of their destruction;do not boastfully mockin the day of distress.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.But you ask: “How have You loved us?”“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob,

As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.

Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them.

But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire.

So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you,

leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a log in your eye?

These are the names of the 12 apostles:First, Simon, who is called Peter,and Andrew his brother;James the son of Zebedee,and John his brother;

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will even rise up against their parents and have them put to death.

For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, that person is My brother and sister and mother.”

For Herod had arrested John, chained him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

“If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart.”

“Teacher, Moses said, if a man dies, having no children, his brother is to marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first got married and died. Having no offspring, he left his wife to his brother.

As He was passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.

Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in their boat mending their nets.

and to James the son of Zebedee,and to his brother John,He gave the name “Boanerges”(that is, “Sons of Thunder”);

Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”

He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother.

Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t His sisters here with us?” So they were offended by Him.

For Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaves his wife behind, and leaves no child, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother.

Then brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and put them to death.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

Simon, whom He also named Peter,and Andrew his brother;James and John;Philip and Bartholomew;

Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck in your brother’s eye.

Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

‘Your brother is here,’ he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother has a wife, and dies childless, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Him.

He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which means “Anointed One”),

One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.

“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and told Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!”

So Ananias left and entered the house. Then he placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you can regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

and he killed James, John’s brother, with the sword.

When they heard it, they glorified God and said, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.

came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him.

But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before the tribunal of God.

For if your brother is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy that one Christ died for by what you eat.

It is a noble thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble.

Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.

Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:

But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

Instead, believer goes to court against believer, and that before unbelievers!

But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not leave her.

But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace.

Then the weak person, the brother for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge.

Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother to fall.

About our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to come to you with the brothers, but he was not at all willing to come now. However, he will come when he has an opportunity.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother:To God’s church at Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.

I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus, but I said good-bye to them and left for Macedonia.

We have sent with him the brother who is praised throughout the churches for his gospel ministry.

We have also sent with them our brother. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you.

I urged Titus to come, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit and in the same footsteps?

But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

Tychicus, our dearly loved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me so that you may be informed.

But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need—

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother:

Tychicus, our dearly loved brother, faithful servant, and fellow slave in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.

He is with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

And we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith,

This means one must not transgress against and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you.

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who walks irresponsibly and not according to the tradition received from us.

Yet don’t treat him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother:To Philemon our dear friend and coworker,

For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but even more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Yes, brother, may I have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.

And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”because they will all know Me,from the least to the greatest of them.

Be aware that our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon enough, he will be with me when I see you.

The brother of humble circumstances should boast in his exaltation,

If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food

Don’t criticize one another, brothers. He who criticizes a brother or judges his brother criticizes the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

I have written you this brief letter through Silvanus (I know him to be a faithful brother) to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Take your stand in it!

Also, regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.

The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

The one who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.