Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Daniel 9:24-27 "Seventy weeks (70)
are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,
to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins,
and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and
prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (temple
dedication).
Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks (69) : the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks (62) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (7): and in the midst of the week (3.5) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." |
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To determine
how long the ‘weeks’ last for each prophecy,
multiply by 7 days (per week).
For instance: 70 X 7 = 490; 69 X 7 = 483; 62 X 7 = 434; and 1 X 7 = 7. These 'weeks' become years. It would seem that anyone, at any time, can find whatever one is looking for in Biblical scripture - myself included. No matter what you, or anyone else finds, there is always others who will see an entirely different view of the same chapter and verse - which will hold just as much weight and proof as any former interpretations. Is this possible? Yes, of course because we are looking at patterns - it is the pattern, which reflects in history time and time again that becomes the constant. The patterns of prophecy tell as much as the interpretation of a single incident alone, for patterns repeat. Chapter nine of Daniel contains the mysterious 70 ‘weeks’, which has been subjected to many an analytic attempts, including my own. Starting with verse 24, I submit my version of interpretation. The numbers in the following paragraphs indicate Strong’s Concordance reference numbers.
‘Seventy (7657) weeks (7620) are determined (2852)
upon thy people (5971) and upon thy Holy city
(5892), to finish (3607) the transgression (6588),
and to make an end (2856) of sins (2403), and to
make reconciliation (3722) for iniquity (5771),
and to bring in everlasting (5769)
righteousness (6664), and to seal up (2856)
the vision (2377) and prophecy (5030), and to
anoint (4886) the Most Holy (6944).’
After looking up the Hebrew/Chaldee words for the above verse, the following can honestly be interpreted from verse 24 of Chapter 9.
‘Seventy periods of the sacred oath being
completed, are decreed upon the nation of Israel
and upon thy Holy City, to withhold (or restrain)
from the revolt against the Elohiym, and to stop
the sacrifices, and to make atonement for sin, and
to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to make
an end (or stop up) the vision and prophecy, and
to anoint the sacred place.’
Verse 25 goes on to say: ‘Know therefore
and understand, that from the going forth (4161)
of the commandment (1697) to restore (7725) and to
build Jerusalem (3389, 3384, and 7999), unto the
Messiah (4899) the Prince (5057) shall be seven
weeks and threescore and two weeks; the street
(7339) shall be built again, and the wall (2742),
even in troublous (5916) times (6256).’
Upon looking
up the Hebrew meaning of verse 25, here is another way
of reading this prophecy:
‘Know therefore and understand that from the
rising in the east of the decree to return and
to build Jerusalem, to make the completed, or
perfected city, From the anointed ruler, shall
be sixty-nine weeks. The street shall be
built again, and the wall, and trench, even in
afflicted times.’
Verse 26 goes as follows: ‘And after
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
but not for himself; and the people of the Prince
that shall come shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary and the end thereof shall be with a
flood and unto the end of the war desolation’s are
determined.’
Interpretation:‘After 62 weeks
the anointed heritage of Kingship will be cut
off from Jewish lineage by the hand of the
powerful commander who shall invade; he shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary and the end
thereof shall be with a devastating deluge of
evil, and unto the end of the battle much
destruction is determined.’
Verse
27:‘And he shall
confirm the covenant with many for one week and in
the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and the oblation to cease, and for the
overspreading of abominations, he shall make it
desolate.’
Interpretation:‘And the Elohiym (through King
Mattaniah aka Zedekiah), shall attempt to confirm
the covenant with many for one week, and in the
middle of the week he (Elohiym) shall cause the
sacrifice and the gift offering to cease, and
because of the overspreading of idolatry, he
(Elohiym) shall order it destroyed, even up to the
point of completion (of the week), and that
determined shall be total desolation upon the
ruins.’
