spin

I'd like to start a discussion on the term "son of man" in its various aspects as ultimately relating to Jesus. In so doing it would be useful to look at the background of the term, its Jewish origin, how it was used, how it came into christianity and the implications withing christianity. To do so we need to look at all the available evidence and I hope to gather all the primary evidence here, so if you know of any primary evidence not already included please post it. Any ideas about the term "son of man" you have are welcome, but I perceive our job here as an exploration rather than an effort at advocacy, so please don't just push a specific view you want to sell. I'll start off with:

Jewish "son of man"

The notion of "son of man" is a literal translation of the Hebrew ben-adam, a progeny of man, son of Adam. Consider:

Isaiah 51:12
who art you, that you are afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass (RSV: "who fades like grass")

Hebrew poetry often works with parallels, two statements that look at the same thing with different wording. Here we find "man that shall die" parallel with "son of man who fades like grass". And again

Jeremiah 50:40 (re: Sodom and Gomorrah)
so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.

The writers saw little substantive difference between "man" and "son of man", the product of man, of Adam, someone born. This idea is translated by the RSV as "a mere mortal" and we find that it is used frequently in the book of Ezekiel as a reference by god of the prophet.

The most famous use of the term in the Hebrew bible is in Daniel 7, in which the writer talks about four figures, "beasts", that represent various nations, one like a lion, another like a bear, like a panther and, probably, like an elephant. Further, it talks of a fifth figure like a son of man.

Dan 7
13 "I continued to observe the night vision—and look!—one like a Son of Man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 To him dominion was bestowed, along with glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations, and languages are to serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion—it will never pass away—and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

Although this reference has been used rather frequently as a backgrounder to the christian usage, it is important to notice that the text does not say "the son of man" as found in the mouth of Jesus, but "one like a son of man". The other figures were like various animals and our fifth was like a human being. The use of "son of man" here in Dan 7:13 is descriptive of the figure. It is not a name or a title. It seems to be the usual meaning of the Jewish term to describe the figure's appearance, just as the first figure was like a lion.

The Book of Parables

In the literature known to be Jewish up to the time of Jesus there is no usage of "son of man" that is comparable to that in christian literature. It is here that the references to "the son of man" in the Book of Parables, a section (chapters 37-71) of the larger book of 1 Enoch (Enoch henceforth), needs to be considered, though it is difficult to contextualize the Book of Parables, as we only have the Ethiopian version of Enoch that contains it. Many Aramaic fragments were found of various parts of Enoch among the Dead Sea scrolls, but no fragments of the Book of Parables, leading J.T. Milik, who published the fragments, to view the Book of Parables as a late christian addition to Enoch. Milik's view has not become popular among biblical scholars, who want to see it in a Jewish context, perhaps written a little earlier than the time of Jesus. Without knowing the relationship between the Book of Parables and christian literature it is hard to evaluate the significance of the Parables.

Many have written on the Parables. One analysis that may be of interest is that of Leslie W. Walck, The Son of Man in the Parables of Enoch and in Matthew, T.&T. Clark, 2011. The title shows the topic, a comparison between the Parables and the Matthean use of "son of man", for the examples that are unique to Matthew, ie not derived from Mark, are usually in the future and Walck finds similarities with the eschatological usage in the Parables. This may be a way of placing the Parables, for the Marcan son of man is usually a reference to the present. The Parables may fit chronologically between Mark and Matthew. One thing is certain though. There is no known Jewish usage of "son of man" similar to the christian usage—unless, of course, the Parables are Jewish, then it would be the unique example.

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I think I've done enough sounding off. I'll place the new testament references to "son of man" in the next post.

Let me open up the thread for your thoughts on "son of man". What is interesting? What is strange? What would you like to know? What have other people said that you find worth noting? (Please try to cite the source with title, date, page numbers.)

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To aid the discussion here are all the references to "son of man" in the new testament:

[T2]Matthew 8:20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Matthew 9:6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" —he then said to the paralytic—"Stand up, take your bed and go to your home."
Matthew 10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Matthew 11:19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
Matthew 12:8 For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."
Matthew 12:32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Matthew 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 13:37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
Matthew 13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
Matthew 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.
Matthew 16:28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
Matthew 17:9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
Matthew 17:12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands."
Matthew 17:22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands,
Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Matthew 20:18 "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death;
Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory.
Matthew 24:37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
Matthew 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
Matthew 26:2 "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
Matthew 26:24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born."
Matthew 26:45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Matthew 26:64 Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Mark 2:10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he said to the paralytic—
Mark 2:28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
Mark 8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Mark 8:38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
Mark 9:9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Mark 9:12 He said to them, "Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt?
Mark 9:31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again."
Mark 10:33 saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles;
Mark 10:45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Mark 13:26 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory.
Mark 14:21 For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born."
Mark 14:41 He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Mark 14:62 Jesus said, "I am; and 'you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,' and 'coming with the clouds of heaven.'"

