Chapters 1 and 2 focused on theories which derive the significance of “Son of Man” from the expression itself, either in its Greek form or its presumed Semitic original. A second type of theory finds the significance of the expression in its use in some particular passage of scripture or other literature. In the history of debate on the subject, no proposal has gained wider acceptance than that which derives the expression from apocalyptic literature, especially Daniel 7.13. In this passage “one like a son of man (bar enash)” comes to the Ancient of Days on the clouds of heaven to receive sovereignty, glory, and a kingdom. Since the Son of Man in the Gospels is also depicted as coming with the clouds (Mark 13.26; 14.62), many scholars have inferred that Daniel 7.13 is the source of the Gospel expression.

Two Jewish apocalypses in the tradition of Daniel – 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra – have likewise been cited as possible sources for the Gospel Son of Man. In the Similitudes (or Parables) of 1 Enoch (chapters 37–71), Enoch sees a human figure in heaven who is identified as “the son of man to whom belongs righteousness” (1 Enoch 46.3). He is “the Elect One,” concealed with God before creation, anointed by God's Spirit with wisdom, and appointed to sit on God's throne to judge the wicked. Similarly, in 4 Ezra 13, Ezra has a dream in which he sees the figure of a man come up out of the sea and fly with the clouds of heaven. In the interpretation of the dream, God identifies him as “my Son,” who will destroy the wicked and gather Israel.