Bible Dictionary: Man

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Smith's Bible Dictionary

Man

Four Hebrew terms are rendered "man" in the Authorized Version:

Adam, the name of the man created in the image of God. It appears to be derived from adam , "he or it was red or ruddy," like Edom. This was the generic term for the human race.
Ish , "man," as distinguished from woman, husband.
Geber , "a man," from gabar , "to be strong," generally with reference to his strength.
Methim , "men," always masculine. Perhaps it may be derived from the root muth , "he died."

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1.) Hebrews `Adam, used as the proper name of the first man. The name is derived from a word meaning "to be red," and thus the first man was called Adam because he was formed from the red earth. It is also the generic name of the human race (Genesis 1:26, 27; 5:2; 8:21; Deuteronomy 8:3). Its equivalents are the Latin homo and the Greek anthropos (Matthew 5:13, 16). It denotes also man in opposition to woman (Genesis 3:12; Matthew 19:10).

(2.) Hebrews `ish, like the Latin vir and Greek aner, denotes properly a man in opposition to a woman (1 Samuel 17:33; Matthew 14:21); a husband (Genesis 3:16; Hosea 2:16); man with reference to excellent mental qualities.

(3.) Hebrews `enosh, man as mortal, transient, perishable (2 Chronicles 14:11; Isaiah 8:1; Job 15:14; Psalm 8:4; 9:19, 20; 103:15). It is applied to women (Joshua 8:25).

(4.) Hebrews geber, man with reference to his strength, as distinguished from women (Deuteronomy 22:5) and from children (Exodus 12:37); a husband (Proverbs 6:34).

(5.) Hebrews methim, men as mortal (Isaiah 41:14), and as opposed to women and children (Deuteronomy 3:6; Job 11:3; Isaiah 3:25).

Man was created by the immediate hand of God, and is generically different from all other creatures (Genesis 1:26, 27; 2:7). His complex nature is composed of two elements, two distinct substances, viz., body and soul (Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 12:7; 2 Corinthians 5:1-8).

The words translated "spirit" and "soul," in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:12, are habitually used interchangeably (Matthew 10:28; 16:26; 1 Peter 1:22). The "spirit" (Gr. pneuma) is the soul as rational; the "soul" (Gr. psuche) is the same, considered as the animating and vital principle of the body.

Man was created in the likeness of God as to the perfection of his nature, in knowledge (Colossians 3:10), righteousness, and holiness (Ephesians 4:24), and as having dominion over all the inferior creatures (Genesis 1:28). He had in his original state God's law written on his heart, and had power to obey it, and yet was capable of disobeying, being left to the freedom of his own will. He was created with holy dispositions, prompting him to holy actions; but he was fallible, and did fall from his integrity (3:1-6). (see FALL.)

Man of sin

A designation of Antichrist given in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10, usually regarded as descriptive of the Papal power; but "in whomsoever these distinctive features are found, whoever wields temporal and spiritual power in any degree similar to that in which the man of sin is here described as wielding it, he, be he pope or potentate, is beyond all doubt a distinct type of Antichrist."

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) A human being; -- opposed to beast.

2. (n.) Especially: An adult male person; a grown-up male person, as distinguished from a woman or a child.

3. (n.) The human race; mankind.

4. (n.) The male portion of the human race.

5. (n.) One possessing in a high degree the distinctive qualities of manhood; one having manly excellence of any kind.

6. (n.) An adult male servant; also, a vassal; a subject.

7. (n.) A term of familiar address often implying on the part of the speaker some degree of authority, impatience, or haste; as, Come, man, we've no time to lose!

8. (n.) A married man; a husband; -- correlative to wife.

9. (n.) One, or any one, indefinitely; -- a modified survival of the Saxon use of man, or mon, as an indefinite pronoun.

10. (n.) One of the piece with which certain games, as chess or draughts, are played.

11. (v. t.) To supply with men; to furnish with a sufficient force or complement of men, as for management, service, defense, or the like; to guard; as, to man a ship, boat, or fort.

12. (v. t.) To furnish with strength for action; to prepare for efficiency; to fortify.

13. (v. t.) To tame, as a hawk.

14. (v. t.) To furnish with a servants.

15. (v. t.) To wait on as a manservant.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

INWARD MAN

in'-werd: A Pauline term, nearly identical with the "hidden man of the heart" (1 Peter 3:4). The Greek original, 5 ho eso (also esothen) anthropos (Romans 7:22) is lexigraphically defined "the internal man," i.e. "soul," "conscience." It is the immaterial part of man-mind, spirit-in distinction from the "outward man" which "perishes" (2 Corinthians 4:16 the King James Version). As the seat of spiritual influences it is the sphere in which the Holy Spirit does His renewing and saving work (Ephesians 3:16). The term "inward man" cannot be used interchangeably with "the new man," for it may still be "corrupt," and subject to "vanity" and "alienated from the life of God." Briefly stated, it is mind, soul, spirit-God's image in man-man's higher nature, intellectual, moral, and spiritual.