Luke 5:24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" —he said to the one who was paralyzed—"I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home."
Luke 6:5 Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."
Luke 6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
Luke 7:34 the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'
Luke 9:22 saying, "The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."
Luke 9:26 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Luke 9:44 "Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands."
Luke 9:55 But he turned and rebuked them.
Luke 9:58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Luke 11:30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation.
Luke 12:8 "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God;
Luke 12:10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
Luke 12:40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
Luke 17:22 Then he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.
Luke 17:24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
Luke 17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man.
Luke 17:30 —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
Luke 18:8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Luke 18:31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Luke 21:27 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.
Luke 21:36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Luke 22:22 For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!"
Luke 22:48 but Jesus said to him, "Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?"
Luke 22:69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God."
Luke 24:7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again."

John 1:51 And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
John 3:14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
John 5:27 and he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
John 6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."
John 6:53 So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
John 6:62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
John 8:28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me.
John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
John 12:23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
John 12:34 The crowd answered him, "We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"
John 13:31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.

Acts 7:56 "Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
Hebrews 2:6 But someone has testified somewhere, "What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them?
Revelation 1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest.
Revelation 14:14 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand![/T2]

aa5874

The phrase "son of man" who "came in the clouds of heaven" is found ONLY in Daniel of the Septuagint.

The author of the earliest Jesus story used the phrases found ONLY in Daniel for his Jesus.

Daniel 7:13 KJV Mark 13 Mark 14:62 KJV The author of gMark, the earliest story of Jesus was AWARE of the book of Daniel and considered him as a Prophet.

Mark 13:14 KJV In Daniel it was predicted that one LIKE the Son of man was given an everlasting kingdom.

Daniel 7.14gMark's Jesus is LIKE the Son of Man in the book of Daniel.

Mark 1

stephan huller

FWIW I have always tried to make sense of the gospel use of the terminology in the manner of Bultmann. The synoptic Son of Man sayings "fall into three groups, which speak of the Son of Man (1) as coming, (2) as suffering death and rising again, and (3) as now at work." He declared that "the first group alone contains very old tradition. The sayings belonging to it speak of the Son of Man in the third person." He said that the second group consists of vaticinia ex eventu, pretended prophecies made after the predicted events had occurred, and were "probably later products of the Hellenistic church." He said that the third group owes its origin to incorrect translation into Greek, asserting that in the original Aramaic of these sayings "Son of Man" was not a title but merely a way of saying "man" or "I". Thus in Bultmann's view the only sayings that Jesus may have spoken in which the term "Son of Man" is used as a title are not about Jesus himself but about this expected apocalyptic figure.

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We must note that the KJV is wrong when it inserts "the" in "one like the Son of man". There is no "the" in the Aramaic (כבר אנש, k:bar enosh) or the Greek (υιος ανθσωπου). In the new testament we always find a definite article (ο υιος του ανθρωπου).

The KJV works under the notion that the reference to "one like a son of man" refers to Jesus, so it inserts the "the", displaying not a good translation, but a religiously inspired one.

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Here are three sections of the Enochic Book of Parables that deal with the son of man. The translation is that of Michael Knibb, The Ethiopic Book of Enoch, Oxford, 1978. (There are some differences between later translations such as this and old ones of a century ago regarding chapter numbering of the middle section. Please use the modern chapter indications found here.)

