Wikipedia
"Son of man" is a phrase used in the Hebrew Bible, various apocalyptic works of the intertestamental period, and in the Greek New Testament. In the indefinite form ("son of man", "one like a son of man") used in the Hebrew Bible and intertestamental literature it is a form of address, or contrasts human beings against God, or signifies an eschatological figure due to come at the end of history. The New Testament uses the earlier indefinite form while introducing a novel definite form, "the son of man."
Son of Man is a television play by British playwright Dennis Potter which was first broadcast on BBC1 on 16 April 1969, in The Wednesday Play slot. An alternative depiction of the last days of Jesus, Son of Man was directed by Gareth Davies and starred Irish actor Colin Blakely.
The treatment of the subject matter led to Potter being accused of blasphemy by Christian morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse. Jesus was depicted as being tormented by self-doubt, repeatedly crying out "Is it me?" as he struggles with his own nature as God incarnate whilst being vulnerable to human frailty. Potter's work focuses on Jesus's message of universal love, but eschews any mention of miracles or the resurrection. The character of Judas Iscariot is identified with the rich young man of the synoptic gospels. The play was shot on videotape over three days on a very limited budget: Potter was later to say that the set "looks as though it's trembling and about to fall down."
It was also adapted for the stage and played at the Roundhouse, London, with Frank Finlay in the leading role. The stage version of Son of Man was first produced on the 22nd October 1969, at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester.
Son of Man is a 2006 drama film directed by South African director Mark Dornford-May. It was the first South African motion picture to make its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. The film is an alternate retelling of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection set in modern-day South Africa.
"Son of Man" is a song by Phil Collins for the soundtrack of Disney's Tarzan. In the 1999 animated film, Tarzan learns how to be an ape from his childhood to adulthood, and picks up skills from several jungle animals such as a rhino, John monkeys and hippopotamuses and fighting an African rock python. It peaked at #68 on the German Media Control Charts as well as at #96 on the French Singles Chart.
Son of Man is a 1971 novel written by Robert Silverberg, most known for his science fiction writing. The book is about Clay, a 20th-century man, who travels billions of years into the future and meets humanity in its future forms. Some of the issues discussed in the book are sexuality, telepathic communication between people, physical prowess or frailty, division of humans by caste or ability, and the preservation of ancient wisdom, among other things.
Son of Man is an award-winning 1980 South Korean film directed by Yu Hyun-mok. It is based on the same titled 1979 novel written by Yi Munyol.
Son of man is an expression in the sayings of Jesus in Christian writings, including the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. The meaning of the expression is controversial. 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.
The expression "the Son of man" occurs 81 times in the Greek text of the four Canonical gospels, and is used only in the sayings of Jesus. The singular Hebrew expression "son of man" (בן–אדם i.e. ben-'adam) also appears in the Hebrew Bible over a hundred times.
The use of the definite article in "the Son of man" in the Koine Greek of 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 use of "the Son of man" in the Christian gospels is unrelated to Hebrew Bible usages.
For centuries, the Christological perspective on Son of man has been seen as a possible counterpart to that of Son of God and just as Son of God affirms the divinity of Jesus, in a number of cases Son of man affirms his humanity. However, while the profession of Jesus as the Son of God has been an essential element of Christian creeds since the Apostolic age, such professions do not apply to Son of man and the proclamation of Jesus as the Son of man has never been an article of faith in Christianity.
"Son of man" is the translation of Hebrew phrases used in the Hebrew Bible.
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, appearing 93 times in the Book of Ezekiel alone and 14 times elsewhere. In thirty two cases, the phrase appears in intermediate plural form "sons of men". As generally interpreted by Jews, "son of man" denotes mankind generally in contrast to deity or godhead, with special reference to their weakness and frailty
Usage examples of "son of man".
Lord, what is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him?
Numbers of fanatics appeared in France, Germany, and Italy at that time, preaching that the thousand years prophesied in the Apocalypse as the term of the world's duration, were about to expire, and that the Son of Man would appear in the clouds to judge the godly and the ungodly.