Charles Ellicott Commentary John 19:25

"These things therefore the soldiers did. But there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother`s sister, Mary the [wife] of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene." — John 19:25 (ASV)

John 19:25–27 relate an incident which is found in St. John only.

Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.—Better, Mary the (wife) of Clopas, as in margin. This Clopas is usually identified with Alphæus. (Matthew 27:56, and Introduction to the Gospel according to St. Matthew, p. 41)

The question arises: are there three or four women mentioned here? That is, is Mary the (wife) of Clopas the sister of Mary, the mother of our Lord? Or does St. John mean by His mother’s sister an unnamed woman, who could very well be his own mother, Salome, whom he nowhere mentions?

This question cannot be answered with certainty. However, on the whole, the balance of evidence inclines to the view that four persons are mentioned here in two pairs: His mother and His mother’s sister; Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

As early as the second century, the Peshito Syriac version adopted this view and inserted “and” after the word sister. (Compare Notes on Matthew 28:1 and Luke 24:18, and especially the Excursus on The brethren of the Lord in Lightfoot On Galatians, pp. 247-282.)