Son of Man

Before we cross the threshold of the Hebrew Bible into the New Testament and 2nd Temple Literature category, we complete the triple thread of what will become classic messianism.

In the BIble we find threads that will be utilized by the New Testament as to Jesus as Messiah, and utilized by the messianic idea at large. 

First, we followed the word itself, messiah, anointed one, to anoint. It started as a generic verb, then developed to a ritual, and anointed leader, priest or prophet or king, and eventually became a particular noun, mostly associated with David, or the son of David. 

Then, we followed David himself, the boy who became a warrior, lover, and king, who then became an icon, a legend, within the biblical narrative. His name, dynasty, the heirs to his position, and a symbol, in the literature, an ecstatic exalted figure. 

Finally, the additional component of the Jesus messianic prototype is the Son of Man apocalyptic figure of Daniel 7, solidifying the apocalyptic element into the mix.

Daniel 7

“I was seeing in visions of the night and behold with the clouds of the heavens one as a son of man was coming and reached the ancient of days and was brought near to him; and to him was given dominion and glory and kingship, and all the peoples and nations and tongues will serve, his dominion is an everlasting kingdom that will not pass and his kingship will not be destroyed.”

This special passage in Daniel chapter 7 verses 13-14 creates an entire tradition in itself in 2nd Temple literature, for example in the Books of Enoch, and of course the New Testament: the Son of Man (in Aramaic bar enosh). 

It is not clear who the king is - the Ancient of Days, God Himself apparently, or the Son of Man who is given kingdom? There is no mention of David or the house of David, although the language is reminiscent of the prophetic literature mentioned previously, of everlasting kingdoms and such. 

Is this figure a special man, or is it some celestial being, in other words, is this a man lifted to the heavens or a heavenly being? The way it is read in 2nd Temple literature is as a celestial being, a great angel. But it is read in different ways. 

He will be cited explicitly in the New Testament and other writings of the 2nd Temple, after the biblical era, and later on in rabbinic literature this will also be considered a messianic passage, reference, or prophecy if you will. 

First Enoch

In Second Temple sources of apocalyptic literature, describing visions of the end of days, of fantastic wars and great events in the heavens, the Son of Man is not associated with David nor referred to as Messiah. 

Some of the writings indeed refer otherwise to a Davidic king, but most of this genre deals with angels, including the Son of Man, without connection to David, nor as a normal human at all. 

Here are the best passages I have found on the Son of Man, that come as close as possible, and are most relevant to our phenomenon, from First Enoch 46-50:

“And I saw there the one who was head of the days and his head was as white wool and with him was another and his face was like a man and his face was full of graces as one of the holy angels, and I asked the angel walking with me and showing me all the hidden things of that son of man who he is and where he is from and why he walks with the head of the days: 

and he answered and told me he is the son of man to whom is the righteousness and with him is righteousness and he reveals all treasures of the crowns for the Lord of the Spirits chose him… and the son of man that you saw will remove kings and oppressors from their dwelling places and those from power from their seats… he will remove kings from their kingdoms, those who will not praise and extol him, nor confess from where kingship was given them…

In that hour as the son of man calls upon the name the Lord of Spirits and his name is the Head of Days, and before the sun and the signs are created before the stars of the skies are made his name is called before the Lord of Spirits, he will be a staff for the righteous to support and stand and not fall and he will be a light to the gentiles and hope for the broken hearted, all those who dwell in the land will fall before him and worship, praise, bless, and sing to the Lord of Spirits… 

and the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits revealed him to the righteous and holy ones… and in the day of their trouble there will be rest on the land and before them they will fall and not rise again and no one will take them by hand to raise them for they lied in the Lord of Spirits and his anointed one… in him dwells the spirit of wisdom, spirit of understanding, and spirit of might…”

When we consider this text, it is perhaps the most important Son of Man text of the era for messianism, besides the New Testament. It comes extremely close to the classic messianic idea, but arguably not quite it. 

It plays off of Daniel 7, the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man, while the Ancient of Days is (literally) the “head of days”, and He is the Lord of Spirits, and the Son of Man is the Son of Man! In other words, it is not a code name for another figure, but he himself is the figure at hand. 

The text associates to this Son of Man, a few elements which are of the classic Davidic and messianic tradition as we know it. But it is not stating here that the Son of Man is David, nor Messiah, but just attributing some of these related qualities. Close, but not quite.

It could be legitimately argued that this is the messianic idea in its classic form: it has the Son of Man and David and “messiah” in it. But again, reading it in context, it seems to be pointing in that direction, and not quite there yet. Based on this critical reading of the Son of Man in Enoch, and other texts, I gather the assumption that “the messianic idea as we know it”, is here getting closer but is not yet it. It is almost there. 

The almost aspect is most interesting because it reveals a process. I believe this process is expressed within the New Testament itself, within the Gospel readings, where we might see the process going to the next stage of development. In the Gospels, Jesus is associated with David, he is called Messiah (among other things), and he is associated blatantly with the Son of Man.

Here it Shows

Without getting ahead of ourselves, here is Mark 13:24-27: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.” 

Jesus before his disciples is explaining what is to come, and speaks of the Son of Man in third person, referencing other passages from Daniel and Joel and more. Though some think that Jesus is speaking of another, I, like most, assume he is speaking of himself in the third person, based on the context, and by the fact that the name Son of Man is used many times throughout the gospel accounts. Jesus is seen as Messiah and David and the Son of Man. 

These motifs did not naturally go together. The New Testament is the pioneer of this conjunction, and thus a forerunner of the messianic idea at large, forging these three threads from the Bible into one prototype of messianism, and we can see this process taking place as the narrative of the Gospel unfolds, through the folds of the texts.