From the Reviews of the First Edition: Fr. Moloney's study truly helps its readers appreciate the Johannization of the Son of Man title. By doing so the author offers not only deeper insights into the Fourth Gospel, but also a fuller appreciation of Him to whom the Fourth Gospel testifies. --The Downside Review Certainly, Moloney's work is a major contribution to the discussion of the Johannine Son of Man, though it will be useful also to students of the Fourth Gospel in general. --Theologishe Zeitschrift One will find Moloney's exegetical approach and results difficult to ignore or gainsay. --Catholic Biblical Quarterly Here is a biblical scholar and his work of which the Australian Church can be justly proud. --The Australasian Catholic Record Every New Testament specialist will welcome this important addition to the ongoing Son of Man discussion in general, and the light shed by this volume on the distinctively Johannine aspects of the question in particular. --The Expository Times No recent work has squarely focused on the centrality of the Son of Man sayings for the Fourth Gospel. Moloney does just that, in a monograph that is unusually readable and direct, yet not lacking in erudition of scholarly care. --Interpretation Moloney's work throughout exhibits a certain right-headedness in the face of some current trends. It is refreshing to be reminded of the evangelist's coherence and consistency, rather than of the complexity and obscurity of his sources. --Journal of Biblical Literature

The title 'Son of Man' in the Gospel of John is an apocalyptic reference that highlights, among a number of things, that Jesus is a heavenly figure. Benjamin E. Reynolds analyzes the background of 'Son of Man' from the 'one like a son of man' in Daniel 7 and the interpretations of this figure in Jewish apocalyptic and early Christian literature. Although there is no established 'Son of Man concept', the Danielic son of man is interpreted with common characteristics that suggest there was at least some general understanding of this figure in the Second Temple period. The author shows that these common characteristics are noticeable throughout the Son of Man sayings in John's Gospel. The context and the interpretation of these sayings point to an understanding of the Johannine Son of Man similar to those in the interpretations of the Danielic figure. However, even though these similarities exist, the Johannine figure is distinct from the previous interpretations, just as they are distinct from one another. One obvious difference is the present reality of the Son of Man's role in judgment and salvation. The Johannine Son of Man is an apocalyptic figure, and thus 'Son of Man' does not function to draw attention to Jesus' humanity in the Gospel of John. Nor is the title synonymous with 'Son of God'. 'Son of Man' may overlap in meaning with other titles, particularly 'Son of God' and 'Messiah', but 'Son of Man' points to aspects of Jesus' identity that are not indicated by any other title. Along with the other titles, it helps to present a richer Christological portrait of the Johannine Jesus.

Rhea’s study of the Son of Man seeks to support the uniqueness of the Fourth Gospel even with regard to its use of this term and title. He contends that not only are the traditional, apocalyptic trappings and characteristics of the Son of Man not found in the thirteen Johannine sayings, a thorough exegetical examination of four of the primary ones, John 5:27; 6:53; 6:62; and 9:35 provides explicit evidence that the term and title have been derived from a pre-apocalyptic source. With his survey of the scholarship until 1980, he points to the growing skepticism of the Synoptic Son of Man logia that challenged the accepted consensus of an apocalyptic source. As more scholars rejected the Synoptic apocalyptic Son of Man, the philological argument began to receive greater emphasis. Lindars was certain that the phrase was originally an idiomatic self-referent that preserves a generic meaning. Following the arguments of Lindars, Colpe, Black, and Moule, Rhea surmises that the idiom is an ambiguous designation that Jesus could have used either as a generic self-referent or as a messianic title. Considering its use in Pss 8, 80; Ezekiel; and Dan 8:1—and noting its relationship to the concept of the Mosaic–Prophet–Messiah found in the Fourth Gospel, its special eschatological function in John 5:27, and its unique Eucharistic role in John 6:53—Rhea advances the view that the Fourth Evangelist locates the term in the tradition of Hebrew prophecy and proceeds to document this hypothesis. Considering the basic characteristics of the texts of Aramaic Daniel, I Enoch with the Similitudes Enoch, and IV Ezra, Rhea finds conclusive evidence for their origins in esoteric, marginal Jewish writings of the late intertestamental period and the first century AD. With a comparison of the Synoptic logia he strongly differentiates between sayings derived from Jewish apocalyptic texts on the one hand and those based on the prophetic writings, and their traditional Hebrew eschatology on the other. He finds that the future Synoptic Son of Man logia has definitely been influenced by apocalyptic texts such as Aramaic Daniel, while the passion sayings and those of the lowly, earthly Son of Man bear a strong resemblance to the Suffering Servant of II Isaiah and the lowly, suffering prophet along with its use as a form of address in Ezekiel and Dan 8:17. Rhea finds the similarity between this Synoptic suffering, earthly Son of Man and the Johannine Son of Man concept compelling. As he proceeds with his exegetical study of the four selected Johannine Son of Man sayings listed above, he finds conclusive evidence that the expression Son of Man appears with reference to a person or prophet addressed by God during the time of revelation. Thus, the fourth Evangelist records the formation of the title, Son of Man, which has been taken from the spiritual, prophetic designation of one called by the Hebrew God.