Dwight M. Pratt

MAN OF SIN

(ho anthropos tes hamartias; many ancient authorities read, "man of lawlessness," anomias):

1. The Pauline Description:

The name occurs in Paul's remarkable announcement in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 of the manifestation of a colossal anti-Christian power prior to the advent, which some of the Thessalonians had been misled into thinking of as immediately impending (2:2). That "day of the Lord," the apostle declares, will not come till, as he had previously taught them (2:5), there has first been a great apostasy and the revelation of "the man of sin" (or "of lawlessness"; compare 2:8), named also "the son of perdition" (2:3). This "lawless one" (2:8) would exalt himself above all that is called God, or is an object of worship; he would sit in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God (2:4). For the time another power restrained his manifestation; when that was removed, he would be revealed (2:6, 7). Then "the mystery of lawlessness," which was already working, would attain its full development (2:7, 8). The coming of this "man of sin," in the power of Satan, would be with lying wonders and all deceit of unrighteousness, whereby many would be deceived to their destruction (2:9, 10). But only for a season (2:6). Jesus would slay (or consume) him with the breath of His mouth (compare Isaiah 11:4), and bring him to nought by the manifestation of His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

2. The Varying Interpretations:

Innumerable are theories and speculations to which this Pauline passage has given rise a very full account of these may be seen in the essay on "The Man of Sin" appended to Dr. J. Eadie's posthumous Commentary on Thessalonians, and in Lunemann's Commentary, 222;, English translation).

(1) There is the view, favored by "moderns," that the passage contains no genuine prediction (Paul "could not know" the future), but represents a speculation of the apostle's own, based on Daniel 8:23;; 11:36;, and on current ideas of Antichrist (see ANTICHRIST; BELIAL; compare Bousset, Der Antichrist, 93;, etc.). This view will not satisfy those who believe in the reality of Paul's apostleship and inspiration.

(2) Some connect the description with Caligula, Nero, or other of the Roman emperors. Caligula, indeed, ordered supplication to be made to himself as the supreme god and wished to set up his statue in the temple of Jerusalem (Suet. Calig. xxii0.33; Josephus, Ant, XVIII, viii). But this was long before Paul's visit to Thessalonica, and the acts of such a madman could not furnish the basis of a prediction so elaborate and important as the present (compare Lunemann and Bousset).

(3) The favorite Protestant interpretation refers the prediction to the papacy, in whom, it is contended, many of the blasphemous features of Paul's representation are unmistakably realized. The "temple of God" is here understood to be the church; the restraining power the Roman empire; "the man of sin" not an individual, but the personification of an institution or system. It is cult, however, to resist the impression that the apostle regards "the mystery of lawlessness" as culminating in an individual-a personal Antichrist-and in any case the representation outstrips everything that can be conceived of as even nominally Christian.

(4) There remains the view held by most of the Fathers, and in recent times widely adopted, that "the man of sin" of this passage is an individual in whom, previous to the advent, sin will embody itself in its most lawless and God-denying form. The attempts to identify this individual with historical characters may be set aside; but the idea is not thereby invalidated. The difficulty is that the apostle evidently conceives of the manifestation of the "man of sin" as taking place, certainly not immediately, but at no very remote period-not 2,000 years later-and as connected directly with the final advent of Christ, and the judgment on the wicked (compare 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9), without apparently any reference to a "millennial" period, either before or after.

It seems safest, in view of the difficulties of the passage, to confine one's self to the general idea it embodies, leaving details to be interpreted by the actual fulfillment.

3. The Essential Idea:

There is much support in Scripture-not least in Christ's own teaching (compare Matthew 13:30, 37-43; Matthew 24:11-14 Luke 18:8)-for the belief that before the final triumph of Christ's kingdom there will be a period of great tribulation, of decay of faith, of apostasy, of culmination of both good and evil ("Let both grow together until the harvest," Matthew 13:30), with the seeming triumph for the time of the evil over the good. There will be a crisis-time-sharp, severe, and terminated by a decisive interposition of the Son of Man ("the manifestation of his coming," the Revised Version margin "Gr presence"), in what precise form may be left undetermined. Civil law and government-the existing bulwark against anarchy (in Paul's time represented by the Roman power)-will be swept away by the rising tide of evil, and lawlessness will prevail. It may be that impiety will concentrate itself, as the passage says, in some individual head; or this may belong to the form of the apostle's apprehension in a case where "times and seasons" were not yet fully revealed: an apprehension to be enlarged by subsequent revelations (see REVELATION OF JOHN), or left to be corrected by the actual course of God's providence. The kernel of the prediction is not, any more than in the Old Testament prophecies, dependent on its literal realization in every detail. Neither does the final manifestation of evil exclude partial and anticipatory realizations, embodying many of the features of the prophecy.

See THESSALONIANS, THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE, III.

James Orr

MAN, NATURAL

nat'-u-ral, nach'-u-ral (psuchikos anthropos): Man as he is by nature, contrasted with man as he becomes by grace. This phrase is exclusively Pauline.

I. Biblical Meaning.

The classical passage in which it occurs is 1 Corinthians 2:14 King James Version: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." In his anthropology Paul uses four groups of descriptive adjectives in contrasted pairs:

(1) the old man and the new man (Romans 6:6 Ephesians 4:22 Colossians 3:9 Ephesians 2:15; Ephesians 4:24 Colossians 3:10);

(2) the outward man and the inward man (2 Corinthians 4:16 Romans 7:22 Ephesians 3:16);

(3) the carnal man and the spiritual man (Romans 8:1-14 1 Corinthians 3:1, 3, 4);

(4) the natural man and the spiritual man (2 Corinthians 2:14; 2 Corinthians 3:3, 4 Ephesians 2:3 1 Corinthians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Corinthians 15:46 Galatians 6:1).

A study of these passages will show that the adjectives "old," "outward," "carnal," and "natural" describe man, from different points of view, prior to his conversion; while the adjectives "new," "inward" and "spiritual" describe him, from different points of view, after his conversion. To elucidate the meaning, the expositor must respect these antitheses and let the contrasted words throw light and meaning upon each other.

1. The Old Man:

The "old man" is the "natural man" considered chronologically-prior to that operation of the Holy Spirit by which he is renovated into the "new man."

