The term "Son of man" (בן–אדם i.e. ben-'adam) appears 107 times in the Hebrew Bible, and it occurs 81 times in the four Canonical gospels. It is worth noting that the Hebrew the for "Son of man" (בן–אדם i.e. ben-'adam) literally means "son of Adam," who was the first man, so "son of man" works, but it is often useful to know the literal meaning of a translated term, so that we can gain insight in its usage in religious texts.
"Son of man" is the translation of various Hebrew and Greek phrases used in both the Tanakh and the New Testament. It has diverse meanings, ranging from a normal human being to a prophesied eternal, divine ruler.
The Hebrew expression "son of man" (בן–אדם i.e. ben-'adam) appears one hundred and seven times in the Hebrew Bible.[1] This is the most common Hebrew construction for the singular but is used mostly in Ezekiel (93 times) and 14 times elsewhere.[2] In thirty two cases the phrase appears in intermediate plural form "sons of men", i.e. human beings.[1] As generally interpreted by Jews, it denotes humankind generally.
In the Koine Greek of the New Testament, "the son of man" is invariably used as "ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου" with a definite article. The use of the definite article in "the son of man" in the Christian gospels is novel, and before its use there, no records of its use in any of the surviving Greek documents of antiquity exist.[2] Geza Vermes has stated that "the Son of man" in the Christian gospels is unrelated to Hebrew Bible usages.[3]
In Christian usage, unlike the Son of God title, which has been an essential element of Christian creeds since the Apostolic age, the proclamation of "Jesus as the Son of an" has never been an article of faith in Christianity.[4] The 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.[5][6]
Judaism
Main article: Son of man (Judaism)
The Hebrew expression "son of man" (בן–אדם i.e. ben-'adam) appears one hundred and seven times in the Jewish Bible.[1] This is the most common Hebrew construction for the singular and appears 93 times in Ezekiel alone and 14 times elsewhere.[2] In thirty two cases the phrase appears in intermediate plural form "sons of men", i.e. human beings.[1]
In the Hebrew Bible, the first place one comes across the phrase son of man is in Book of Numbers 23:19:
In the Book of Job, we see son of man used a total of three times (all of which, interestingly enough, fall within poetic passages):
In the Book of Psalms we find the same classical forms employed in Numbers and Job, in which son of man is used in parallel with man to describe humanity as a whole.
The Book of Ezekiel is unique in 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. Son of man here appears to be a title referring to the humanity of the author, much as the word "human" might be used 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.
In the Book of Daniel, parts of the text were originally written in Aramaic. This portion of the volume (7:13-14) deals with a vision attributed to the author about "the times of the end". In the context of Daniel passages, the use of son of man is more consistent with the concept of self-reflection. It has been argued that "there came with the clouds of the sky 'one like a son of man'" describes one "like a human being" or "one like [himself]." The passage in Daniel 7:13 occurs in Biblical Aramaic and it certainly implies a "human being." Many (Christian) interpretations have tried to read a messianic allusion into this verse, "but in all probability the reference is to an angel with a human appearance, perhaps Michael."[7]
As generally interpreted by Jews, "son of man" denotes mankind generally in contrast to deity, with special reference to their weakness and frailty (Job 25:6; Psalms 8:4; Psalms 144:3; Psalms 146:3; Isaiah 51:12, etc.).[7][8] And the term "ben adam" is but a formal substitute for the personal pronoun or maybe a title given to the prophet Ezekiel, probably to remind him of his human weakness.[7]
Post biblical literature
In post-biblical Jewish literature the most common use is similar to that of the English word "human." For example in 1QapGen. XXI.13: MT שיא (Gen. 13.16), it certainly connotes a "human being."
In the Book of Enoch, "Son of man" is found, but never in the original material. It occurs in the "Noachian interpolations (lx. 10, lxxi. 14), in which it has clearly no other meaning than "man," if, indeed, Charles' explanation ("Book of Enoch," p. 16), that the interpolator misused the term, as he does all other technical terms, is untenable. In that part of the Book of Enoch known as the "Similitudes" it is met with in the technical sense of a supernatural Messiah and judge of the world (xlvi. 2, xlviii. 2, lxx. 27); universal dominion and preexistence are predicated of him (xlviii. 2, lxvii. 6). He sits on God's throne (xlv. 3, li. 3), which is His own throne. Though Charles does not admit it, these passages betray Christian redaction and emendation."[7]
"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."[7]
"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."[7]
In the Hebrew of Genesis 13:16, the word translated as בר אנוש (son of man) was איש (man).
Christianity
Main article: Son of man (Christianity)
In the Koine Greek of the New Testament, the term "the son of man" is invariably "ὁ υἱὸς τοὺ ἀνθρώπου", which might be rendered more literally "the son of the human being".
The expression "the Son of Man" occurs 81 times in the four Canonical gospels, and is used only in the sayings of Jesus.[2] However, the use of the definite article in "the Son of Man" in the gospels is novel, and before its use there, there are no records of its use in any of the surviving Greek documents of antiquity.[2]
The reason why I am pursuing the meaning of this phrase is because it is part of another phrase found in the Gospels that I wish to investigate.
Luke 9:58 New International Version
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
Matthew 8:20 New International Version
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
OK, so what did Jesus mean when he stated the above? While Greco-Roman Christians want to believe that the use of the term "Son of man" (בן–אדם i.e. ben-'adam) refers only to Jesus, since they got a whole lot of other things completely wrong about the life and teaching of Jesus the Nazarite, and the phrase appears 107 times in the Hebrew Bible; therefore, I believe it is more reasonable to conclude that Jesus was either referring to all humans, or to himself, as a human.
Now, this phrase gets more complicated to understand, because, yes Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but have houses. So, why say, "the Son of Man has no place to lay his head?"
After finding myself marginalized because I meditate deeply, which produces religious experience, which has resulted in loss of gainful employment for me, and history shows that ALL religions marginalize their mystics; therefore, I believe it is reasonable to say that this specific phrase, which appears in the two above gospel quotes refers specifically to all mystics, who are likely to be marginalized.