From the Reviews of the First Edition: "Fr. Moloney's study truly helps its readers appreciate the Johannization of the Son of Man title. By doing so the author offers not only deeper insights into the Fourth Gospel, but also a fuller appreciation of Him to whom the Fourth Gospel testifies." --The Downside Review "Certainly, Moloney's work is a major contribution to the discussion of the Johannine Son of Man, though it will be useful also to students of the Fourth Gospel in general." --Theologishe Zeitschrift "One will find Moloney's exegetical approach and results difficult to ignore or gainsay." --Catholic Biblical Quarterly "Here is a biblical scholar and his work of which the Australian Church can be justly proud." --The Australasian Catholic Record "Every New Testament specialist will welcome this important addition to the ongoing Son of Man discussion in general, and the light shed by this volume on the distinctively Johannine aspects of the question in particular." --The Expository Times "No recent work has squarely focused on the centrality of the Son of Man sayings for the Fourth Gospel. Moloney does just that, in a monograph that is unusually readable and direct, yet not lacking in erudition of scholarly care." --Interpretation "Moloney's work throughout exhibits a certain right-headedness in the face of some current trends. It is refreshing to be reminded of the evangelist's coherence and consistency, rather than of the complexity and obscurity of his sources." --Journal of Biblical Literature

The opening chapter surveys the history of scholarship regarding the problematic use of the phrase 'son of man' in the New Testament. It also explains why this problem could not be solved until recently. Casey then presents the relevant Aramaic evidence. He offers a careful discussion of the use of the Aramaic term 'son of man' in the light of over 30 examples of the use of this term by speakers who are referring to themselves. Chapters 4-9 discuss authentic examples of this idiom in the teaching of Jesus, with Aramaic reconstructions of each saying. All but one of these sayings is found in Mark or 'Q'. There is then a full discussion of secondary sayings in the Synoptic Gospels. The first ones dependent on Daniel 7.13 belong to the earliest Gospel, which also contains the results of translating genuine sayings of Jesus from Aramaic into Greek. There is a discussion of the transition process between authentic Aramaic sayings of Jesus and Greek 'son of man' sayings in the synoptic Gospels. This argument builds on work in the field of translation studies, and the work of ancient translators, especially of the Septuagint. Casey argues that Gospel translators deliberately translated both literally and creatively to produce a new Christological title. It is this tradition that is evident in the Fourth Gospel: its 'son of man' sayings fit perfectly into Johannine theology. The final chapter draws together a complete solution to this difficult problem.

"This book should be mandatory reading for all scholars concerned with Christian origins ... nothing of comparable importance has been written for at least a decade." - Freethinker For more than a century scholars have been examining the Gospels and other traditions about the life of Jesus to determine their historical accuracy. Although the results of these scholarly efforts are sometimes controversial, the consensus among researchers today is that the four Evangelists'' accounts cannot be taken at face value. In fact, a team of more than 100 scholars called the Jesus Seminar has come to the conclusion that on average only about 18 percent of the four Gospels is historically accurate.An active member of the Jesus Seminar, Dr. Robert M. Price presents the fruits of this important historical research in this fascinating discussion of early Christianity. As the title suggests, Price is none too optimistic about the reliability of the Gospel tradition as a source of accurate historical information about the life of Jesus. Indeed, he feels that his colleagues in the Jesus Seminar are much too optimistic in their estimate of authentic material in the Gospels. After an introduction to the historical-critical method for nonspecialists and a critique of the methods used by the Jesus Seminar, Price systematically discusses the narrative and teaching materials in the Gospel, clearly presenting what is known and not known about all of the major episodes of Jesus'' life. He also examines the parables for authenticity as well as Jesus'' teachings about the Kingdom of God, repentance, prayer, possessions and poverty, the Atonement, and many other features of the Gospels.Written for the general reading public in a lively and accessible style, Dr. Price''s highly informative discussion will be of interest to anyone who has wondered about the origins of Christianity.

Johannine Exegesis of God is a stimulating study of the explicit and implicit theological language of the Johannine community. It exegetically explores crucial questions concerning the Fourth Evangelist's language used to characterize God. It makes a sojourn into the relationship between Johannine Christology and Theology. It examines the dialogue dynamics of a theological conversation between those who do not share the same theological affirmations, and enumerates how the Johannine community derives benefit, becomes enriched and learns inclusiveness through its dialogue/conflict with its pluralistic environment. In approaching and interpreting the Gospel narrative, the implications of 'Theo-logy' in the Johannine community's struggle for legitimacy, identity and existence become clear. The Theology of the Johannine community shows a creative dialect with its sociological context, and its experiential theologising makes its theological language authentic, clear and precise.