Son of man is an expression in the sayings of Jesus in Christian writings, including the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. The meaning of the expression is controversial. Interpretation of the use of "the Son of man" in the New Testament has remained challenging and after 150 years of debate no consensus on the issue has emerged among scholars.Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making by James D. G. Dunn (Jul 29, 2003) pp. 724–725The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation by Delbert Royce Burkett (Jan 28, 2000) Cambridge University Press pp. 3–5
The expression "the Son of man" occurs 81 times in the four canonical gospels (mainly quoting Jesus)Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity by Larry W. Hurtado, Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005 pp. 290–293 and another four times in the rest of the New Testament. The equivalent Hebrew expression "son of man" (בן–אדם, i.e. ben-'adam, lit. son of Adam) appears in the Old Testament 103 times.
The use of the definite article in "the Son of man" in the Koine Greek of the Christian gospels is original, and before its use there, no records of its use in any of the surviving Greek documents of antiquity exist. Geza Vermes has stated that the use of "the Son of man" in the Christian gospels is unrelated to usage in the Torah.
At a surface level, the Christological perspective on Son of man ("man" referring to Adam) has been seen as a possible counterpart to that of Son of God and just as Son of God affirms the divinity of Jesus, in a number of cases Son of man affirms his humanity. The profession of Jesus as the Son of God has been an essential element of Christian creeds since the Apostolic age, and while some do not think profession of Christ as Son of man was necessary for Christians, the proclamation of Jesus as the Son of man has been an article of faith in Christianity since at least the Nicene Creed which reads in English as: "by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man."
Etymology and usage
In the Koine Greek of the New Testament, "the son of man" is "ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου" (ho huios tou anthropou). The Hebrew expression "son of man" (בן–אדם i.e. ben-'adam) also appears over a hundred times in the Hebrew Bible.The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Q–Z by Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Jan 31, 1995) p. 574 In thirty-two cases, the phrase appears in intermediate plural form "sons of men", i.e. human beings.
The expression "the Son of man" appears 81 times in the Koine Greek of the four Gospels: 30 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark, 25 times in Luke and 12 times in John. However, the use of the definite article in "the Son of man" is novel, and before its use in the canonical gospels, there are no records of its use in any of the surviving Greek documents of antiquity.
Geza Vermes has stated that "the son of man" in the New Testament is unrelated to Hebrew Bible usages. Vermes begins with the observation that there is no example of "the" son of man in Hebrew sources and suggests that the term originates in Aramaic – ברנש – bar nash/bar nasha.Vermes, Geza, Jesus in his Jewish context Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 82 He concludes that in these sources "Son of man" is a regular expression for man in general and often serves as an indefinite pronoun and in none of the extant texts does "son of man" figure as a title. The NRSV translates it as "mortal" in the Hebrew Bible, the TNIV and the NLT as "mere mortals" in Hebrews 2:6.
However, other sources argue that the Son of Man is a title, claimed by Jesus as a way of asserting his own divine nature. For example, Samuel Whitefield argues that within the biblical context, all humans are referred to as "Sons of Man", or more specifically, sons of Adam. Jesus' claiming this specific title was a direct claim to divine authority, alluding to that of Daniel, the one who is prophesied to "[come] with the clouds of heaven" and who is to be "given authority, glory and sovereign power" As such, though the title itself could refer to any human being, the title itself refers to a specific religious messianic figure. Note that in Greek and Hebrew, the gender for a group that includes male and female individuals must be the masculine. Hence, for example, the NRSV translates the plural (Matthew 5:9) as "children of God" even if "sons of God" could be a literal translation.
The occurrences of Son of man in the Synoptic gospels are generally categorized into three groups: (i) those that refer to his "coming" (as an exaltation), (ii) those that refer to "suffering" and (iii) those that refer to "now at work" i.e. referring to the earthly life.Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister E. McGrath 2010 p. 270The Son of Man by Chrys C. Caragounis 1986 pp. 145–147"The 'Son of Man'" as the Son of God by Seyoon Kim 1983 pp. 2–3
The presentation of Son of man in the Gospel of John is somewhat different from the Synoptics: in John 1:51 he is presented as contact with God through "angelic instrumentality", in John 6:26 and 6:53 he provides life through his death, and in John 5:27 he holds the power to judgement.
The translators of the Common English Bible chose to translate the Greek expression and the presumed original Aramaic as "the Human One" or "the human being", considering it an idiom. They also note that refers to both males and females, so they translate it as "human" unless the context makes clear the gender or the English results unnatural.
