Speaking Up for Qumran,Dalman and the Son of Man: Was Bar Enasha a Common Term for 'Man' in the Time of Jesus?

Abstract

Biblical scholars have offered a number of competing theories concerning the best linguistic explanation of the expression ó υιος του ανθρωπου ('the Son of Man') which occurs on the lips of Jesus 82 times in the Gospels. This article argues that— contrary to the claims of many scholars—the Aramaic expression was not in fact a generic term for 'man', although this term was used on occasion in the absolute state as a way of referring to 'a man/someone' when the contextual register required it.