Dear Karl,
I agree with you that this text poses many questions and that it is
difficult at first sight to understand. I do feel encouraged though by
how we currently approach the text. It use to be that history
dominated this field of study, now it is linguistics or a text
oriented approach that is beginning to dominate the field; as you have
previously indicated, linguistics questions many of the previous
assumptions.
Regarding your view that we must begin to count the 70 week time
period in the time of Nehemiah, I agree. The text in Daniel 9:25
indicates the rebuilding of the walls and streets; not the temple
which had been dedicated and completed in the reign of Darius (see Ez
6:15). The edict that was given to rebuild the walls and the streets
seems to be connected to the time of Nehemiah during the reign of King
Artaxerxes I (Ez. 7).
Just for context the 70 week time period comes as a response to
Daniel's conundrum as the 70 years of Jeremiah were coming to an end
and there was no indication that the city would be restored or that
they would be able to go back to Jerusalem as promised ( Dan 9:2, 19,
20).
Now from a strictly textual standpoint this is what I understand Dan
9:24-27 to be saying regarding the anointed one:
First, I understand the text in Dan 9:25 to say that the Messiah
prince would come not after the seven weeks, but after the seven weeks
and 62 weeks (a total of 69 weeks).
Secondly, the text indicates that the Messiah would come and die
between the rebuilding of the walls and streets and the destruction of
the temple and the city (Dan 9:25, 26).
Lastly, verse 27 describes that he would make a covenant with many and
in the middle of the last week put an end to sacrifice and grain
offering, which in my understanding is also thematically related to a
string of infinitives found in verse 24 "to finish transgression,
make an end of sin, make atonement for iniquity, bring in everlasting
righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy and anoint the most holy
place."
Samuel Nunez
On Oct 17, 2012, at 12:49 AM, K Randolph wrote:
Dear Samuel:
I have heard the theory that you propose below, but there are
problems with it. As this discussion group is about the language of
Biblical Hebrew, not about theology, I can’t comment on some of it.
From strictly linguistic standpoint there is nothing that says that
the three shorter periods are consecutive with one following
immediately after a previous one. The final period is listed as
closing the 70 sevens of years, so there’s no question there. The
first 7 sevens of years starts the total, so again no question,
except who is the anointed leader who comes at the end of that
period? But the middle period, the 62 sevens of years, starts when?
What indication is there that the 70 sevens unit is anything other
than one unified time period? Everything I see in Daniel indicates
that it was one unified period.
Looking at chapters eight and twelve of Nehemiah, Nehemiah is shown
as a contemporary of Ezra. History indicates that Ezra lived and
worked around 400 BC. The command to rebuild Jerusalem was given to
Nehemiah, which means that the command to rebuild Jerusalem
couldn’t come more than about two decades before 400 BC. That means
that the 70 sevens of years period ended about 70 AD, give or take a
few years.
Looking at ancient history, many of the dates that are presented as
so fixed by professional historians are really but educated guesses
that could be off by a decade or two, or in the case of Egyptian
history off by centuries.
The focus of Daniel 9:24-27 seems to be, as far as I understand,
the events happening after the 62 week period or in my view events
occurring at least 69 weeks or 483 years after the edict to build
the walls of Jerusalem (Ez 7:11).
The problem for me is that the arithmetic doesn’t add up.
As previously mentioned, one of these events is the appearing of The
Messiah Prince (v. 25).
Who is this Anointed Leader משיח נגיד? This prophecy has been
fulfilled, you should be able to name him from history. So who was he?
Another is the death of the Messiah (v. 26). Still another is the
destruction of the temple and city (v. 26). Then it describes him
(Messiah) confirming a covenant with many,
Say what? The last person mentioned before this verse is the Coming
Leader נגיד הבא, so why should we not consider him to be the
one who causes to enforce a covenant with many?
a ceasing (shabat) of sacrifice and offering in the middle of the
last or 70th week; the last part of the verse gives the reason or
cause of the destruction of the desolate city (Jerusalem) as being
idolatry or false worship (shiqqutz).
It is my understanding that this 70 week time period or 7 week and
62 week and one week period of Daniel 9: 24-27 are consecutive.
So you claim that the seven years of war and destruction, in which
the sacrifices ceased half way through, started immediately after
the death of Messiah? Remember, this is a fulfilled prophecy.
Samuel Nunez
From the text, I see three clocks starting at the command to rebuild
Jerusalem. This was separate from rebuilding the temple under Cyrus.
We see that Nehemiah was commanded to rebuild Jerusalem which was,
except for the second temple and a few houses to support the
priests, still a ruin. One clock was 7 sevens of years until the
Anointed Leader. The second clock was for 62 sevens of years until
Messiah was cut off. The third clock that started at that time was
for 70 sevens of years, that ended with a seven year period of war
and destruction, half-way through the sacrifices ceased. Seeing that
Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra the Scribe, that makes the
giving of the command to rebuild Jerusalem shortly before 400 BC.
490 years later, the seven year war, half-way through of which the
temple sacrifices were stopped, destroyed by the people of the
leader to come (the general who led the Romans became emperor),
fulfilled the closing of the prophecy. It all fits together, just as
Biblical prophecy should.
Karl W. Randolph.
_______________________________________________
b-hebrew mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
