Throughout the New Testament Jesus refers to himself as the Son of man1. Why is that? Let’s start at the beginning of the Bible and work our way through it to see if we can find the answer to that question.
Genesis 1:26-27 reads:
26 And God said, Let us make man2 (“adam” H120) in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man (“adam” H120) in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
The first son of man (“adam”) we read about is found in Genesis 4:1. While this offspring is not formally called a “son” let alone a “son of man”, it is clear that he is a male offspring of a union between a man and a woman.
4 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man3 (“iysh” H376) from the Lord.
Then, we read in verse 17 of the same chapter that Cain and his wife produce Enoch, and Enoch is identified as Cain’s “son”.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son (“ben” H1121), Enoch.
But again, Enoch is not formally called a “son of man” either, however he is an offspring of Cain and his wife, suggesting Enoch is a son (“ben” H1121) of man (“adam” H120).
To me, a “son of man” is another way of saying a male human being, which is procreated from the union of a man and a woman, in contrast to the created “adam” who was made from the dust of the ground. Would you agree?
Now let’s look at where this term is specifically used in the Old Testament.
First Mention of “Son of Man”
The first mention of “son of man” is found in Numbers 23:19.
19 God is not a man (“iysh” H376), that he should lie; neither the son (“ben” H1121) of man (“adam” H120), that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
God is juxtaposed against being either a man or the son of man, which makes sense since He is credited for making man (both “adam” and “iysh”) in the first place.
Other Mentions in the Old Testament
Generally Speaking
Next, the term son of man is found several times in the books of Job, Psalms, Isaiah & Jeremiah, and none of those mentions appear to be speaking of a specific human being. They are all referring to humans in general.
What is interesting to note is that every mention of “son of man” in English (in the KJV) in these books is translated from “ben” and “adam”, except for one: Psalm 144:3.
3 Lord, what is man (“adam” H120), that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son (“ben” H1121) of man (“enosh” H582), that thou makest account of him!
In this verse, the first mention of “man” is translated from “adam” (H120), but the second mention found in the phrase “son of man” is “enosh” (H582), which means man, mankind.
(I don’t know why this is, but I don’t think it’s too significant at this point. It’s just something I took note of and thought to share it with you.)
Specifically Speaking
Then, in the book of Ezekiel we see the prophet specifically called & repeatedly identified as “Son of Man” by God all throughout the book. Here’s the first mention in Ezekiel 2:1.
2 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
Ezekiel is the only person in the Old Testament explicitly referred to as such with the exception of one reference to Daniel in Daniel 8:17.
15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of 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 afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. – Daniel 8:15-17
Both of these phrases (& all the other mentions in Ezekiel) comprise of “ben” (H1121) and “adam” (H120) in the Hebrew source text.
Figuratively Speaking
Then, we read of “one like the Son of man” appearing in night visions to Daniel.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man4 came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. – Daniel 7:13
I believe this mention is significant.
For one, this being is seen in a vision, so it’s not an actual physical person.
Two, the word translated here as “man” is Aramaic and it corresponds to the Hebrew word “enosh” (H582), as seen above in Psalm 144:3. So, this is not specifically referring to the son of adam (such as a particular union of a man and a woman), but rather to a son of man or mankind, in general.
(Despite this distinction, I still understand this term to mean a male human being.)
And three, the being in this passage is “one like” the Son of man. So, that tells me the being in the vision is like a male human being.
Also, notice the added detail of having come with the clouds of heaven. We’ll see that detail mentioned again on several occasions in the New Testament. And remember, this is seen in a night vision, which gets interpreted.
Beyond this, there is no other instance of the term “son of man” (that I’ve found) used in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament
In the KJV of the New Testament, the phrase “son of man” is translated from a Greek text, and the words there are “huios” (G5207), which means son and “anthropos” (G444), which means human being, whether male or female.5
This term first appears in Matthew 8:20:
20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Nearly every reference to the Son of man appears to be regarding Jesus/Yeshua (in Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) referring to himself as such — and there are about 80 of them.
The question, again, is Why does he call himself this?
Is he seeking to simply identify himself as a human being? I don’t think so. What would be the point of that? Besides, he could just say “anthropos” if he wanted to make that point.
Does anyone else call him that? Not while he’s alive and walking the earth.
And God doesn’t call him this, as was the case with Ezekiel. He calls him “my beloved son”. (See Matthew 3:17, 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35)
Jesus/Yeshua is identifying himself in this way. Why?
I believe it is because he wants to associate himself with the Son of man figure in Daniel’s night visions.
Let’s look at more of Daniel’s night visions in chapter 7 and see its interpretation:
7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another…
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened…
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 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.
15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. – Daniel 7:1-3,9-10, 13-18
Do you see that? It appears that the vision of “one like the Son of man”, who “came with the clouds of heaven” is representative of “the saints of the most High” in the vision’s interpretation.
Furthermore, this vision is riddled with talks of kings and kingdoms and culminates with the saints of the most High taking the kingdom and possessing it for ever. (I recommend reading the whole chapter.)
Now, let’s look at the following mentions of the “Son of man” in the book of Matthew, in particular:
- Mat 13:41 – The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
- Mat 16:27-28 – For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
- Mat 19:28 – And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Mat 24:30 – And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- Mat 25:31 – When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
- Mat 26:64 – Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Again, I believe Jesus/Yeshua specifically sought to affiliate himself with the Son of Man figure in Daniel’s vision. (There are similar passages in the other gospels as well, if you’d like to investigate them further on your own.)
Furthermore, I believe Jesus’/Yeshua’s disciples (& others in the first century) understood that connection.
Notice what is said in Acts 1:6-11.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him [Jesus], saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
And then in Acts 7:55-56, see what Stephen says of him.
55 But he [Stephen], being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
And apparently John’s vision relayed in the book of Revelation, chapter 14, jives with what Jesus spoke about, too.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. 14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Now, the question is:
Given the idea that Jesus’ constant references to himself as “the Son of man” may be associated with the being in Daniel’s vision, are all these references to what the Son of man will do or is doing, as it relates to ascending, descending and/or being in the clouds of heaven in the company of angels, physically real in nature or figurative?
Personally, I believe they are figurative. What do you think?
NOTES:
1 “Son of man” is mentioned 30 times in Matthew, 25 times in Luke, 14 times in Mark and 11 times in John.
2 This use of man (“adam” H120) in Genesis 1:26 includes both male and female.
3 Cain is referred to as a “man” in Genesis 4:1, but the source text shows a different Hebrew word than the word “adam”. It is “iysh”, which denotes a male (man) as opposed to a female (woman). (See Genesis 2:21-23.)
4 This reference to “Son of Man” in Daniel 7:13 is translated from the Aramaic “bar” (H1247) which corresponds to the Hebrew “ben” (H1121) and the Aramaic “enash” (H606) which corresponds to the Hebrew “enosh” (H582).
5 There doesn’t appear to be a Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word “adam” (H120). There is one for the proper name of Adam (G76 which corresponds to H121). The Greek Septuagint uses “anthropos” where you would ordinarily see “adam” (H120) or “enosh” (H582) in the phrases translated in English as “son of man”.
