Ben adam

"Ben Adam" (Hebrew: בן־אדם son of a man) is a Hebrew term with meaning beyond its literal meaning.

In Biblical Hebrew it simply means human being.[1] For example, "son of man" in Job chapter 25 and Psalm 146 is ben adam, illustrating the Jewish concept of "son of man".

It is used in rabbinical and modern Hebrew to describe a righteous person, someone who does the right thing. In Yiddish that would be "A Mench", when they say in Hebrew: "c'mon, be a Ben Adam" - that would mean "Do the right thing". To be: "not a Ben Adam" means that a person behaves in an anti-social manner. "Ben Adam" also means: an ordinary normal person. Male only.

References

  1. ↑ Geoffrey W. Bromiley The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia -0802837840 Volume 4 - 1995- Page 574 "In each instance ben 'adam is literally translated in the LXX with the anarthrous Greek phrase huios anthropou. In this context, therefore, ben 'adam also means "human being." An Ugaritic poetic text also has the terms adm and bn adm in parallel couplets, indicating that in Ugaritic the phrase bn adm also means "human being" (Smith, pp. 59f.).
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