The old house is the house as it was before it was remodeled; an old garment is the garment as it was before it was re-fashioned; and the "old man" is man as he was before he was regenerated and sanctified by the grace of the Spirit. "Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Romans 6:6 the King James Version). Here the "old man" is called the "body of sin," as the physical organism is called the body of the soul or spirit, and is to be "crucified" and "destroyed," in order that man may no longer be the "servant of sin." "Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt..... Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:22, 24 the King James Version). Here the "old man" is said to be "corrupt," and we are called upon to "put it off." The figure is that of putting off old clothes which are unclean, and putting on those garments which have come from the wash clean and snowy white. We have the same idea, in different language and with a slightly different imagery.

When Paul calls the "natural man" the "old man," and describes it as the "body of sin" which is "corrupt" in its nature and "deeds," and tells us that it must be "crucified" and "destroyed" and "put off" in order that we may "not serve sin," but may have "righteousness" and "true holiness" and "knowledge" and the "image" of God, we get some conception of the moral meaning which he is endeavoring to convey by these contrasts (Galatians 5:19-24). He has reference to that sinful nature in man which is as old as the individual, as old as the race of which he is a member, which must be graciously renovated according to that gospel which he preached to Corinthians, Colossians, Ephesians, Romans and all the world.

See OLD MAN; MAN, I, 3.

2. The Outward Man:

The apostle also establishes a contrast between "the inward man" and "the outward man." "Though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16). Now what sort of man is the "outward man" as contrasted with the "inward man"? In Greek, the exo-anthropos is set over against the eso-anthropos.

See OUTWARD MAN.

"The contrast here drawn between the `outward' and the `inward man,' though illustrated by the contrast in Romans 7:22 between the `law in the members' and `the inner man,' and in Ephesians 4:22 Colossians 3:9 between `the old man' and `the new man' is not precisely the same. Those contrasts relate to the difference between the sensual and the moral nature, `the flesh' and `the spirit'; this to the difference between the material and the spiritual nature" (Stanley, in the place cited.).

"The outward man" is the body, and "the inward man" is the soul, or immaterial principle in the human make-up. As the body is wasted by the afflictions of life, the soul is renewed; what is death to the body is life to the soul; as afflictions depotentiate man's physical organism, they impotentiate man's spiritual principle. That is, the afflictions of life, culminating in death itself, have diametrically opposite effects upon the body and upon the soul. They kill the one; they quicken the other.

"The inward man" is the whole human nature as renewed and indwelt and dominated by the Spirit of God as interpenetrated by the spirit of grace. As the one is broken down by the adverse dispensations of life, the other is upbuilt by the sanctifying discipline of the Spirit.

3. The Carnal Man:

There is another Pauline antithesis which it is necessary for us to interpret in order to understand what he means by the "natural man." It is the distinction which he draws between the "carnal mind" and the "spiritual mind." The critical reference is Romans 8:1-14. In this place the "carnal mind" is identified with the "law of death," and the "spiritual mind" is identified with the "law of the Spirit." These two "laws" are two principles and codes: the one makes man to be at "enmity against God" and leads to "death"; the other makes him the friend of God, and conducts to "life and peace." The word "carnal" connotes all that is fallen and sinful and unregenerate in man's nature. In its gross sense the "carnal" signifies that which is contrary to nature, or nature expressing itself in low and bestial forms of sin.

4. The Natural Man:

The "natural man" is the "old man," the "outward man," the "carnal man"-man as he is by nature, as he is firstborn, contra-distinguished to man as he is changed by the Spirit, as he is second-born or regenerated. There. is an "old" life, an "outward" life, a "carnal" life, a "natural" life, as contrasted with the "new" life, the "inward" life, the "spiritual" life, the "gracious" life. The "natural man" is a bold and vivid personification of that depraved nature which we inherit from Adam fallen, the source and seat of all actual and personal transgressions.

II. Theological Meaning.

We know what we mean by the nature of the lion, by the nature of the lamb. We are using perfectly comprehensible language when we speak of the lion as naturally fierce, and of the lamb when we say he is naturally gentle. We have reference to the dominant dispositions of these animals, that resultant of their qualities which defines their character and spontaneity. So we are perfectly plain when we say that man is naturally sinful. We are but saying that sinfulness is to man what fierceness is to the lion, what gentleness is to the lamb. The "natural man" is a figure of speech for that sinful human nature, common to us all. It is equivalent to the theological phrases: the "sinful inclination," the "evil disposition," the "apostate will," "original sin," "native depravity." It manifests itself in the understanding as blindness, in the heart as hardness, in the will as obstinacy.

See MAN.

Robert Alexander Webb

MAN, OUTWARD

See MAN, NATURAL; OUTWARD MAN.

MAN; NEW

(neos anthropos or kainos anthropos): Generally described, the "new man" is man as he becomes under the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, contrasted with man as he is by nature. The phrase has (1) its Biblical, and (2) its theological, meanings.

I. Biblical Meaning.

There are four Biblical contrasts which must be considered as opposites:

(1) the "old man" (palaios anthropos) and the "new man" (neos anthropos or kainos anthropos);

(2) the "outward man" (exoanthropos) and the "inward man" (esoanthropos);

(3) the "carnal man" (sarkikos anthropos) and the "spiritual man" (pneumatikos anthropos);

(4) the "natural man" (psuchikos anthropos) and the "spiritual man" (pneunatikos anthropos).

These are not four different sorts of men, but four different sorts of man. Take up these antitheses in their reverse order, so as to arrive at some clear and impressive conception of what the Biblical writer means by the "new man."

