Son of man
"Son of man", "son of Adam", or "as a man", are phrases used in the
The phrase is used in its indefinite form in the
History
Jewish Bible
The Hebrew expression "son of man" (בן–אדם, ben-'adam) appears 107 times in the Hebrew Bible, the majority (93 times) in the Book of Ezekiel.[1] It is used in three main ways: as a form of address (Ezekiel); to contrast the lowly status of humanity against the permanence and exalted dignity of God and the angels (Numbers 23:19, Psalm 8:4); and as a future eschatological figure whose coming will signal the end of history and the time of God's judgment (Daniel 7:13–14).[2]
Daniel 7 tells of a vision given to Daniel in which four "beasts," representing pagan nations, oppress the people of Israel until judged by God. Daniel 7:13–14 describes how the "Ancient of Days" (God) gives dominion over the earth to "one like a son of man (כבר אנש [kibar 'anash])". The passage in Daniel 7:13 occurs in Biblical Aramaic.
Later in chapter 7 it is explained that "one like a man" certainly implies a "human being" and also stands for "the saints of the Most High" (7:18, 21–22) and "the people of the saints of the Most High" (7:27).[3] The "saints" and "people of the saints" in turn probably stand for the people of Israel – the author is expressing the hope that God will take dominion over the world away from the beast-like pagan "nations" and give it to human-like Israel.[3]
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
Although Daniel's 7:13 "like a son of man" has been interpreted as standing for the
New Testament
The New Testament features the indefinite "a son of man" in Hebrews 2:6 (citing Psalm 8:4), and "one like the son of man" in Revelation 1:13, 14:14 (referencing Daniel 7:13's "one like a son of man").
The term in the source languages
The exact words used for "son of man" vary, depending on the source language.
- Hebrew: בן אדם, romanized: ben adám, lit. 'son of Adam'[13]
- 'son of man'
- Koinē Greek: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, romanized: ho huios tou anthrōpou, lit. 'the son of the man' – per the New Testament, see Son of man (Christianity)
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b Bromiley 1995, p. 574.
- ^ McGrath 2011, p. 270.
- ^ a b c Burkett 2002, p. 64.
- Anchor Bible Dictionary6.138.
- ^ Bromiley 1995, p. 575.
- ^ Slater 1999, p. 71.
- ^ The Expository Times 1900 – Volume 11 – Page 64 "Again, Schmiedel is quite prepared to admit the possibility that the Son of man passages in Enoch may be Christian interpolation, and so far as ability to deal with this part of the problem depends on a knowledge of Ethiopic (in which language ...)"
- ^ The Enoch-Metatron Tradition - Page 82 3161485440 Andrei A. Orlov - 2005 "The same interchangeability is observable in the titles "son of man" and "chosen one." Here ... 88 Some scholars believe that these chapters might represent later interpolation(s) and do not '83 G. Nickelsburg, "Son of Man." ABD 6.138."
- ^ Hurtado 2005, p. 293 fn.83.
- ^ Hurtado 2005, p. 290, 292, 293.
- ^ Burkett 2000, p. 121,124.
- ISBN 0521212901.
- ^ HALEY WILSON. "A SURVEY OF THE "SON OF MAN" (pdf)". BYU’s ScholarsArchive. Brigham Young University. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ bar
- ^ 'enash
- ^ hos
- ^ huiós
- ^ anthrópou
- ISBN 978-1-61097-522-3.
References
- Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1995). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: vol. iv, Q-Z. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837844.
- Budd, Philip J. (2003). "Numbers". In Dunn, James D. G.; Rogerson, John William (eds.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110.
- Burkett, Delbert (2002). An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521007207.
- Burkett, Delbert (2000). The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139429801.
- ISBN 9780802800206.
- Higgins, A.J.B. (2002). Jesus and the Son of Man. James Clarke & Co. ISBN 9780227172216.
- Hurtado, Larry W. (2005). Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802831675.
- McGrath, Alister E. (2011). Christian Theology: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781444397703.
- Slater, Thomas (1999). Christ and Community: A Socio-Historical Study of the Christology of Revelation. A&C Black. ISBN 9781850759393.