[T2]46.1. I And there I saw one who had a head of days, and his head (was) white like wool; and with him (there was) another, whose face had the appearance of a man, and his face (was) full of grace, like one of the holy angels. 2 And I asked one of the holy angels who went with me, and showed me all the secrets, about that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days. 3 And he answered me and said to me: 'This is the Son of Man who has righteousness, and with whom righteousness dwells; he will reveal all the treasures of that which is secret, for the Lord of Spirits has chosen him, and through uprightness his lot has surpassed all before the Lord of Spirits for ever. 4 And this Son of Man whom you have seen will rouse the kings and the powerful from their resting-places, and the strong from their thrones, and will loose the reins of the strong, and will break the teeth of the sinners. 5 And he will cast down the kings from their thrones and from their kingdoms, for they do not exalt him, and do not praise him, and do not humbly acknowledge whence (their) kingdom was given to them. 6 And he will cast down the faces of the strong, and shame will fill them, and darkness will be their dwelling, and worms will be their resting-place; and they will have no hope of rising from their resting-places, for they do not exalt the name of the Lord of Spirits. 7 And these are they who judge the stars of heaven, and raise their hands against the Most High, and trample upon the dry ground, and dwell upon it; and all their deeds show iniquity . . . and their power (rests) on their riches, and their faith is in the gods which they have made with their hands, and they deny the name of the Lord of Spirits. 8 And they will be driven from the houses of his congregation, and of the faithful who depend on the name of the Lord of Spirits.

47.1. I And in those days the prayer of the righteous and the blood of the righteous will have ascended from the earth be fore the Lord of Spirits. 2 In these days the holy ones who dwell in the heavens above will unite with one voice, and supplicate, and pray, and praise, and give thanks, and bless in the name of the Lord of Spirits, because of the blood of the righteous which has been poured out, and (because of) the prayer of the righteous, that it may not cease before the Lord of Spirits, that justice may be done to them, and (that) their patience may not have to last for ever.' 3 And in those days I saw the Head of Days sit down on the throne of his glory, and the books of the living were opened before him, and all his host, which (dwells) in the heavens above, and his council were standing before him. 4 And the hearts of the holy ones were full of joy that the number of righteousness had been reached, and the prayer of the righteous had been heard, and the blood of the righteous had been required before the Lord of Spirits.

48.1. I And in that place I saw an inexhaustible spring of righteousness, and many springs of wisdom surrounded it, and all the thirsty drank from them and were filled with wisdom, and their dwelling (was) with the righteous and the holy and the chosen. 2 And at that hour that Son of Man was named in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name (was named) before the Head of Days. 3 Even before the sun and the constellations were created, before the stars of heaven were made, his name was named before the Lord of Spirits. 4 He will be a staff to the righteous and the holy, that they may lean on him and not fall, and he (will be) the light of the nations, and he will be the hope of those who grieve in their hearts. 5 All those who dwell upon the dry ground will fall down and worship before him, and they will bless, and praise, and celebrate with psalms the name of the Lord of Spirits. 6 And because of this he was chosen and hidden before him before the world was created, and for ever. 7 But the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits has revealed him to the holy and the righteous, for he has kept safe the lot of the righteous, for they have hated and rejected this world of iniquity, and all its works and its ways they have hated in the name of the Lord of Spirits; for in his name they are saved, and he is the one who will require their lives. 8 And in those days the kings of the earth and the strong who possess the dry ground will have downcast faces because of the works of their hands, for on the day of their distress and trouble they will not save themselves. 9 And I will give them into the hands of my chosen ones; like straw in the fire, and like lead in water, so they will burn before the righteous, and sink before the holy, and no trace will be found of them. 10 And on the day of their trouble there will be rest on the earth, and they will fall down before him and will not rise; and there will be no one who will take them with his hands and raise them, for they denied the Lord of Spirits and his Messiah. May the name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed![/T2]

[T2]62.1. I And thus the Lord commanded the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who dwell upon the earth, and said: 'Open your eyes, and raise your horns, if you are able to acknowledge the Chosen One.' 2 And the Lord of Spirits sat on the throne of his glory, and the spirit of righteousness was poured out on him, and the word of his mouth kills all the sinners and all the lawless, and they are destroyed before him. 3 And on that day all the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who possess the earth, will stand up; and they will see and recognize how he sits on the throne of his glory, and the righteous are judged in righteousness before him, and no idle word is spoken before him. 4 And pain will come upon them as (upon) a woman in labour for whom giving birth is difficult, when her child enters the mouth of the womb, and she has difficulty in giving birth. 5 And one half of them will look at the other, and they will be terrified, and will cast down their faces, and pain will take hold of them, when they see that Son of a Woman sitting on the throne of his glory, 6 And the mighty kings, and all those who possess the earth, will praise and bless and exalt him who rules everything which is hidden. 7 For from the beginning the Son of Man was hidden, and the Most High kept him in the presence of his power, and revealed him (only) to the chosen; 8 and the community of the holy and the chosen will be sown, and all the chosen will stand before him on that day. 9 And all the mighty kings, and the exalted, and those who rule the dry ground, will fall down before him on their faces and worship; and they will set their hope upon that Son of Man, and will entreat him, and will petition for mercy from him. 10 But that Lord of Spirits will then so press them that they will hasten to go out from before him, and their faces will be filled with shame, and the darkness will grow deeper on their faces. 11 And the angels of punishment will take them, that they may repay them for the wrong which they did to his children and to his chosen ones. 12 And they will become a spectacle to the righteous and to his chosen ones; they will rejoice over them, for the anger of the Lord of Spirits will rest upon them, and the sword of the Lord of Spirits will be drunk with them. 13 And the righteous and the chosen will be saved on that day, and they will never see the face of the sinners and the lawless from then on. 14 And the Lord of Spirits will remain over them, and with that Son of Man they will dwell, and eat, and lie down, and rise up for ever and ever. 15 And the righteous and chosen will have risen from the earth, and will have ceased to cast down their faces, and will have put on the garment of life. 16 And this will be a garment of life from the Lord of Spirits; and your garments will not wear out, and your glory will not fail before the Lord of Spirits.

