Journal: Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
Volume: DBSJ 30:1 (NA 2025)
Article: A Canonical Biblical Theology Of The Son Of Man
Author: Peter Cushman

DBSJ 30 (2025) p. 65

A Canonical Biblical Theology Of The Son Of Man

Peter Cushman1

The theme son of man (בֶן־אָדָם or ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου [hereafter SOM]) threads through the canon and dominates some of the most important junctures in the storyline of Scripture. אָדָם plunges humanity into the curse of sin and death, and בֶן־אָדָם will put things right. As an exercise in biblical theology (BT), this paper will overview this theme from creation to consummation. Constraints allow for a rough sketch of this pervasive theme, as opposed to a high-definition, feature film. Unfortunately, many SOM interpretive issues remain unaddressed here.2 The content below disproportionately focuses on the Old Testament contribution to the SOM theme on account of its foundational nature and ironic omission in many SOM studies.3 Perhaps a future opportunity will permit a more detailed New Testament treatment. The program of this paper develops as follows: the aim is to survey the SOM theme throughout the canon, establishing the genesis of the SOM concept in the creation narrative and underscoring its importance in the overarching plot line of Scripture. The SOM canonical idea is sourced, not in 1 Enoch, Daniel, or the Gospels, but in the beginning. Along the way, the paper will demonstrate the unity of the canonical story by tracing allusions to the creation narrative. A further aspiration of the paper is to show how the SOM theme overlaps with the central themes of divine image and sonship; this connection reinforces the centrality of the SOM theme. The paper starts with a section on BT methodology and then suggests a canonical, thematic center. The body

DBSJ 30 (2025) p. 66

of the paper begins in Genesis with the creation of אָדָם. Lexical information and a survey of the SOM theme in poetic texts follows next. Both lexical information and the SOM use in poetic literature depend on the creation narrative. The final part of the paper’s body traces the development of SOM theme from Abraham to Jesus. On account of its importance for the SOM theme in the biblical corpus, the largest section of the paper focuses on Daniel.

This paper maintains that BT is an inductive discipline guided by progressive revelation. The interest of BT lies in discovering “the interpretive perspective of the biblical authors.”4 In contrast with systematic theology, which begins with a prior...