Cleophas

Cleophas (also rendered Clopas; meaning: the whole glory) was the husband of Mary who stood at the cross of Jesus alongside the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene (John 19:25). His wife is identified as a sister of the Virgin Mary, making Cleophas a brother-in-law of Joseph by this reading. Some early traditions identified him with Alphaeus, the father of James the Less, though this connection is uncertain. The name Clopas/Cleophas appears to be Semitic in origin rather than a Greek form.

Early church tradition, preserved by Hegesippus and cited by Eusebius, identifies Clopas as a brother of Joseph, father of Jesus — which would make his son Simeon a cousin of Jesus and the second bishop of Jerusalem after James. This family connection would explain Mary's presence near the cross and the later leadership role of Simeon in the Jerusalem church. Whether or not this identification is accurate, Cleophas occupies a significant if shadowy place in the family circle surrounding Jesus's earthly life and the earliest Jerusalem community.