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ANCIENT LANGUAGES In Akkadian , ''son of man'' is:
In Sumerian , ''son of man'' is:
In Hebrew , ''son of man'' is either: In Aramaic , ''son of man'' due to spelling variants and morphological shifts is either:
ANCIENT SEMITIC LITERATURE The most common use is similar to that of the English word "human." For example: 1QapGen 1QapGen. XXI.13: MT שיא (Gen. 13.16)
In the Hebrew of Genesis 13:6, the word translated as בר אנוש (son of man) was איש (man). Book of the Laws of the Countries This is the oldest general discussion of mankind in the Aramaic language, and we can see that ברנשא ''bar nasha'' is used in a general form for humanity: Bardaisan, ''The Book of the Laws of the Countries,'' p. 559, lines 11-14:
Story of Haninah ben Dosa Similarly we can see in the story of how Haninah ben Dosa was bitten by a snake while praying to God: y. Ber 5. 1/26 (9a)
Here we see that it is not only a method for referring to mankind, but as a way to piously refer to oneself. Letters of John of Dalyatha This is further illustrated within the letters of John of Dalyatha where the author is describing a vision: John of Dalyatha ''Letters'' 49. 13
HEBREW BIBLE Numbers In reading the Hebrew Bible from cover to cover, the first place one comes across the phrase ''son of man'' is in Book Of Numbers 23:19: :לא אישׁ אל ויכזב ובן־אדם ויתנחם ההוא אמר ולא יעשׂה ודבר ולא יקימנה God is not a man (איש : {Link without Title} ), that he should lie, Neither the son of man (בן–אדם : {Link without Title} ), that he should repent: Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good? Job In the Book Of Job , a volume which most scholars believe to be a very old tradition, predating the rest of the Hebrew Bible, we see ''son of man'' used a total of three times (all of which, interestingly enough, fall within poetry): Job 16:18-21 :18 ארץ אל־תכסי דמי ואל־יהי מקום לזעקתי׃ 19 גם־עתה הנה־בשׁמים עדי ושׂהדי במרומים׃ 20 מליצי רעי אל־אלוה דלפה עיני׃ 21 ויוכח לגבר עם־אלוה ובן־אדם לרעהו׃ 22 כי־שׁנות מספר יאתיו וארח לא־אשׁוב אהלך׃ 18 "Earth, don’t cover my blood, Let my cry have no place to rest. 19 Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven. He who vouches for me is on high. 20 My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God, 21 That he would maintain the right of a man (גבר : {Link without Title} ) with God, Of a son of man (בן–אדם : {Link without Title} ) with his neighbor! 22 For when a few years are come, I shall go the way from whence I shall not return." Job 25 :1 ויען בלדד השׁחי ויאמר׃ 2 המשׁל ופחד עמו עשׂה לום במרומיו׃ 3 הישׁ מספר לגדודיו ועל־מי לא־יקום אורהו׃ 4 ומה־יצדק אנושׁ עם־אל ומה־יזכה ילוד אשׁה׃ 5 הן עד־ירח ולא יאהיל וכוכבים לא־זכו בעיניו׃ 6 אף כי־אנושׁ רמה פ 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, 2"Dominion and fear are with him; He makes peace in his high places. 3 Can his armies be counted? On whom does his light not arise? 4 How then can man be just with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be clean? 5 Behold, even the moon has no brightness, And the stars are not pure in his sight; 6 How much less man (אנוש : {Link without Title} ), who is a worm! The son of man (בן–אדם : {Link without Title} ), who is a worm!" Job 35:6-8 :6 אם־חטאת מה־תפעל־בו ורבו פשׁעיך מה־תעשׂה־לו׃ 7 אם־צדקת מה־תתן־לו או מה־מידך יקח׃ 8 לאישׁ־כמוך רשׁעך ולבן־אדם צדקתך׃ 6 If you have sinned, what effect do you have against him? If your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? 7 If you are righteous, what do you give him? Or what does he receive from your hand? 8 Your wickedness may hurt a man (איש : {Link without Title} ) as you are; And your righteousness may profit a son of man (בן–אדם : {Link without Title} ). Psalms Within the Book Of Psalms we find the same classical forms employed within Numbers and Job wherewith ''son of man'' is used in parallel with ''man'' to describe humanity as a whole. Psalms 8:4-5(5-6) :5 מה־אנושׁ כי־תזכרנו ובן־אדם כי תפקדנו׃ 6 ותחסרהו מעט מאלהים וכבוד והדר תעטרהו׃ 4 What is man (אנוש : {Link without Title} ), that you think of him? The son of man (בן–אדם : {Link without Title} ), that you care for him? 5 For you have made him a little lower than God, And crowned him with glory and honor. Psalms 80:14-18(15-19) :15 אלהים צבאות שׁוב־נא הבט משׁמים וראה ופקד גפן זאת׃ 16 וכנה אשׁר־נטעה ימינך ועל־בן אמצתה לך׃ 17 שׂרפה באשׁ כסוחה מגערת פניך יאבדו׃ 18 תהי־ידך על־אישׁ ימינך על־בן־אדם אמצת לך׃ 19 ולא־נסוג ממך תחינו ובשׁמך נקרא׃ 14 Turn again, we beg you, God of hosts. Look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine, 15 The stock which your right hand planted, The branch that you made strong for yourself. 