1. The Spiritual Man:

The "spiritual man" is a designation given in opposition to the "carnal man" and to the "natural man" (Romans 8:1-14 1 Corinthians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 3:1, 3, 4; 2:14; 3:11; 14:37; 15:46 Galatians 6:1 Ephesians 2:3). All three of these terms are personifications of human nature. The "carnal man" is human nature viewed as ruled and dominated by sensual appetites and fleshly desires-as energized by those impulses which have close association with the bodily affections. The "natural man" is human nature ruled and dominated by unsanctified reason-those higher powers of the soul not yet influenced by Divine grace. The "spiritual man" is this same human nature after it has been seized upon and interpenetrated and determined by the Holy Spirit. The word "spiritual" is sometimes used in a poetic and idealistic sense, as when we speak of the spirituality of beauty; sometimes in a metaphysical sense, as when we speak of the spirituality of the soul; but in its prevalent Biblical and evangelical sense it is an adjective with the Holy Spirit as its noun-form. The spiritual life is that life of which the Holy Spirit is the author and preserver; and the "spiritual man" is that nature or character in man which the Holy Spirit originates, preserves, determines, disciplines, sanctifies and glorifies.

2. The Inward Man:

The "inward man" is a designation of human nature viewed as internally and centrally regenerated, as contrasted with the "outward man" (2 Corinthians 4:16 Romans 7:22 Ephesians 3:16). See MAN, OUTWARD. This phrase indicates the whole human nature conceived as affected from within-in the secret, inside, and true springs of activity-by the Holy Spirit of God. Such a change-regeneration-is not superficial, but a change in the inner central self; not a mere external reformation, but an internal transformation. Grace operates not from the circumference toward the center, but from the center toward the circumference, of life. The product is a man renovated in his "inward parts," changed in the dynamic center of his heart.

3. The New Man:

The "new man" is an appellation yielded by the contrasted idea of the "old man" (Romans 6:6 Ephesians 4:22 Colossians 3:9 Ephesians 2:15; Ephesians 4:24 Colossians 3:10). The "old" is "corrupt" and expresses itself in evil "deeds"; the "new" possesses the "image of God" and is marked by "knowledge," "righteousness," and "holiness." There are two Greek words for "new"-neos and kainos. The former means new in the sense of young, as the new-born child is a young thing; the latter means "new" in the sense of renovated, as when the house which has been rebuilt is called a new house. The converted man is "new" (neo-anthropos) in the sense that he is a "babe in Christ," and "new" (kaino-anthropos) in the sense that his moral nature is renovated and built over again.

In the New Testament there are 5 different verbs used to express the action put forth in making the "old man" a "new man."

(1) In Ephesians 2:10 and 4:24, he is said to be "created" (ktizo), and in 2 Corinthians 5:17 the product is called a "new creature" (kaine kisis), a renovated creature. Out of the "old man" the Holy Spirit has created the "new man."

(2) In 1 Peter 1:3, 13 and elsewhere, he is said to be "begotten again" (anagennao), and the product is a "babe in Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:1). The "old man" thus becomes the "new man" by a spiritual begetting: his paternity is assigned to the Holy Ghost.

(3) In Ephesians 2:5 and elsewhere, he is said to be `quickened' (zoopoieo), and the product is represented as a creature which has been made "alive from the dead" (Romans 6:13). The "old man," being `dead in trespasses and sins' (Ephesians 2:1), is brought forth from his sin-grave by a spiritual resurrection.

(4) In Ephesians 4:23 he is represented as being made "young" (ananeoo), and the product is a child of the Spirit at the commencement of his religious experience. The "old man," dating his history back to the fall in Eden, has become, through the Spirit, a young man in Christ Jesus.

(5) In 2 Corinthians 4:16 and in Romans 12:2, he is said to be `renovated' (anakainoo). The "old man" is renovated into the "new man." Sinful human nature is taken by the Spirit and morally recast.

II. Theological Meaning.

The "new man" is the converted, regenerated man. The phrase has its significance for the great theological doctrine of regeneration as it expands into the broad work of sanctification. Is the sinner dead? Regeneration is a new life. Is holiness non-existent in him? Regeneration is a new creation. Is he born in sin? Regeneration is a new birth. Is he determined by his fallen, depraved nature? Regeneration is a spiritual determination. Is he the subject of carnal appetites? Regeneration is a holy appetency. Is he thought of as the old sinful man? Regeneration is a new man. Is the sinful mind blind? Regeneration is a new understanding. Is the heart stony? Regeneration is a heart of flesh. Is the conscience seared? Regeneration is a good conscience. Is the will impotent? Regeneration is a new impotentiation. The regenerated man is a man with a new governing disposition-a "new man," an "inward man," a "spiritual man."

(1) The "New Man"-the Regenerate Man-Is Not a Theological Transubstantiation:

A being whose substance has been supernaturally converted into some other sort of substance.

(2) He Is Not a Scientific Transmutation:

A species of one kind which has been naturally evolved into a species of another kind.

(3) He Is Not a Metaphysical Reconstruction:

Being with a new mental equipment.

(4) He Is an Evangelical Convert:

An "old man" with a new regnant moral disposition, an "outward man" with a new inward fons et origo of moral life; a "natural man" with a new renovated spiritual heart.

See MAN, NATURAL; REGENERATION.

Robert Alexander Webb

OLD MAN

(palaios, "old," "ancient"): A term thrice used by Paul (Romans 6:6 Ephesians 4:22 Colossians 3:9) to signify the unrenewed man, the natural man in the corruption of sin, i.e. sinful human nature before conversion and regeneration. It is theologically synonymous with "flesh" (Romans 8:3-9), which stands, not for bodily organism, but, for the whole nature of man (body and soul) turned away from God and devoted to self and earthly things.

