Son of Man

Son Of Man

'Son of man' is the translation of various Hebrew and Greek phrases used in both the Hebrew Bible 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. This is the most common Hebrew construction for the singular and appears 93 times in Ezekiel alone and 14 times elsewhere. In thirty two cases the phrase appears in intermediate plural form "sons of men", i.e. human beings. As generally interpreted by Jews, denotes mankind generally, with special reference to their weakness and frailty.

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. Geza Vermes has stated that "the Son of man" in the Christian gospels is unrelated to Hebrew Bible usages.

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 man" has never been an article of faith in Christianity. 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.