We take it for granted that “the Son of Man” is a messianic title. After all, Jesus applied it to himself more than 80 times in the New Testament.
Where did it come from?
Turns out the title was unknown to Jews until the writing of the Book of Parables, chapters 37–71 of the Book of 1 Enoch, in the late 1st century BC. (Yes, it’s in Daniel 7, but as a description—“one like a son of man”—rather than a title.)
We discuss the Essene community near the Sea of Galilee, authors of this text, and why its location in the north, rather than at Qumran, was significant. Galilee in the early 1st century was ready and waiting for the Messiah—and Jesus deliberately chose that place and the title “Son of Man” to announce his role in the coming supernatural judgment of fallen angels and their human agents.
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