63.1. I In those days the mighty kings who possess the dry ground will entreat the angels of his punishment to whom they have been handed over that they might give them a little respite, and that they might fall down and worship before the Lord of Spirits, and confess their sin before him. 2 And they will bless and praise the Lord of Spirits, and say: 'Blessed be the Lord of Spirits and the Lord of kings, the Lord of the mighty and the Lord of the rich, and the Lord of glory and the Lord of wisdom! 3 And everything secret is clear before you, and your power (is) for all generations, and your glory for ever and ever; deep, and without number, are all your secrets, and your righteousness is beyond reckoning. 4 Now we realize that we ought to praise and bless the Lord of kings and the one who is king over all kings.' 5 And they will say: 'Would that we might be given a respite, that we might praise and thank and bless him, and make our confession before his glory. 6 And now we long for a little respite, but do not find (it); we are driven off, and do not obtain (it); and the light has passed away from before us, and darkness (will be) our dwelling for ever and ever. 7 For we have not made our confession before him, and we have not praised the name of the Lord of kings, and we have not praised the Lord for all his works, but our hope has been on the sceptre of our kingdom and of our glory. 8 And on the day of our affliction and distress he does not save us, and we find no respite to make our confession that our Lord is faithful in all his doings, and in all his judgements and his justice, and (that) his judgements show no respect for persons. 9 And we pass away from before him because of our works, and all our sins have been counted exactly.' 10 Then they will say to them: 'Our souls are sated with possessions gained through iniquity, but they do not prevent our going down into the flames of the torment of Sheol.' 11 And after this their faces will be filled with darkness and shame before that Son of Man, and they will be driven from before him, and the sword will dwell among them before him. 12 And thus says the Lord of Spirits: 'This is the law and the judgement for the mighty and the kings and the exalted, and for those who possess the dry ground, before the Lord of Spirits.'[/T2]

[T2]69.26. And they had great joy, and they blessed and praised and exalted because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed to them. 27 And he sat on the throne of his glory, and the whole judgement was given to the Son of Man, and he will cause the sinners to pass away and be destroyed from the face of the earth. 28 And those who led astray the world will be bound in chains, and will be shut up in the assembly-place of their destruction, and all their works will pass away from the face of the earth: 29 And from then on there will be nothing corruptible, for that Son of Man has appeared and has sat on the throne of his glory, and everything evil will pass away and go from before him; and the word of that Son of Man will be strong before the Lord of Spirits. This is the third parable of Enoch.

70.1. I And it came to pass after this (that), while he was living, his name was lifted from those who dwell upon the dry ground to the presence of that Son of Man and to the presence of the Lord of Spirits. 2 And he was lifted on the chariots of the spirit, and his name vanished among them. 3 And from that day I was not counted among them, and he placed me between two winds, between the north and the west, where the angels took the cords to measure for me the place for the chosen and the righteous. 4 And there I saw the first fathers and the righteous who from (the beginning of) the world dwelt in that place.