16 It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke. 17 Let your hand be on the man (איש : {Link without Title} ) of your right hand, On the son of man (בן–אדם : {Link without Title} ) whom you made strong for yourself. 18 So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name. Psalms 144: :3 יהוה מה־אדם ותדעהו בן־אנושׁ ותחשׁבהו׃ 4 אדם להבל דמה ימיו כצל עובר׃ 3 YHWH, what is man (אדם : {Link without Title} ), that you care for him? Or the son of man (בן–אנוש : {Link without Title} ), that you think of him? 4 Man (אדם : {Link without Title} ) is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away. Psalms 146: :1 הללו־יה הללי נפשׁי את־יהוה׃ 2 אהללה יהוה בחיי אזמרה לאלהי בעודי׃ 3 אל־תבטחו בנדיבים בבן־אדם ׀ שׁאין לו תשׁועה׃ 4 תצא רוחו ישׁב לאדמתו ביום ההוא אבדו עשׁתנתיו׃ 1 Praise Yah! Praise YHWH, my soul. 2 While I live, I will praise YHWH. I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist. 3 Don’t put your trust in princes, Each a son of man (בן–אדם : {Link without Title} ) in whom there is no help. 4 His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish. Isaiah Isaiah 15:11-13 :11 ופדויי יהוה ישׁובון ובאו ציון ברנה ושׂמחת עולם על־ראשׁם שׂשׂון ס ושׂמחה ישׂיגון נסו יגון ואנחה׃ 12 אנכי אנכי הוא מנחמכם מי־את ותיראי מאנושׁ ימות ומבן־אדם חציר ינתן׃ 13 ותשׁכח יהוה עשׂך נוטה שׁמים ויסד ארץ ותפחד תמיד כל־היום מפני חמת המציק כאשׁר כונן להשׁחית ואיה חמת המציק׃ 11 The ransomed of YHWH shall return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy shall be on their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 I, even I, am he who comforts you: who are you, that you are afraid of man (מאנושׁ : who shall die, Isaiah 56:1-2 :ה אמר יהוה שׁמרו משׁפט ועשׂו צדקה כי־קרובה ישׁועתי לבוא וצדקתי להגלות׃ 2 אשׁרי אנושׁ יעשׂה־זאת ובן־אדם יחזיק בה שׁמר שׁבת מחללו ושׁמר ס 1 Thus says YHWH, Keep you justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man (אנושׁ : 'enosh ) who does this, Jeremiah Ezekiel The Book Of Ezekiel is unique within the tradition of the Tanakh , in that as the story unfolds, the phrase ''son of man'' is used approximately 94 times by a divine being to refer to the author. For the sake of an article here, it would be pointles to quote each use, so we will instead look at a few examples: Ezekiel 2 1 He said to me, Son of man (בן־אדם : stand on your feet, and I will speak with you. 2 The Spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard him who spoke to me. 3 He said to me, ''Son of man'' here apears to be a title referring to the humanity of the author, much how the word "human" or (as some joke) "earthling" may suffice in English. It is not a respectful appellation, but a humbling one (in some cases, an arguably abject one), and this use is a consistent pattern throughout Ezekiel. All uses of ''son of man'' within Ezekiel can be found at:
Daniel By far, the most famous and influential use of the phrase ''son of man'' comes from the Book Of Daniel . Parts of the text originally written in Aramaic , this portion of the volume deals with a vision attributed to the author about "the times of the end": :Daniel 7:13-14 (WEB) :13 חזה הוית בחזוי ליליא וארו עם־ענני שׁמיא כבר אנשׁ אתה הוה ועד־עתיק יומיא מטה וקדמוהי הקרבוהי׃ 14 ולה יהיב שׁלטן ויקר ומלכו וכל עממיא אמיא ולשׁניא לה יפלחון שׁלטנה שׁלטן עלם די־לא יעדה ומלכותה פ 13 I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man (כבר אנש 'anash ), and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. :Daniel 8:16-18 :16 ואשׁמע קול־אדם בין אולי ויקרא ויאמר גבריאל הבן להלז את־המראה׃ 17 ויבא אצל עמדי ובבאו נבעתי ואפלה על־פני ויאמר אלי הבן בן־אדם כי לעת־קץ החזון׃ 18 ובדברו עמי נרדמתי על־פני ארצה ויגע־בי ויעמידני על־עמדי׃ 16 I heard a man's voice (קול–אדם) between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision." 