The old man is "in the flesh"; the new man "in the Spirit." In the former "the works of the flesh" (Galatians 5:19-21) are manifest; in the latter "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22, 23). One is "corrupt according to the deceitful lusts"; the other "created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24 the King James Version).

See also MAN, NATURAL; MAN.

Dwight M. Pratt

OUTWARD MAN

out'-werd, (exo, "outside," "without," "out of doors"): The body, subject to decay and death, in distinction from the inner man, the imperishable spiritual life which "is renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16); also the body as the object of worldly thought and pride in external dress and adornment (1 Peter 3:3).

See MAN, NATURAL; MAN.

SON OF MAN, THE

(ho huios tou anthropou):

1. Use in the New Testament: Self-Designation of Jesus

2. Questions as to Meaning

I. SOURCE OF THE TITLE

1. The Phrase in the Old Testament-Psalms, Ezekiel, Daniel

2. "Son of Man" in Daniel 7-New Testament Allusions

3. Expressive of Messianic Idea

4. Post-canonical Literature: Book of Enoch

II. WHY JESUS MADE USE OF THE TITLE

1. Consciousness of Being the Messiah

2. Half Concealed, Yet Half Revealed His Secret

3. Expressive of Identification with Men in Sympathy, Fortunes and Destiny

4. Speculations (Lietzmann, Wellhausen, etc.) on Aramaic Meaning: These Rejected (Dalman, etc.)

LITERATURE

1. Use in New Testament: Self-Designation of Jesus:

This is the favorite self-designation of Jesus in the Gospels. In Matthew it occurs over 30 times, in Mark 15 times, in Luke 25 times, and in John a dozen times. It is always in the mouth of Jesus Himself that it occurs, except once, when the bystanders ask what He means by the title (John 12:34). Outside the Gospels, it occurs only once in Acts, in Stephen's speech (Acts 7:56), and twice in the Book of Revelation (1:13; 14:14).

2. Questions as to Meaning:

At first sight it appears so apt a term for the human element in our Lord's person, the divine element being similarly denoted by "the Son of God," that this was supposed to be its meaning, as it still is by the common man at the present day. As long as it was assumed that the meaning could be elicited by merely looking at the words as they stand and guessing what they must signify, this was substantially the view of all, although this common conception went in two directions-some noting especially the loftier and more ideal elements in the conception, while others emphasized what was lowly and painful in the human lot; and both could appeal to texts in support of their view. Thus, the view "that Christ by this phrase represented Himself as the head, the type, the ideal of the race" (Stanton, The Jewish and the Christian Messiah), could appeal to such a saying as, "The Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath" (Mark 2:28); while the humbler view could quote such a saying as, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20).

The more scientific investigation of the phrase began, however, when it was inquired, first, what the source was from which Jesus derived this title, and, secondly, why He made use of it.

I. Source of the Title.

1. The Phrase in the Old Testament-Psalms, Ezekiel, Daniel:

That the phrase was not one of Jesus' own invention is manifest, because it occurs often in the Old Testament.

Thus, in Psalm 8:4 it is used as an equivalent for "man" in the parallel lines,

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

And the son of man, that thou visitest him ?"

This passage has sometimes been regarded as the source whence Jesus borrowed the title; and for this a good deal might be said, the psalm being an incomparable exposition both of the lowliness and the loftiness of human nature. But there is another passage in the Psalms from which it is far from incredible that it may have been derived: in Psalm 80:17 occur the words,

"Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand,

Upon the son of man whom thou maddest strong for thyself."

This is an appeal, in an age of national decline, for the raising up of a hero to redeem Israel; and it might well have kindled the spark of Messianic consciousness in the heart of the youthful Jesus.

There is a book of the Old Testament in which the phrase "the son of man" occurs no fewer than 90 times. This is the Book of Ezekiel, where it is always applied to the prophet himself and designates his prophetic mission. In the words of Nosgen (Christus der Menschenund Gotlessohn): "It expresses the contrast between what Ezekiel is in himself and what God will make out of him, and to make his mission appear to him not as his own, but as the work of God, and thus to lift him up, whenever the flesh threatens to faint and fail." Thus there was one before Jesus of Nazareth who bore the title, at least in certain moments of his life; and, after Ezekiel, there arose another Hebrew prophet who has put on record that he was addressed from the same high quarter in the same terms; for, in Daniel 8:17, it is written, "So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man"-words then following intended to raise the spirit of the trembling servant of God. By Weizsacker and others the suggestion has been made that Jesus may have borrowed the term from Ezekiel and Daniel to express His consciousness of belonging to the same prophetic line.