New Testament references
Synoptic gospels In Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58 Jesus states: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." This phrasing seems to tie in with the Old Testament prophetic expressions used by such prophets as Ezekiel, and it shows Jesus' understanding of himself as the "man" that God has singled out as a friend and representative.
Johannine literature The first chapter of the Book of Revelation refers to "one like a Son of man" in Revelation 1:12-13 which radiantly stands in glory and speaks to the author.The Book of Revelation by Robert H. Mounce 1997 p. 57 In the Gospel of John Jesus is not just a messianic figure, nor a just prophet like Moses, but the key emphasis is on his dual role as Son of God and Son of man.Christology and the New Testament by Christopher Mark Tuckett 2001 p. 159
Other references
Book of Moses The title "Son of Man" is used nine times in the Book of Moses, a 19th-century work considered canonical scripture by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and included in its publication The Pearl of Great Price. According to Nontrinitarianism, Moses 6:57 suggests that a name of God the Father is "Man of Holiness," and that the title "Son of Man" points to Jesus' divine sonship.
Book of Daniel The description "son of man" appears in the Book of Daniel, and most sources allude specifically to this particular verse. In Daniel 7, one "like a son of man" is seen. The Aramaic original means "like a human being". He is seen "coming with the clouds of heaven. In the Old Testament, the cloud is the garment or dwelling-place of deity, the symbol of its presence in the midst of the people. Isaiah 19:1 lauds the "Lord riding upon a soft cloud"; at the transfiguration, the cloud was the sign of God's presence on the mountain (Matt 17:5 and parallels); and on the day of his ascension, Jesus was taken up in a cloud. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13–14)
Interpretations Scholarly views The interpretation of the use of "the Son of man" in the New Testament has proven to be challenging. James D. G. Dunn and separately Delbert Burkett state that it is a prime example of the limits of New Testament interpretation because after 150 years of debate, no consensus on its meaning has emerged. Near the end of the twentieth century, Reginald H. Fuller stated "The problem of the Son of Man is a can of worms. No one can write anything about it which will command general assent or provide a definitive solution".
The earliest approaches, going back to the Fathers of the Church, relied on the Greek expression and interpreted "son" in a parental sense. This approach continued into the Middle Ages. By the time the Protestant Reformation was under way, three new approaches had emerged: one that saw it as an expression of the humanity of Jesus, another that viewed it as a messianic title derived from the Book of Daniel (7.13), and a third which considered it as a general idiom for self-reference. By the 17th century, the first approach (focusing on his humanity) had gained ground, yet by the 19th century the messianic view had increased in popularity.
In the last part of the 20th century, the messianic view was highly criticized and the concept of idiomatic use began to gain support among some scholars. However, no consensus has emerged among scholars on how the expression can be interpreted. Another view put forward by Bart D. Ehrman (1999) is that there are some passages (as such Mark 8:38, 13:26, 14:62; Matthew 19:28, 25:31–46; and Luke 12:8–9) in which Jesus mentions 'the Son of Man' and does not appear to be talking about himself, but about someone else, namely a cosmic judge who would come down from heaven to bring judgment. The identification of the Son of Man with Jesus might thus be a later, inauthentic tradition. Ingolfsland (2001) argued that Ehrman's examples were not valid, or did not meet his own criteria. Likewise, Michael F. Bird argues against Erhman that Jesus did see himself as the Son of Man. Tucker Ferda also finds the idea later Christians invented the connection between Jesus and the son of man or retrojected it into the gospels to be highly unlikely. Dale Allison states that Jesus was distinctive for his self-identification as the son of man, finding efforts to dismiss the connection with Daniel 7 and proposals that Jesus was referring to a figure other than himself to be unsuccessful.
Jewish views In Judaism, "son of man" denotes mankind generally, in contrast to deity or godhead, with special reference to their weakness and frailty (; ; ; ; , etc.) or the term "ben adam" is but a formal substitute for the personal pronoun."Among Jews the term "son of man" was not used as the specific title of the Messiah. The New Testament expression ὅ ὑιὸς τοῦ ἀνθρόπου is a translation of the Aramaic "bar nasha," and as such could have been understood only as the substitute for a personal pronoun, or as emphasizing the human qualities of those to whom it is applied. That the term does not appear in any of the epistles ascribed to Paul is significant." – "In the Gospels the title occurs eighty-one times. Most of the recent writers (among them being II. Lietzmann) have come to the conclusion that Jesus, speaking Aramaic, could never have designated himself as the "son of man" in a Messianic, mystic sense, because the Aramaic term never implied this meaning."
In Christology