17 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face: but he said to me, "Understand, We can see that, within the context of these passages, the use of ''son of man'' is more consistent with the concept of self-reflection. It is arguable that in saying "there came with the clouds of the sky one ''like a son of man''" the author was either describing one "like a human being" or "one like {Link without Title} ." By extension, this may have later led to the idea of "''the son of man''," an eschatological Messianic figure, within Judaism. NEW TESTAMENT Synoptic Gospels Due to the nature of the Synoptic Gospels and How Their Sources Are Intertwined , son of man sayings here are broken down into Pericope s, comparing parallel stories between Mark , Matthew and Luke . Foxes have holes Matthew 8:20 cf. Luke 9:58 :Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the ''son of man'' has nowhere to lay his head." The Foxes have Holes pericope represents a poem that probably existed first in oral tradition before being recorded in the hypothetical source document Q . Various reconstructions of this short piece in Aramaic, from the proper period, show possibility of puns and wordplay associated with this particular array of comparisons, which appear to portray the phrase ''son of man'' as a general reference to mankind. John Acts Hebrews Revelation THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION Christian interpretation The phrase ''son of man'' took on Messianic significance within the Christian movement primarily due to the Jewish Eschatology during the time of its early conception. Originating in the Book Of Daniel , in a vision, one ''like a son of man'' is described coming upon the clouds of the sky to unite the world. As a result, some Christians believe that in the body of the New Testament , ''son of man'' is used forty-three times as a distinctive title of Jesus within this Messianic context. Other Christians interpret it as Jesus showing humility, avoiding using titles like Messiah and Son of God. Still other Christians believe the title is meant to signify Jesus upholding his identification with his humanity and fellowship with mankind. In this last context it serves as putting humans and Jesus on the same level. Jewish interpretation #As generally interpreted by Jews, denotes mankind generally, with special reference to their weakness and frailty ( 51:12, etc.). #It is a title frequently given to the prophet Ezekiel , probably to remind him of his human weakness. Additionally, the Biblical Book Of Daniel mentions the prophet's vision of the coming of one 'like a son of man'; possibly implying that this is not actually a man but a divine figure. When interpreting the Bible, one cannot exclusively rely on English translations. ''Son of man'' in Job 25 is ''ben adam'' (), and "son of man" in Psalms 144 is ''ben enosh'' (). This phrase also appears in the non-canonical Book Of Enoch . SCHOLARLY INTERPRETATION Geza Vermes , professor emeritus of Jewish studies at Wolfson College, Oxford , has argued that "the son of man" in the Gospels is unrelated to these Hebrew Bible usages. He begins with the observation that there is no example of "the" son of man in Hebrew sources. He suggests that the term originates in Aramaic — ''bar nasha''. Based on his study of Aramaic sources, he concludes that in these sources and in the Christian Bible, "son of man" is simply a synonym for ''man'', and a substitute for the indefinite pronoun ("one"). Based on context, he claims that one should translate "bar nasha" as ''someone'', ''anyone'' or ''I''. He further argues that "son of man" is in no way a title. Although the Aramaic "bar nasha" can be translated generically, as ''somebody'' or ''anyone'', the expression may have been recognized as a title if it were used within a Hebrew sentence. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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