2. "Son of Man" in Daniel 7-New Testament Allusions:

There is, however, in the same Book of Daniel another occurrence of the phrase, in a totally different sense, to which the attention of science is more and more being drawn. In 7:3;, in one of the apocalyptic visions common to this prophet, four beasts are seen coming out of the sea-the first a lion with eagle's wings, the second a bear, the third a fourheaded leopard, and the fourth a terrible monster with ten heads. These beasts bear rule over the earth; but at last the kingdom is taken away from them and given to a fifth ruler, who is thus described, "I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13, 14). Compare with these words from Daniel the words of Jesus to the high priest during His trial, "Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26:64), and the echo of the Old Testament words cannot be mistaken. Equally distinct is it in the great discourse in Matthew 24:30, "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

3. Expressive of Messianic Idea:

The use of this self-designation by Jesus is especially frequent and striking in passages referring to His future coming to judgment, in which there is necessarily a certain resemblance to the apocalyptic scene in Daniel. In such utterances the Messianic consciousness of Jesus is most emphatically expressed; and the passage in Daniel is also obviously Messianic. In another considerable series of passages in which this phrase is used by Jesus, the references are to His sufferings and death; but the assumption which explains these also most easily is that they are Messianic too; Jesus is speaking of the fortunes to which He must submit on account of His vocation. Even the more dignified passages, expressive of ideality, are best explained in the same way. In short, every passage where the phrase occurs is best understood from this point of view, whereas, from any other point of view, not a few appear awkward and out of place. How little, for example, does the idea that the phrase is expressive of lowliness or of brotherhood with suffering humanity accord with the opening of the judgment-scene in Matthew 25:31, "But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory"!

4. Post-canonical Literature: Book of Enoch:

The son of man, or rather "one like unto a son of man" mentioned in Daniel, is primarily the Hebrew people, as is expressly noted in the prophecy itself; but Jesus must have looked upon Himself as the representative of the people of God, in the same way as, in the Old Testament generally, the reigning sovereign was regarded as the representative of the nation. But the question has been raised whether this transference of the title from a collective body to an individual may have been mediated for Him through postcanonical religious literature or the prevalence among the people of ideas generated through this literature. In the Book of Enoch there occur numerous references to the son of man, which bear a remarkable resemblance to some of the sayings of Jesus. The date usually assigned to this production is some 200 years B.C.; and, if these passages in it actually existed as early as this, the book would almost require to be included in the canonical Scriptures, though for other reasons it is far from worthy of any such honor. The whole structure of the Book of Enoch is so loose and confused that it must always have invited interpolation; and interpolations in it are recognized as numerous. The probability, therefore, is that the passages referring to the son of man are of later date and of Christian origin.

II. Why Jesus Made Use of the Title.

The conclusion that this title expresses, not the personal qualities of Jesus as a man, but His functions as Messiah, may be disappointing; but there is a way of recovering what seems to have been lost; because we must now inquire for what reasons He made use of this term.

1. Consciousness of Being the Messiah:

The first reason, of course, is, that in Daniel it expressed Messiahship, and that Jesus was conscions of being the Messiah. In the Old Testament He was wont all His days to read His own history. He ranged over all the sacred books and found in them references to His own person and work. With divinatory glance He pierced into the secrets of Scripture and brought forth from the least as well as the best-known portions of the ancient oracles meanings which are now palpable to all readers of the Bible, but which He was the first to discover. From the passage in Daniel, or from some other passage of the Old Testament in which the phrase "the son of man" occurs, a hint flashed out upon Him, as He read or heard; and the suggestion grew in His brooding mind, until it rounded itself into the fit and satisfying expression for one side of His self-consciousness.

2. Half Concealed, Yet Half Revealed His Secret:

Another reason why He fixed upon this as His favorite self-designation may have been that it half concealed as well as half revealed His secret. Of the direct names for the Messiah He was usually shy, no doubt chiefly because His contemporaries were not prepared for an open declaration of Himself in this character; but at all stages of His ministry He called Himself the Son of man without hesitation. The inference seems to be, that, while the phrase expressed much to Himself, and must have meant more and more for those immediately associated with Him, it did not convey a Messianic claim to the public ear. With this accords well the perplexity once manifested by those listening to Him, when they asked, "Who is this Son of man?" (John 12:34); as it also explains the question of Jesus to the Twelve at Caesarea Philippi, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" or, as it is in the margin, "that I the Son of man am?" (Matthew 16:13). That He was the Son of man did not evidently mean for all that He claimed to be the Messiah.

3. Expressive of Identification with Men in Sympathy, Fortunes and Destiny:

But when we try to realize for what reasons Jesus may have picked this name out from all which presented themselves to Him in His intimate and loving survey of the Old Testament, it is difficult to resist the belief that a third and the principal reason was because it gave expression to His sense of connection with all men in sympathy, fortunes and destiny. He felt Himself to be identified with all as their brother, their fellow-sufferer, their representative and champion; and, in some respects, the deepest word He ever spake was, "For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45 parallel).

4. Speculations (Lietzmann, Wellhausen, etc.) on Aramaic Meaning: These Rejected (Dalman, etc.):

In 1896, Hans Lietzmann, a young German scholar, startled the learned World with a speculation on the "Son of man." Making the assumption that Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus, he contended that Jesus could not have applied to Himself the Messianic title, because there is nothing corresponding with it in Aramaic. The only term approximating to it is barnash, which means something very vague, like "anyone" or "everyman" (in the sense of the old morality play thus entitled). Many supposed Lietzmann to be arguing that Jesus had called Himself Anyone or Everyman; but this was not his intention. He tried to prove that the Messianic title had been applied to Jesus in Asia Minor in the first half of the 2nd century and that the Gospels had been revised with the effect of substituting it for the first personal pronoun. But he failed to show how the manuscripts could have been so universally altered as to leave no traces of this operation, or how, if the text of the New Testament was then in so fluid a state as to admit of such a substitution, the phrase should not have overflowed into other books besides the Gospels. Although the hypothesis has secured wide attention through being partially adopted by Wellhausen, whose view is to be found in Skizzen und Vorarbeiten, VI, and at p. 66 of his Commentary on Mark, it may be reckoned among the ghosts which appear for an hour on the stage of learning, attracting attention and admiration, but have no permanent connection with the world of reality. Dalman, the leading authority on Aramaic, denies the foundation on which the views of both Lietzmann and Wellhausen rest, and holds that, had the Messianic title existed, the Aramaic language would have been quite capable of expressing it. And in 1911 Wellhausen himself explicitly admitted this (Einleitung in die drei eraten Evangelien(2), 130).