Daniel’s 70 weeks have always been contorted around to suit Christians who want to align the 'weeks' with their own interpretation, however, they are wrong. This occurs because they are looking for the ‘anointed one’ after the rebuilding of the temple of 536 BCE. What the Babylonian captives wanted at the time of Daniel’s vision was to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. When Daniel received his vision of 70 weeks, the starting point was already known. In 1019 BCE King Solomon had ‘anointed’ the sacred place/temple (#6944), which had taken him seven years to build. Seventy ‘weeks’ were required of Israel to anoint the Holy Temple (Solomon’s), make atonement for sin, bring in everlasting justification, and to have the prophecy fulfilled. The ‘TIME' starting point is 1026 BCE - the year that King Solomon started to build the temple (#6944). The most ‘holy’ (#6944), can be a sacred place, day, prince, temple, or sanctuary. In this case it is the temple that Solomon built. The first prophecy of 490 years (70 weeks) ends at 536 BCE. This is the year that King Cyrus, from the East (Persia), made the formal decree allowing captives to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and temple. A decree that came down from Cyrus' Lord Marduk. The next period is for 483 years (69 weeks). Solomon’s temple took 7 years to build, so it was 1019 BCE at the completion and ‘anointing’ [of the temple]. Subtracting 483 from 1019 we come to the year 536 BCE. Just as Daniel’s vision had indicated, exactly 69 ‘weeks’, or 483 years from the ‘anointing’ - from Cyrus’ decree. For the last period of 434 years (62 weeks), we begin again at 1019 and subtract 434 years. This comes out at 585 BCE., which is the year that King Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon captured Judah's descendants and totally destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. The Jewish King and his royal sons were all murdered, leaving only the King’s young daughters [may have been daughters of King Coniah] to carry to the Celtic Isles [by Jeremiah]; the living ‘throne’ of David. Notice that ‘one week’ was covenanted with many, but not all. This covenant was made by the Elohiym, through the King of Judah [Zedekiah/Mattahniah], to the people. The northern tribes of Israel had been previously captured by Assyria in 720 BCE, so therefore the covenant was made only to descendants of Judah. This king of Judah was King Mattaniah aka Zedekiah, as we read in Jeremiah 34:8-17. (Zedekiah’s name was originally ‘Mattaniah’, but was changed to Zedekiah by Nebuchadnezzer - who does he think he is anyway?). ‘King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people, which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; that every man should let his manservant and maidservant (being of Hebrew nationality) go free....... But afterward they turned and caused the servants whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaidens (again).’ Thusly was the covenant with some of the Israelites made, and the said covenant then broken. [See Jeremiah chapter 34]. The length of 7 years can be found in the 14th verse: ‘At the end
of 7 years let ye go every man his brother,
a Hebrew....... but ye turned and polluted my
name, and caused every man his servant, and every
man his handmaiden.....to return and brought them
into subjection, to be unto you for servants and
for handmaids.’ verse 16.
Verse 18-22
goes on to explain how the sacrifice of a calf shall
be transferred to be the sacrifice of the people of
Judah.‘The princes of
Judah, and the eunuch, and the priests, and all
the people of the land of Judah; their dead bodies
shall be for meat unto the fowls of heaven, and
for the beasts of the earth. And Zedekiah
the King of Judah and his princes (sons) will the
Elohiym give into the hand of the enemy.
Jerusalem will burn with fire, and the cities of
Judah a desolation.’
In 585 BCE,
after the 434 years of 62 ‘weeks’, the anointed
ones/temple/city/Judah, were cut off. Many
tribal members of Judah were taken captive to Babylon
for a period of seventy (70) years, until King Cyrus’
decree came in 536 BCE. The covenant made by King Mattaniah, aka Zedekiah, which occurred sometime prior to 585 BCE., was to allow liberty to all servants and handmaidens of Hebrew origin - which would have freed many from the tribes of Ephraim. (Because Assyria was captured in 615 - 608 BCE, many Israelites from the Northern Kingdom, who had been set free at the fall of Assyria, headed for 'higher' ground - many ended up in the northern Isles and western European lands. Many became servants to Judah at this time. These were mainly the bonded people that were to be released via the covenant of King Mattaniah aka Zedekiah; somewhere between 615 - 585 BCE. The Elohiym wanted the Northern tribes of Israel to become scattered across the face of the earth, not end up as captives (again) to Babylon. The tribes that did not join Judah at that time joined Ephraim/Manasseh and ended up (eventually) in the British ‘Isles’ and other north-westerly countries. Because the King of Judah went back on his promise, The Elohiym became very angry and allowed the Babylonians to capture Judah, and thereby the desolation to the city and land. Evidently it was the same old pattern again, as far as Lord was concerned, for in the 13th verse we read: ‘Thus saith the
Lord, the Elohiym of Israel, I made a covenant
with your fathers in the day that I brought them
out of Egypt, from bondage, at the end of 7 years
let go every man his brother a Hebrew, after he
has served thee 6 years, let him go free, but your
fathers harkened not unto me, neither inclined
their ear.’
Again
'Judah's' descendants were repeating the same old
pattern again - this time around 606 BCE. ‘But you
turned and polluted my name....’
I
believe
that the 7th year freedom and liberty to the
servants was to parallel the 7th day
Sabbath. It also parallels the 6000 years
of man; then in the 7000th year comes the Great
Rest and liberty - but only to those who know
the Elohiym.