71.1. I And it came to pass after this that my spirit was carried off, and it went up into the heavens. I saw the sons of the holy angels treading upon flames of fire, and their garments (were) white, and their clothing, and the light of their face (was) like snow. 2 And I saw two rivers of fire, and the light of that fire shone like hyacinth, and I fell upon my face before the Lord of Spirits. 3 And the angel Michael, one of the archangels, took hold of me by my right hand, and raised me, and led me out to all the secrets of mercy and the secrets of righteousness. 4 And he showed me all the secrets of the ends of heaven and all the Storehouses of all the stars and the lights, from where they come out before the holy ones. 5 And the spirit carried Enoch off to the highest heaven, and I saw there in the middle of that light something built of crystal stones, and in the middle of those stones tongues of living fire. 6 And my spirit saw a circle of fire which surrounded that house; from its four sides (came) rivers full of living fire, and they surrounded that house. 7 And round about (were) the Seraphim, and the Cherubim, and the Ophannim; these are they who do not sleep, but keep watch over the throne of his glory. 8 And I saw angels who could not be counted, a thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, surrounding that house; and Michael and Raphael and Gabriel and Phanuel, and the holy angels who (are) in the heavens above, went in and out of that house, 9 And Michael and Raphael and Gabriel and Phanuel, and many holy angels without number, came out from that house; 10 and with them the Head of Days, his head white and pure like wool, and his garments indescribable. 11 And I fell upon my face, and my whole body melted, and my spirit was transformed; and I cried out in a loud voice in the spirit of power, and I blessed and praised and exalted. 12 And these blessings which came out from my mouth were pleasing before that Head of Days. 13 And that Head of Days came with Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel, and thousands and tens of thousands of angels without number. 14 And that angel came to me, and greeted me with his voice, and said to me: 'You are the Son of Man who was born to righteousness, and righteousness remains over you, and the righteousness of the Head of Days will not leave you.' 15 And he said to me: 'He proclaims peace to you in the name of the world which is to come, for from there peace has come out from the creation of the world; and so you will have it for ever and for ever and ever. 71. 16 And all . . . will walk according to your way, inasmuch as righteousness will never leave you; with you will be their dwelling, and with you their lot, and they will not be separated from you, for ever and for ever and ever. 17 And so there will be length of days with that Son of Man, and the righteous will have peace, and the righteous will have an upright way, in the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.'[/T2]

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Thanks, Stephan.

Googlebooks Bultmann here.

Tommy

"Son of Man" in Daniel is Archangel Michael?

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This is Delbert Burkett's summary of Vermes's analysis (in The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation, Cambridge: 2004).

[T2]When it became clear that the Similitudes of Enoch were absent from the fragments of Enoch found at Qumran, scholars began to reexamine the idea that a unified apocalyptic "Son of Man" concept existed in pre-Christian Judaism. Many came to a negative conclusion: there was no such idea at the time for Jesus to take over. With this conclusion came a new willingness to examine other explanations.

...Vermes believed that he had new evidence for the theory: he had examined a more extensive array of Aramaic sources than previous researchers. On the basis of these sources, he argued that bar nasha, like hahu gabra, could be used as a circumlocution for "I" "when (a) a speaker wishes to avoid undue or immodest emphasis on himself, or (b) when he is prompted by fear or by a dislike of asserting openly something disagreeable in relation to himself" (Vermes Appendix E: 320).

In a later work, Vermes applied his thesis to the Son of Man sayings in the Gospels (Vermes Appendix E: 160-91; cf. "The Present State of the 'Son of Man' Debate''; "The 'Son of Man' Debate"). He found the circumlocutional sense in twenty sayings that are independent of Daniel 7.13. He concluded that only these sayings can be traced back to Jesus. Two other groups of sayings, which refer to Daniel 7.13 either directly or indirectly, are the work of Jesus' apocalyptically minded disciples, who eschatologized the original idiom by means of a midrash on Daniel 7.13.

While Vermes' work induced a number of scholars to accept the circumlocutional theory, most continued to reject it. Aramaic scholars who have examined Vermes' work generally agree that the examples he produced show not a circumlocutional use of bar enasha, but a generic use ("man" in general) or an indefinite use ("a man," someone), in which a person might include himself along with others. They do not show that a speaker could use it to refer exclusively to himself.[/T2]

Vermes, Geza, Appendix E, in Matthew Black, An Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and Acts, Oxford: 1967, 310-30.

Vermes, Geza, Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. Collins: 1973.

Vermes, Geza, "The Present State of the 'Son of Man' Debate.'' JJS 29 (1978): 123-34.
Reprinted in Geza Vermes, Jesus and the World of Judaism, 89-99. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983.

Vermes, Geza, "The 'Son of Man' Debate." JSNT 1 (1978): 19-32.

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Not unknown! See here.