LITERATURE.

Seethe books on New Testament Theology by Weiss, Beyschlag, Holtzmann, Feine, Schlatter, Weinel, Stevens, Sheldon; and on the Teaching of Jesus by Wentit, Bruce, Dalman; Abbott, The Son of Man, 1910; very full bibliography in Stalker, The Teaching of Jesus concerning Himself.

James Stalker

SPIRITUAL MAN

(ho pneumatikos): In distinction from the natural, the unrenewed man (1 Corinthians 2:15); man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and rules. This divine indwelling insures mental illumination: "He that is spiritual discerneth (AVm) (or interpreteth) all things"; moral renewal: "a new creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17); "a new man" (Ephesians 4:24); spiritual enduement: "Ye shall receive power" (Acts 1:8).

See SPIRITUAL, 2; SPIRITUALITY; MAN.

WAR, MAN OF

('ish milchamah):

"Yahweh is a man of war:

Yahweh is his name" (Exodus 15:3).

In early Israel the character of Yahweh as the war-God forms a prominent feature in the conception of God (Numbers 10:35; Numbers 21:14 Joshua 5:13; Joshua 10:11 Judges 5:4, 13, 20, 23, 31, etc.).

See GOD, NAMES OF, III, 8; LORD OF HOSTS; and HDB, V, 635;.

WAYFARING MAN

wa'-far-ing, The translation in Judges 19:17 2 Samuel 12:4; Jeremiah 9:2; Jeremiah 14:8 of ('oreach), the participle of 'arach, "to journey." In Isaiah 33:8 of `obher 'orach, "one passing on a path," and in Isaiah 35:8 of holekh derekh, "one walking on a road." "Traveler" is the meaning in all cases.

Greek

444. anthropos -- a man, human, mankind
... a man, human, mankind. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: anthropos
Phonetic Spelling: (anth'-ro-pos) Short Definition: a man, one of the human ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/444.htm - 8k

4246. presbutes -- an old man
... an old man. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: presbutes Phonetic
Spelling: (pres-boo'-tace) Short Definition: an old man Definition: an old man ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4246.htm - 6k

435. aner -- a man
... a man. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: aner Phonetic Spelling:
(an'-ayr) Short Definition: a male human being, a man Definition: a male human ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/435.htm - 7k

3494. neanias -- a young man
... a young man. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: neanias Phonetic Spelling:
(neh-an-ee'-as) Short Definition: a young man, youth Definition: a ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3494.htm - 6k

407. andrizo -- to behave like a man, to play the man
... to behave like a man, to play the man. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: andrizo
Phonetic Spelling: (an-drid'-zom-ahee) Short Definition: I act like a man ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/407.htm - 7k

3495. neaniskos -- a young man, a youth
... a young man, a youth. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: neaniskos
Phonetic Spelling: (neh-an-is'-kos) Short Definition: a young man Definition: a ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3495.htm - 6k

76. Adam -- Adam, the first man
... Adam, the first man. Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Indeclinable Transliteration:
Adam Phonetic Spelling: (ad-am') Short Definition: Adam Definition: Adam, the ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/76.htm - 6k

5113. tolmetes -- a bold, daring man
... a bold, daring man. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: tolmetes Phonetic
Spelling: (tol-may-tace') Short Definition: a daring, presumptuous man ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5113.htm - 6k

1088. geron -- an old man
... an old man. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: geron Phonetic Spelling:
(gher'-own) Short Definition: an old man Definition: an old man. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1088.htm - 6k

973. biastes -- a violent man
... a violent man. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: biastes Phonetic
Spelling: (bee-as-tace') Short Definition: a forceful, violent man Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/973.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

376. ish -- man
... 375, 376. ish. 377 . man. Transliteration: ish Phonetic Spelling: (eesh)
Short Definition: man. Word Origin from an unused word ...
/hebrew/376.htm - 7k

582. enosh -- man, mankind
... 581, 582. enosh. 583 . man, mankind. Transliteration: enosh Phonetic
Spelling: (en-oshe') Short Definition: man. Word Origin from ...
/hebrew/582.htm - 6k

120. adam -- man, mankind
... 119, 120. adam. 121 . man, mankind. Transliteration: adam Phonetic Spelling:
(aw-dawm') Short Definition: man. Word Origin from ...
/hebrew/120.htm - 6k

1397. geber -- man
... 1396, 1397. geber. 1398 . man. Transliteration: geber Phonetic Spelling:
(gheh'-ber) Short Definition: man. Word Origin from gabar ...
/hebrew/1397.htm - 6k

606. enash -- man, mankind
... 605, 606. enash. 607 . man, mankind. Transliteration: enash Phonetic Spelling:
(en-awsh') Short Definition: man. Word Origin (Aramaic ...
/hebrew/606.htm - 6k

1400. gebar -- man
... gebar. 1401 . man. Transliteration: gebar Phonetic Spelling: (gheb-ar') Short
Definition: men. ... certain, man. (Aramaic) corresponding to gbar -- certain, man. ...
/hebrew/1400.htm - 6k

379. Ishhod -- "man of majesty," a man of Manasseh
... 378, 379. Ishhod. 380 . "man of majesty," a man of Manasseh. Transliteration:
Ishhod Phonetic Spelling: (eesh-hode') Short Definition: Ishhod. ...
/hebrew/379.htm - 6k

