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<\/a>Caves of Dead Sea Scrolls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
[This article is post #5 of Dr. Richard Bauckham\u2019s book, \u201cSon of Man:\u201d Volume 1: Early Jewish Literature<\/em>. Click here<\/a> to see post #1.]<\/p>\n In Bauckham\u2019s book that we are reviewing, \u201cSon 0f Man,\u201d<\/em> he shows from early Jewish literature that Jews understood the Son of Man in Daniel 7:13-14 as no more than a man. Yet Bauckham is a Trinitarian and therefore has always believed this Son of Man refers to Jesus of Nazareth and that he is not only a man as Israel\u2019s promised Messiah but that he also is God, which is what the Catholic church of the 4th and 5th centuries determined.<\/p>\n Jesus of Nazareth did not go around publicly claiming he was the promised Messiah of Israel, even though the New Testament documents that account for the early life of the church often say he was. Instead, Jesus often said publicly that he was \u201cthe Son of Man.\u201d In understanding Jesus\u2019s identity, it is vitally important to grasp what he meant by this self-identification. In doing so, he seems to have drawn upon a single text in the Jewish Bible (Old Testament)\u2014Daniel 7.13-14.<\/p>\n Daniel relates in Daniel 7.13-14 (NIV), \u201cIn my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days [God] and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power, all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Richard Bauckham\u2019s book, \u201cSon of Man:\u201d Volume 1: Early Jewish Literature<\/em>, published in 2023, is a major contribution to early, Jewish understanding of the Son of Man figure in Daniel 7.13-14. Bauckham observes that the Dead Sea Scrolls, most of which were written in the first century BCE or before, do not contain the Parables of Enoch, which represents mostly commentary on Daniel 7. However, one fragmentary text found in Cave 4, labeled 4Q426, stirred much media attention because it contains the expression \u201cSon of God.\u201d Bauckham says (p. 174), \u201cit may very well be the earliest evidence of interpretation of Daniel 7.\u201d He concludes (p. 192), \u201cThis undoubtedly pre-Christian text identifies the humanlike figure of Daniel 7:13-14 with the Davidic Messiah.\u201d<\/p>\n Bauckham relates that many DSS documents portray a Messianic Figure as a warrior. (See my book, Warrior from Heaven<\/em>.) In fact, a major DSS document is called The War Scroll. Bauckham relates that in early Judaism, three sacred texts were deemed most important which portray the promised Messiah: Genesis 49.10; Numbers 24.15-19; Isaiah 11.1-4. The last two present Messiah as a warrior-king. All three claim the Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah, and the New Testament verifies that Jesus came from the tribe of Judah as well (Matthew 1.2-3, 16; Luke 3.23, 30).<\/p>\n In Bauckham\u2019s investigation of early Jewish views of Daniel\u2019s Son of Man, he next turns to Book 5 of the Sibylline Oracles. He says it was written in the late 1st<\/sup> century CE or early 2nd<\/sup> century CE. It says (lines 108-110), \u201cA certain king sent from God \u2026 will destroy all the great kings and noble men.\u201d Bauckham says (p. 204) this \u201cMessianic Figure is said to come from \u2018from the sky\u2019 (line 256) or \u2018from the vault of heaven\u2019 (line 414). These must be allusions to Daniel 7:13,\u201d thus to the Son of Man. This comports with the Messiah Figure in Isaiah 11.4. It reads, \u201cHe shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.\u201d The apostle Paul alludes to this text by saying \u201cthe wicked\u201d refers to \u201cthe lawless one,\u201d that is, the final Antichrist, \u201cwhom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming\u201d (2 Thessalonians 2.8).<\/p>\n Bauckham continues concerning this Sibylline book (p. 208), \u201cLike the Parables of Enoch, this author understood the \u2018one like a son of man\u2019 in Daniel 7:13 to be a human being exalted to heaven\u2026. He is a man who after departing this life on earth \u2026 now enjoys a blessed life in heaven.\u201d Bauckham concludes about this Sibylline book (p. 216-217), \u201cthe Messianic Figure is a figure from history who, after living in heaven, returns. The author presumes that the \u2018one like a son of man\u2019 is a man, not a god or an angel, and, since he is in heaven, he must have lived on earth in the past.\u201d Thus, Bauckham says of the author of The Parables and this Sibylline author, \u201cFor both writers the Messianic Figure is the \u2018one like a son of man\u2019 of Daniel 7:13.\u201d<\/p>\n Buackham then provides what he calls (pp. 267-285), \u201cThe Context for the Parables of Enoch.\u201d He reiterates regarding early Jewish literature (p. 268), \u201cThere is no evidence of an interpretation of Daniel 7:13 as referring to a heavenly being, divine or angelic, who had never lived on earth. The \u2018one like a son of man\u2019 was understood to be a visionary figure representing, in real life, a man. He might look like an angel,\u2026 he might be endowed with some superhuman qualities or powers for the sake of his messianic task, but he is human.\u201d<\/p>\n As I have said before, Bauckham, who is a Trinitarian who believes Jesus was and is God, used to think this ancient Jewish literature, especially The Parables of 1 Enoch, presented the Son of Man in Daniel 7.13 as a God-man. But upon further research required for this book, Professor Bauckham admits that he was wrong about that. This is why I am anxiously awaiting Volume 2 of this Bauckham series. It will be about Jesus as the Son of Man in the four New Testament gospels. I doubt that Bauckham will forsake belief in the deity of Christ. Yet I\u2019m wondering how he will reconcile that belief with his newfound understanding that early Jewish literature, especially The Parables of 1 Enoch, state that the Son of Man in Daniel 7.13-14 is no more than a man.<\/p>\n [See Kermit\u2019s two books that relate to this book review: The Restitution: Biblical Proof Jesus Is NOT God<\/em><\/a> and The Gospel Corrupted: When Jesus Was Made God<\/em><\/a>.]<\/p>\n Click here<\/a> to see post #6 of the 7 total posts reviewing Bauckham\u2019s book, \u201cSon of Man.\u201d<\/em> Click here<\/a> to go to post #1.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [This article is post #5 of Dr. Richard Bauckham\u2019s book, \u201cSon of Man:\u201d Volume 1: Early Jewish Literature. Click here to see post #1.] In Bauckham\u2019s book that we are reviewing, \u201cSon 0f Man,\u201d he shows from early Jewish literature that Jews understood the Son of Man in Daniel 7:13-14 as no more than a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1477,"featured_media":20831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,494],"tags":[7904,8426,2691,8429],"class_list":["post-20801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-jesus","tag-1-enoch","tag-dead-sea-scrolls","tag-jesus-as-son-of-man","tag-sibylline-oracles"],"yoast_head":"\nJesus Mostly Identified Himself as \u201cSon of Man\u201d<\/h2>\n
God Gives \u201cOne Like a Son of Man\u201d a Kingdom<\/h2>\n
\u201cThe Son of God\u201d in the Dead Sea Scrolls<\/h2>\n
Dead Sea Scrolls Say Messiah Will Be a Warrior<\/h2>\n
Sibylline Oracles Say Messiah Will Be a Warrior<\/h2>\n
Sibylline Oracles Say Messiah Will Go to Heaven<\/h2>\n
Parables of 1 Enoch Say Messiah Is Only a Man<\/h2>\n