A person or a people with a special relationship to God, often with a special role in salvation history. In the OT and pre-Christian Judaism there are four notable uses of the term “son of God.” First, it is predicated of Israel as a nation (Exod 4:22; Hos 11:1). Second, it is a title given to the monarch at the time of enthronement (Ps 2:7; a coronation psalm). Third, angels are called “sons of God” (Job 38:7; NRSV note). Fourth, in the apocryphal/deuterocanonical Wisdom of Solomon it is applied to the righteous individual (Wis 2:18, NRSV: “child”). In the NT, “Son of God” is used as a christological title for Jesus.
Exod 4:22
22Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: Israel is my firstborn son.
Hos 11:1
God's Compassion Despite Israel's Ingratitude
1When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
Ps 2:7
7I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
Job 38:7
7when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
Wis 2:18
18for if the righteous man is God's child, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
