The 'Son of Man' in Ezekiel with Reference to Jesus
I have been reading Klyne Snodgrass' wonderful new book, Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus (BTW- If you have not bought it yet, you need to!) I have always found Klyne to be thought provoking and as usual he doesn't disappoint.
Regarding the last statement one comment in his book needs special mention. In a section where he is regarding OT examples of parables as the main background to those parables of Jesus (38-42), Snodgrass mentions that more parabolic forms exist in Ezekiel than anywhere else in the OT (40). After listing numerous examples, Snodgrass comments:
New Testament scholarship--probably rightly--draws no connection between Ezekiel's being addressed as Son of Man and Jesus' use of Son of Man (which is derived from Daniel 7:13), but one has to wonder about Ezekiel 20:49 [21:5]: "They say of me, 'Is he not a speaker of parables?'" (42)
A couple of items come to mind when I read this statement. First, I like Klyne have always shared the opinion that Jesus' favorite self-referent the "Son of Man" does indeed originate from Daniel 7:13. However, I also am intrigued about the possibilities of the last statement. I guess one would have to start by finding where Jesus explicitly or implicity uses "Son of Man" self-references in connection with the telling of parables, and closely connected to this, where Ezekiel uses "Son of Man" in connection with statements about the parables.
In a quick, cursory overview, I decided to see where the terms "Son of Man" and "parable" occur in both Ezekiel and the Synoptics. Regarding the former, YHWH commands Ezekiel (a.k.a. "Son of Man") to speak a parable in (12:22ff; 17:2; 24:2ff ) and Jesus refers to the "Son of Man" in connection with "parable" at (Mt 13:37; Lk 18:8; 19:10ff; 21:27ff). I probably missed quite a bit here, but more could definitely be done with enacted parables (such as Jesus' cleansing of the temple (Mt 21:12 and pars.) and the several enacted parabolic acts in Ezekiel.
So I pose the question: "Is this a fruitful line of investigation?"
Regarding the last statement one comment in his book needs special mention. In a section where he is regarding OT examples of parables as the main background to those parables of Jesus (38-42), Snodgrass mentions that more parabolic forms exist in Ezekiel than anywhere else in the OT (40). After listing numerous examples, Snodgrass comments:
New Testament scholarship--probably rightly--draws no connection between Ezekiel's being addressed as Son of Man and Jesus' use of Son of Man (which is derived from Daniel 7:13), but one has to wonder about Ezekiel 20:49 [21:5]: "They say of me, 'Is he not a speaker of parables?'" (42)
A couple of items come to mind when I read this statement. First, I like Klyne have always shared the opinion that Jesus' favorite self-referent the "Son of Man" does indeed originate from Daniel 7:13. However, I also am intrigued about the possibilities of the last statement. I guess one would have to start by finding where Jesus explicitly or implicity uses "Son of Man" self-references in connection with the telling of parables, and closely connected to this, where Ezekiel uses "Son of Man" in connection with statements about the parables.
In a quick, cursory overview, I decided to see where the terms "Son of Man" and "parable" occur in both Ezekiel and the Synoptics. Regarding the former, YHWH commands Ezekiel (a.k.a. "Son of Man") to speak a parable in (12:22ff; 17:2; 24:2ff ) and Jesus refers to the "Son of Man" in connection with "parable" at (Mt 13:37; Lk 18:8; 19:10ff; 21:27ff). I probably missed quite a bit here, but more could definitely be done with enacted parables (such as Jesus' cleansing of the temple (Mt 21:12 and pars.) and the several enacted parabolic acts in Ezekiel.
So I pose the question: "Is this a fruitful line of investigation?"
Comments
I am glad to see Snodgrass’ new book on parables is out. I am frustrated that you beat me to it. :) Jeremias has dominated for too long and Blomberg is helpful, but to narrow in his approach. It is time for a fresh approach to parables. Will you be reviewing it on line for us?
BTW- This is the only parable book you will need the next time you teach your parable's class. The book is comprehensive in scope, the extra-biblical examples are prolific, and his methodology is outstanding.
John
Any clue why NT scholarship sees little relationship between the two?
I share the same thought with you over Jesus' self-designation.
It seems that the reference to Ezekiel is plenty more compare to Daniel 7.
http://szezeng.blogspot.com/2009/01/jesus-re-cognizes-himself-as-ezekiel.html