When Jesus calls himself "the Son of Man" — which he does repeatedly in the Gospels, more than any other self-designation — he is reaching for a specific title that his Jewish audience would have recognized. And the most developed theology of the Son of Man before the Gospels is found not in Daniel but in the Parables of Enoch, the second section of 1 Enoch.
The Parables of Enoch (chapters 37–71) describe a heavenly figure called variously "that Son of Man," "the Chosen One," and "the Righteous One." This figure was with God before creation. He will be revealed at the end of days. He will sit on the throne of God's glory. The righteous will be gathered to him. The wicked kings and mighty of the earth will be judged before him and cast into darkness.
The parallels to Jesus' teachings in the Synoptic Gospels are striking. When Jesus says "the Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory," when he says "the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of Power," when he speaks of the Son of Man gathering the elect from the four winds — he is using the exact language and imagery of the Parables of Enoch.
Scholars debate how to interpret this connection. Some argue that Enoch shaped Jesus' self-understanding. Others argue that Enoch and the Gospels are drawing on a shared theological tradition about the Messiah. Either way, reading the Parables of Enoch in light of the Gospels — and the Gospels in light of the Parables — illuminates both texts profoundly.
Our collector's edition includes the complete Parables of Enoch with annotations addressing these connections.