Son of man judaism the hebrew expression son of man, benadam appears 107 times in the hebrew bible, the majority 93 times in the book of ezekiel. The vision has to do with the judgment of four beasts. Son of man has the double meaning of human being and, according to daniel 7, exalted heavenly one. The gospel of daniel 7, read exactly this way when i picked it upa theological adventure of looking at daniel, jesus, and the kingdom of god. And he came to the ancient one and was presented before him. Probably nebuchadnezzar thought that he stood to jehovah in the same relation that he himself did to merodach. The ancient of days is a figure in one of daniel s visions that unquestionably represents god.
The son of man is given dominion i saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came. The son of man according to daniel, enoch and jesus. Verse 9 picks up with the ancient of days who takes his thrown and destroys the beasts. Since this is a reference often used for jesus, why is it that ezekiel seems to singled out for same designation.
Daniel had of four evil beasts the last of which had a wicked little horn with quite the dirty mouth on him. Michael heiser concerning the location of mt sinai. According to the parables of enoch 1 enoch 3771, enoch is taken into heaven and shown prophetic visions concerning an eschatological hero known as the son of man. To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples should serve him. In the book of ezekiel alone, god calls the prophet son of man 93 times. For example in the book of ezekiel, the son of man does seem to stress a human being. However, in the book of daniel the son of man is a very different kind of figure. Son of man, the definition and meaning bible dictionary. What would have happened if that strange visitor from another planet had landed in the soviet union instead of the us. He answered and said, lo, i see four men loose, walking in. The son of man isnt always used in the same way from one book to another. At the end of the book, all of these things were clearer and more alive.
He is the divinehuman partner that we all need to overcome the animal inside our nature and raise humanity back to the glorious destiny that god created us. The son of man here was early interpreted of the messias, in the book of henoch, where the expression is used almost as a messianic title, though there is a good deal in drummonds argument that even here it was not used as a messianic title notwithstanding the fact that it was understood of the messias. Daniel 7 is one of the most important old testament stories for understanding what jesus is all about, and it makes perfect sense why jesus adopted the son of man title to describe himself. How did nebuchadnezzar know that the fourth man was the. This figure is also called the chosen one, anointed, and righteous one, which are. Jesus called himself the son of man far more than any other title. What does the bible mean when it refers to the four winds. Whenever in later works that son of man, this son of man or the son of man is mentioned, it is the quotation from daniel.
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the. These kingdoms are finally overthrown when the ancient of days sits in judgment over them on his glorious throne and gives dominion and an eternal kingdom to one like a son of man whom all peoples are to. Daniel 2, 7, 9, 12 the coming of messiah the prince series. Daniels vision of the son of man the bible journey. Daniel 2, 7, 9, 12 the coming of messiah the prince. The book of daniel, though its likely derived from some oral traditions and legends that had been floating around for a long time, was put together in its final form sometime around 165 bce, when the israelites were squabbling with the evil antiochus iv epiphanes, a leftover greek general jockeying for influence in the postalexanderthegreat era. Basically, the phrase son of man means something different in the book of ezekiel than it does in the gospels. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the new testament as a title of jesus, probably based largely on this verse. Daniel 7 describes a succession of kingdoms appearing as various beasts. He comes with the clouds of heaven, as jesus repeatedly said he himself would do and this is a coming into heavenly glory and authority, not a coming down to. Thus, daniels son of man rides the clouds like yahweh, rules over all creation forever like yahweh, and is worshiped by all the nations like yahweh. By now we know that the book of daniel was one of the earliest apocalypses ever written and also one of the most influential. Church fathers didnt appreciate this identification.
They will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Who was the son of man in daniel 7 manuscript reported in daniel 7 is the story of a dream nightmare. Son of man wasnt laden with religious or political baggage. For in subjecting all things to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. In a recent episode of his naked bible podcast, dr. Or the son of man, that you are concerned about him. Daniel 7 daniels dream of four beasts in bible gateway. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. We know this to be the case from passages like mark. Son of man is ambiguous enough that his enemies arent able to seize on the title as blasphemy. When people compare daniel s vision of this angel to the similarity of johns vision of christ in revelation they do not seem to take notice of the differences in the details of their descriptions. Mighty kings and powerful rulers possess the land of israel. Son of man, drawn directly from the imagery of daniel 7. Jesus replied, foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head.
One like a son of man there came one like a son of man, and he came to the ancient of days. Son of man, son of adam, or like a man are phrases used in the hebrew bible, various. The title jesus most often used for himself is the son of man. The book of daniel was written during the maccabaean revolt, a rebellion against the seleucid king antiochus iv epiphanes, who had started a persecution of orthodox jews. Why do daniel and revelation give varying counts of 1,260, 1,290, and 1,335 days for the tribulation. In this context, he was referring to ezekiel as a human being. Christians often assume that the son of man in daniels vision in chapter 7. The hebrew expression son of man, benadam appears 107 times in the hebrew bible, the majority 93 times in the book of ezekiel. A commentary on the book of daniel, hermeneia minneapolis, mn. During the second and first centuries before jesus the author or authors of the book of parables in the composite apocalyptic text known as 1 enoch made elaborate use of daniels story about one like a son of man. The book of daniel was written during the maccabaean revolt, a rebellion against the. You have made him for a little while lower than the angels. The title son of man carries overtones of suffering, and jesus used it regularly when he spoke of his suffering and death. This book will become one of the central books to the church in the coming days.
Joels trumpet the ministry home of joel richardson. The next undeniable difference is that the man in daniel s vision had a voice like the sound of a multitude dan 10. Although many sources claim otherwise, it is clear after examining the scripture, that the man whom daniel encounters is not jesus christ. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. With the coming of jesus, the fulfilment of the prophecy in himself was not at first obvious either to israel or his followers. Its not until we get to the book of daniel that we see son of man take on greater significance. In this video, well explore the meaning of this fascinating phrase and see how it invites us into the larger biblical story. A first meaning of the phrase son of man is as a reference to the prophecy of daniel 7. These words, let us remember, are uttered by a heathen king, who calls this same person, in daniel 3. A redefinition of the jerusalem temple and the formation of a new covenant community paperback october 21, 2016. In the book of daniel it stands for a mysterious figure who represents all gods holy ones in a vision the prophet had.
You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of your hands. The attributes given to the son of man in the christian scriptures seem to correspond with those found in the book of daniel of the hebrew scriptures daniel 7. Daniels son of man coin of alexander, with rams horns. The early jewish and christian interpretation of daniels son of man. From the very beginning the son of man of daniel was identified as the messiah. Christians have always regarded the promise of the coming reign of one like a son of man in the book of daniel as jesus christ. I cannot overemphasize our need to give ourselves to it today. When jesus calls himself the son of man, he is identifying himself with this heavenly figure from the book of daniel.
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