The testimony concerning the Divine Name of the Son of Man found in the Parables of 1 Enoch is by no means unique, but is visible in other literature of the period. If the Divine Name cannot be separated from the reality of YHWH, then how could Jews who confessed the Shema identify a second figure with this name? Significant antecedents of this phenomenon are the Pentateuch traditions where the Divine Name is the possession of the visible image of YHWH in various theophanies. One of the places where this is made very clear is when YHWH promises Moses than he will send “an angel” before Israel to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him. But if you listen attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries” (Exod 23:20-22).
The need for some distinction between YHWH and his visible form arises from the paradox that YHWH appears in some form on many occasions, yet one cannot see YHWH and live (Exod 33:20). A delicate distinction between another title, such as מַלְאָךְ (“angel” or “messenger”) in Exod 23:20. The status in the description of his appearance, words, or actions. Exod 23:20=22 communicates the identity of this “angel” especially through noting his possession of the Divine Name. YHWH says, “my name is in him.” This text testifies that a figure that has some independence from YHWH can still share in his being through the possession of the Divine name (i.e., a divine hypostasis). If this “angel” has the name YHWH in him, he can be understood to be YHWH in a visible form. The divine identity of this “angel” is further communicated by mention that he has the authority to absolve and speak as YHWH (23:21-22).
This phenomenon is not limited to isolated texts in the Pentateuch that mention YHWH appearing as an angel. Another example of a divine hypostasis in the OT possessing the divine name is שָׁם (“the Name”) or שָׁם יְהוָ֧ה (“the name of YHWH”) who dwelt in the temple as mentioned especially in Deuteronomy, the so-called Deuteronomistic History, and Jeremiah . . .
The Gospel of John, which identifies Jesus frequently as the Son of Man, also depicts him as the embodiment of the Divine Name of the Father, to the extent that Jesus even prays: πατερ δοξασον σου το ονομα (“Father, glorify your Name”; 12:28). This is not simply a pious prayer that God’s name be glorified through Christ’s sacrifice; it is the identification of Jesus as the one who possesses the Divine Name. This indicates that he can simply be identified as “the Name,” much like the visible manifestations of YHWH of Deuteronomy and Jeremiah. This personal identification of the Name as Jesus is supported by the parallel announcement that comes shortly before this prayer: “The house has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12:23). The “Son of Man,” therefore, is also known as “Your [the Father’s] Name.” That “Your Name” could be understood in this way y the intended readers of this Gospel is apparent from the use of “the Name” as a title—indeed, the only title—of Jesus in 3 John: “For they departed on behalf of the Name [υπερ γαρ του ονοματος εξηλθον] and have accepted nothing from the heathen” (v. 7) . . .
The book of Revelation which uses the “one like a son of man” designation twice for Christ 1:12; 14:14), also identifies Christ as the possessor of the Divine Name in the description of the triumphant warrior on the white horse in 19:11-16. This text presents Christ as the possessor of a mysterious name that only he knows: “He has a name written on him that no one except he himself knows. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood and his name is called the Word of God” (19:12b-13). Several Jewish texts speak of the Divine Name as the hidden or secret name. Support for this interpreting the mysterious name in 19:12 as the Divine Name is found in the next sentence where John notes that the (known) name of the rider is ο λογος του θεου (“the Word of God”). Texts noted above testify that “the Word” or “the Word of God” was a title sometimes given to the theophanic angel who possesses the Divine Name (see esp. Wis 18:14-25 and Isa 63:1-14). The understanding that Christ is called “the Word of God” here because he possesses the Divine Name responsible for creation is substantiated by the observation that the “faithful and true witness” (19:11; 3:13) is earlier given the title “the Beginning of God’s Creation” (3:14). (Charles A. Gieschen, “The Name of the Son of Man in the Parables of Enoch” in Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man: Revisiting the Book of Parables [ed. Gabriele Boccaccini; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2007], 228-49, here, pp. 242-44, 246, 247; italics in original)
