'Who is this son of man?' The Latest Scholarship on a Puzzling Expression of the Historical Jesus

This book is the first ever collection of scholarly essays in English devoted specifically to the theme of the expression 'son of man'. It describes the major competing theories which have addressed questions such as: What is the original Aramaic expression which lies behind the Greek phrase, and what was its original connotation? How do the gospel writers use the expression 'son of man'? Is it a Christological title, pregnant with meaning, much like the titles son of God, Christ/Messiah, and son of David? Is it used as a way of designating Jesus as a human being of unique redemptive significance? Or does it rather originate in a nuanced use (obscured in Greek translation) of an Aramaic expression used in place of the first person pronoun, as an indefinite pronoun, or for generic statements about human beings? Larry Hurtado and Paul Owen have brought together contributing scholars on the basis of their expertise in Aramaic, historical Jesus research, the son of man debate itself, and related fields of research.

• Table of contents
• Preface: The Son of Man Debate: What's the Problem? Paul Owen
• Abbreviations
• List of Contributors
• 1. Issues Concerning the Aramaic Behind o( ui(o\j tou= a)nqrw/pou: A Critical Review of Scholarship - Albert L. Lukaszewski
• 2. Problems with Casey's 'Solution' - Paul L. Owen
• 3. Re-solving the Son of Man 'Problem' in Aramaic - David Shepherd
• 4. Expressing Definiteness in Aramaic: A Response to Casey's Theory concerning the Son of Man Sayings - P. J. Williams
• 5. The Use of Daniel 7 in Jesus' Trial, with Implications for His Self-Understanding - Darrell L. Bock
• 6. The Use of the Son of Man Idiom in the Gospel of John - Benjamin E. Reynolds
• 7. The Elect son of man of the Parables of Enoch - Darrell D. Hannah
• 8. Summing Up and Concluding Observations - Larry W. Hurtado
• Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Sources
• Subject Index
• Author Index