381. ish-chayil -- Ish-chail, an Israelite -- a valiant man
... ish-chayil. 382 . Ish-chail, an Israelite -- a valiant man. Transliteration:
ish-chayil Phonetic Spelling: (eesh-khah'-yil) Short Definition: valiant. ...
/hebrew/381.htm - 6k

377. ish -- show one self a man
... 376, 377. ish. 378 . show one self a man. Transliteration: ish Phonetic
Spelling: (eesh) Short Definition: man. ... show one self a man ...
/hebrew/377.htm - 5k

970. bachur -- a young man
... 969b, 970. bachur. 971 . a young man. Transliteration: bachur Phonetic Spelling:
(baw-khoor') Short Definition: men. Word Origin pass. ... choice young man, chosen ...
/hebrew/970.htm - 6k

Library

The Message and the Man
The Message and the Man. <. The Message and the Man J. Dodd Jackson. Produced
by Al Haines Table of Contents. Title Page. PREFACE. INTRODUCTION. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/jackson/the message and the man/

Sermons to the Natural Man
Sermons to the Natural Man. <. Sermons to the Natural Man William
GT Shedd. Produced by G. Graustein and PG Distributed ...
//christianbookshelf.org/shedd/sermons to the natural man/

Man --What?
... Chapter 4. "Man"What? 6. Let us then see what is better than man. This must necessarily
be hard to find, unless we first ask and examine what man is. ...
/.../writings in connection with the manichaean controversy /chapter 4 name.htm

How John Became a Man
How John Became a Man. <. How John Became a Man Isabel C. Byrum.
E-text prepared by Joel Erickson, Christine Gehring ...
//christianbookshelf.org/byrum/how john became a man/

On the Making of Man.
... III."Philosophical Works. On the Making of Man. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa,
to his brother Peter, the servant of God. If we had ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/on the making of man.htm

The Lowell Lectures on the Ascent of Man
The Lowell Lectures on the Ascent of Man. <. The Lowell Lectures on the Ascent
of Man Henry Drummond. Table of Contents. Title Page. PREFACE. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/drummond/the lowell lectures on the ascent of man/

The Son of Man
... THE SON OF MAN. This is a title connected with the Lord Jesus in relation to the
earth. Its first occurrence in Psalm 8.fixes its peculiar signification. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bullinger/commentary on revelation/the son of man.htm

Liii the Average Man
... LIII THE AVERAGE MAN. Matthew xxv.22. In the parable of the talents the man that
gets least general attention is the man that stands in the middle. ...
/.../peabody/mornings in the college chapel/liii the average man.htm

The Mighty Man
... Names And Titles of the Antichrist 8. The Mighty Man. "Why boasteth thou thyself
in mischief, O Mighty Man" (Psa.52:1). This is another ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/8 the mighty man.htm

The Man who is Judge
... THE ACTS CHAP. XIII TO END THE MAN WHO IS JUDGE. '...He ... Judge. III. The risen
Jesus is Judge because He is Man. That seems a paradox. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture the acts/the man who is judge.htm

Thesaurus

Brother-man (2 Occurrences)
Brother-man. Brotherly, Brother-man. Brother-prisoner .
Multi-Version Concordance Brother-man (2 Occurrences). James ...
/b/brother-man.htm - 7k

Man (26072 Occurrences)
... (1.) Hebrews `Adam, used as the proper name of the first man. ... It denotes also
man in opposition to woman (Genesis 3:12; Matthew 19:10). ...
/m/man.htm - 56k

Man-servant (18 Occurrences)
Man-servant. Manservant, Man-servant. Manservants . Multi-Version
Concordance Man-servant (18 Occurrences). Genesis ...
/m/man-servant.htm - 12k

Man-child (11 Occurrences)
Man-child. Manchild, Man-child. Mandrake . Int. Standard Bible
Encyclopedia MAN-CHILD. man'-child (American Standard Revised ...
/m/man-child.htm - 10k

Man-slayer (20 Occurrences)
Man-slayer. Manslayer, Man-slayer. Manslayers . Multi-Version
Concordance Man-slayer (20 Occurrences). John 8:44 Ye ...
/m/man-slayer.htm - 13k

Fighting-man (5 Occurrences)
Fighting-man. Fighting, Fighting-man. Fighting-men . Multi-Version
Concordance Fighting-man (5 Occurrences). Exodus ...
/f/fighting-man.htm - 8k

Bond-man (6 Occurrences)
Bond-man. Bondman, Bond-man. Bondman's . Multi-Version Concordance
Bond-man (6 Occurrences). Revelation 6:15 And the ...
/b/bond-man.htm - 8k

Free-man (2 Occurrences)
Free-man. Freeman, Free-man. Freemen . Multi-Version Concordance
Free-man (2 Occurrences). 1 Corinthians 7:22 For he ...
/f/free-man.htm - 7k

Mad-man (1 Occurrence)
Mad-man. Madman, Mad-man. Madmannah . Multi-Version Concordance
Mad-man (1 Occurrence). 1 Samuel 21:15 Have I need of ...
/m/mad-man.htm - 6k

Man-pleaser (1 Occurrence)
Man-pleaser. Manoah's, Man-pleaser. Man's . Multi-Version Concordance
Man-pleaser (1 Occurrence). Galatians 1:10 For ...
/m/man-pleaser.htm - 6k

Bible Concordance

Man (26072 Occurrences)

Man appears 26072 times in 12 translations.

You can narrow your search using the Advanced Bible Search.

Subtopics

Man

Man Hair

Man is of the Earth Earthy

Man of Every Nation, Made of One Blood

Man of Sin

Man of War

Man Shall not Lay With Man