community
Kokaba (Galilee), home of the desposynoi
Kaukab Abu al-Hija, Israel · Jewish-Christian groups
32.831, 35.249
Approximate location.
Disputed. That Africanus names a Kochaba is attested. Which Kochaba he meant is disputed: Bauckham and Guignard favor the Galilean Kaukab, while others equate it with Epiphanius's Cocabe in Bashan (see kokaba-bashan).
Julius Africanus (early 3rd century, quoted by Eusebius) says relatives of Jesus, called the desposynoi, came from the Jewish villages of Nazareth and Kochaba and preserved the family genealogy. Many scholars place this Kochaba at Kaukab in Galilee, about 20 km from Nazareth. The village shows family-based Jesus movements in Galilee after 70.
Source stance: insider. Julius Africanus is a sympathetic Christian writer reporting family tradition.
People and groups named here
- The desposynoi (relatives of Jesus)
- Julius Africanus
Sources
- Eusebius, Church History I.7.14 (Julius Africanus on the desposynoi of Nazareth and Kochaba)
Eusebius of Caesarea, tr. A. C. McGiffert, NPNF2 vol. 1 (1890), public domain; New Advent. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Jesus' Family and their Genealogy according to the Testimony of Julius Africanus
Christophe Guignard, University of Basel repository (edoc). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Kawkab Abu al-Hija (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-11-11.
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.