Strong's Concordance references for the verses listed above: #4899 mashiyach from #4886, anointed, Messiah, anointed one, of the Messiah, Messianic prince, of the king of Israel, of the high priest of Israel, anointed kings. #4900 mashak meaning to draw out, scattered, draw along, draw away, deferred, lead along, lead off, continue to postpone, to attract and be deferred. #7657 shib iym seventy, or a multiple of #7651 #7620 shabuwa` {shaw-boo'-ah} or shabua` {shaw-boo'-ah} also (fem.) sh@bu`ah {sheb-oo-aw'} properly, pass part of #7650 as a denom. of #7651; week, seven, period of seven (days or years), heptad, a group or series of seven, Feast of Weeks. #7650 shaba`{shaw-bah'} sware, charge , oath , adjure , straitly,to swear, adjure, sworn, take an oath, to swear (of Jehovah by Himself), to curse, to cause to take an oath, to adjure #7651 sheba means seven, seventeen, sevenfold, seventy, seven times, by sevens #2852 chathak {khaw-thak'} a primitive root; TWOT - 778; v AV - determined 1; 1 1) to divide, determine 1a) (Niphal) to be determined, be decreed, be settled, be marked out #5971 `am {am} from #6004; TWOT - 1640a,1640e; n m AV - people 1836, nation 17, people + 01121 4, folk 2, Ammi 1, men 1, each 1; 1862 1) nation, people 1a) people, nation 1b) persons, members of one's people, compatriots, country-men 2) kinsman, kindred #5892 `iyr {eer} or (in the plural) `ar {awr} or `ayar (Judges 10:4) {aw-yar'} from #5782 a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post); TWOT - 1587a,1615; n m AV - city 1074, town 7, every one 2, variant 6; 1089 1) excitement, anguish 1a) of terror 2) city, town (a place of waking, guarded) 2a) city, town #3607 kala' {kaw-law'} AV - shut up 4, stayed 3, refrained 2, restrained 2, withhold 2, keep back 1, finish 1, forbid 1, kept 1, retain 1; 18 1) to restrict, restrain, withhold, shut up, keep back, refrain, forbid 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to shut up 1a2) to restrain 1a3) to withhold 1b) (Niphal) to be restrained 1c) (Piel) to finish #6588 pesha` {peh'-shah} from #6586; TWOT - 1846a; n m AV - transgression 84, trespass 5, sin 3, rebellion 1; 93 1) transgression, rebellion 1a1) transgression (against individuals) 1a2) transgression (nation against nation) 1a3) transgression (against God) 1a3a) in general 1a3b) as recognized by sinner 1a3c) as God deals with it 1a3d) as God forgives 1a4) guilt of transgression 1a5) punishment for transgression 1a6) offering for transgression #2856 chatham {khaw-tham'} seal, seal up, marked, stopped, to seal, seal up, affix a seal, to seal, affix one's seal, to seal up, fasten up by sealing, to seal, to lock up, to be stopped #2403 chatta'ah {khat-taw-aw'} or chatta'th {khat-tawth'} from #2398; sin, sin offering, punishment, purification for sin, purifying, sinful, sinner; sin, sinful, sin, sin offering, condition of sin, guilt of sin, punishment for sin, sin-offering, purification from sins of ceremonial uncleanness #3722 kaphar {kaw-far'} atonement , purge, reconciliation, reconcile, forgive, purge away, pacify, atonement...made, merciful, cleansed, disannulled, appease, put off, pardon, pitch. To cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch, to coat or cover with pitch, to cover over, pacify, propitiate, to cover over, atone for sin, make atonement for, to cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites, to be covered over, to make atonement for, to be covered #5771 `avon {aw-vone'} or `avown (2 Ki 7:9, Ps 51:5 {aw-vone'} from #5753; iniquity, punishment 5, fault 2, Iniquities + #1697 mischief, sin, perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity, iniquity, guilt of iniquity, guilt (as great), guilt (of condition) 1c) consequence of or punishment for iniquity #5769 `owlam {o-lawm'} or `olam {o-lawm'} from #5956; ever, everlasting, old, perpetual, evermore, never, time, ancient, world, always, alway, long, more. long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world 1a) ancient time, long time (of past (of future), for ever, always, continuous existence, perpetual, everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity #6664 tsedeq {tseh'-dek} from #6663 righteousness, just, justice, righteous, righteously, right, righteous cause, unrighteousness, justice, rightness, what is right or just or normal, rightness, justness (of weights and measures, righteousness (in government) of judges, rulers, kings, of law, of Davidic king, Messiah of Jerusalem as seat of just government, of God's attribute, righteousness, justice (in case or cause) rightness (in speech), righteousness (as ethically right), righteousness (as vindicated), justification (in controversy), deliverance, victory, prosperity, of God as covenant-keeping in redemption in name of Messianic king, of people enjoying salvation, of Cyrus #663 - means justice - a state of Shiloh is meant. #2856 chatham {khaw-tham'} seal, seal up, marked, stopped, to seal, seal up, affix a seal, to seal, affix one's seal, to seal up, fasten up by sealing, to seal, to lock up, to be stopped #2377 chazown {khaw-zone'} from #2372; vision (in ecstatic state) vision (in night) vision, oracle, prophecy (divine communication) vision (as title of book of prophecy) #5030 nabiy' {naw-bee'} from #5012; prophet, prophecy, them that prophesy, prophet, spokesman, speaker, false prophet, heathen prophet #4886 mashach {maw-shakh'} anoint, painted, to smear, anoint, spread a liquid, to smear, to anoint (as consecration), to anoint, consecrate, to be anointed #6944 qodesh {ko'-desh} from #6942; holy, sanctuary, (holy, hallowed...) things, most, holiness, dedicated, hallowed, consecrated, apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness, apartness, sacredness, holiness, of God, of places, of things, set-apartness, separateness the Unveiler Return |