Journal: Bulletin for Biblical Research
Volume: BBR 22:3 (NA 2012)
Article: Did Jesus Connect Son Of Man To Daniel 7? A Short Reflection On The Position Of Larry Hurtado
Author: Darrell L. Bock

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BBR 22:3 (2012) p. 399

Did Jesus Connect Son Of Man To Daniel 7?
A Short Reflection On The Position Of Larry Hurtado

Darrell L. Bock

Dallas Theological Seminary

This short note interacts with Larry Hurtado’s view that Jesus used the term Son of Man and may have alluded to Dan 7:13–14 at his Jewish examination, but did not connect the Scripture to the expression. The note argues that, in most of Jesus’ uses, the term does not intend to evoke Dan 7 but that in this scene Jesus makes the connection as part of his more public confrontation of the final week. It also seeks to correct the impression that to argue for a connection of Dan 7 in this scene is to associate that text with all the uses of the title in the Gospels.

Key Words: Son of Man, Dan 7, Jesus’ self understanding

In an important collection of essays on the Son of Man, Larry Hurtado repeats the position he took in Lord Jesus Christ. There, Hurtado argued that Jesus used the idiomatic expression Son of Man as a self-designation of his unique vocation, but with no reference to specific texts.1 In taking this position, he rejects the idea that Jesus connected the term Son of Man with Dan 7:13–14 as I argued in my essay in “Who Is the Son of Man?” Hurtado does think it is plausible that Jesus may have made a claim involving Dan 7:13–14 at his examination by the Jewish leadership (Mark 14:53–65 par.), but somehow that is not connected with the idea of the Son of Man.2

My goal in this note is to argue that Hurtado’s position is somewhat inconsistent. It is my contention that Jesus meditated on how his vocation tied to Scripture, including how his favorite self-designation (so close in expression to it) fit into that understanding. Also treated in this note is the

BBR 22:3 (2012) p. 400

problem with the connection going back to Jesus and yet not appearing as a key title in the early church’s own use outside of Jesus in the Gospels.

Let me begin by stating clearly where we agree. In the bulk of his uses, Jesus does not point to the Son of Man from Dan 7. Jesus often simply uses an idiom of self-designation. It points to his unique vocation as a human, as the things Jesus is said to be doing ...

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