Bible Commentaries
Daniel 9

Verse 1

the first year: 426 B. C, Daniel being then eighty-seven. See App-50 .

Darius . This is an appellative, and means the Maintainer or Restrainer: i.e. Cyrus. See App-57 ; and special note on 2 Chronicles 36:21 .

Ahasuerus , an appellative = the venerable king Astyages. See App-57 .

made king: i.e. Cyrus was appointed king of Babylon by Astyages his father.

Verse 2

understood = came to an understanding; perceived, or observed. Hebrew. bin, to separate or distinguish. Implying that he had not known this before.

by books = by the writings [of Jeremiah]. Jeremiah 29:1 , Jeremiah 29:10 , as well as Dan 25:11 . Note the definite Article in the Hebrew.

the number of the years . Which were now drawing to an end.

the LORD . Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

Jeremiah . The passage was doubtless Dan 25:11-14 ; Dan 29:10-14 .

accomplish = fulfil [within].

seventy years . Note the bearing of this on Daniel 9:24 .

the desolations of Jerusalem . From 479 to 409 B.C. See note on 2 Chronicles 36:21 . The "desolations" had therefore lasted 42 (6 x 7) years, and had yet 28 (4 x 7) years to run before they were "accomplished". We find the same subdivisions of the "servitude"; for from the first year of Nebuchadnezzar (496) to the decree of Artaxerxes (Astyages) (454) was forty-two years; and from the decree to the end of the servitude was twenty-eight years.

Verse 3

set my face . Knowledge of Jehovah's words quickened his spiritual interest in them.

the LORD* . One of the 134 cases in which the Sopherim state that they altered "Jehovah" of the primitive text to "Adonai". See App-32 .

God . Hebrew. Elohim. (with Art.) = the (true) God. App-4 .

to seek = to worship, or to seek [information].

Verse 4

prayed . Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:40 ). App-92 .

my God . Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .

O LORD*, the great, &c . Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 20:6 ; Exodus 34:6 , Exodus 34:7 . Numbers 14:18 . Deuteronomy 7:9 ). App-92 .

GOD . Hebrew El App-4 .

the covenant. Note the Art. = the covenant [made of old].

mercy = the lovingkindness or grace [promised therein]. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 20:6 ; Exodus 34:6 , Exodus 34:7 ). App-92 .

Verse 5

We . Note that Daniel associates himself with his People. Compare Nehemiah 1:0 ; and Dan 9:33-38 . Ezra 9:5-15 .

wickedly = lawlessly. Hebrew. rasha, App-44 .

rebelled = revolted. Hebrew. marad. Usually of revolt against Deity or royalty.

Verse 6

spake in Thy name . Compare Hebrews 1:1 . Compare Exodus 7:1 with Exodus 4:16 , and see App-49 .

Verse 7

Lord . Hebrew Adonai. App-4 .

all Israel. See note on 1 Kings 12:17 .

near, &c . Compare Deuteronomy 4:27 . 2Ki 17:6 , 2 Kings 17:7 . Isaiah 11:11 , Jeremiah 24:9 . Amos 9:9 ; and see Acts 2:36 .

trespass . . . trespassed. Hebrew. ma'al. App-44 .

Verse 9

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .

mercies = compassions.

Verse 10

obeyed = hearkened to.

by = by the hand of.

Verse 11

transgressed. Hebrew. 'abar. App-44 .

therefore the curse is, &c . Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:14 , &c. Deuteronomy 27:15 , &c.; Dan 28:15 , &c; Dan 29:20 ; Dan 30:17 , Dan 30:18 ; Dan 31:17 ; Dan 32:19 ).

is poured upon = hath come pouring upon.

Moses the servant of God . See note on 1 Chronicles 6:49 . Nehemiah 10:29 . App-92 .

Verse 12

confirmed His words: i.e. by His prophets since the giving of the law (2 Kings 17:13 .Isaiah 44:26 . Lamentations 2:17 . Zechariah 1:6 ).

words . Hebrew margin, with some codices, and one early printed edition, read "word" (singular) Hebrew text, with Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "words" (plural)

evil = calamity. Hebrew. ra'a'. App-44 .

Verse 13

As = According as.

it is written, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:14 , &c. Deuteronomy 28:15 , &c, as above). App-92 .

Verse 14

watched . Compare Jeremiah 31:28 ; Jeremiah 44:27 .

Verse 15

hast brought, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 6:1 , Exodus 6:6 ; Exodus 12:41 ; Exodus 14:18 ; Exodus 32:11 ). App-92 .

gotten Thee renown = made Thee a Name.

Verse 16

holy. See note on Exodus 3:5 .

because for our sins . . . fathers . Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 20:5 ). App-92 .

become a reproach . Compare Jeremiah 24:9 ; Jeremiah 29:18 ; Jeremiah 42:18 ; Jeremiah 44:8 , Jeremiah 44:12 .Ezekiel 5:14 , Ezekiel 5:15 ; Ezekiel 22:4 .

Verse 17

cause Thy face to shine . Reference to Pentateuch (Numbers 6:25 , Numbers 6:26 ). App-92 .

for the LORD'S* sake . Septuagint reads "for Thy servants' sake".

Verse 18

Thine eyes . Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6 .

which is called by Thy name: or, upon which Thy name has been called.

we . Others were praying with Daniel.

Verse 19

do = perform [it].

Verse 21

Gabriel . See note on Daniel 8:16 . This prophecy is not given by a "prophet", but by an angel or hierophant (who shows sacred things) to a prophet. It is therefore a most transcendent prophecy.

about the time, &c . Compare similar important occasions: David (2 Samuel 24:15 , note); Elijah (1 Kings 18:29 ); Ezra (Ezra 9:5 ).

oblation = gift or donation offering. Hebrew. minchah. App-43 .

Verse 22

And he informed me . The Syriac reads "Yea, he came".

to give thee skill, &c . = to teach thee understanding, or to make thee wise as to, &c. Note the special emphasis as to the admonition for ourselves in the Structures below. It is not a vision that requires interpretati o n , but a direct prophecy given in simple words by the angel Gabriel, sent by God for the express purpose of making everything clear, and solving the most weighty problems that perplex the human mind. There is no "difficulty", as supposed. All that is required of US is to understand, and consider, and believe what is thus written for our learning.

Verse 24

Seventy weeks = Seventy sevens: i.e. of years. Not on any "yearday" theory. If "days" had been intended, it would be so expressed, as in Daniel 10:3 (compare Leviticus 25:8 ). Moreover, "years" had been the subject of Daniel's prayer (Daniel 9:2 ). The last "seven" is "one", and it is divided in half in Daniel 9:27 , and the half is three and a half years (Daniel 7:25 ; Compare Daniel 8:11-14 ; Daniel 11:33 ). In Revelation 11:2 this half is expressed by "forty-two months"; and in the next verse as" 1,260 days". See App-90 . The whole period is therefore 490 years.

determined = cut off: i.e. divided off from all other years. The verb is in the singular to indicate the unity of the whole period, however it may be divided up. Hebrew. hathak. Occurs only here.

thy People: i.e. Daniel's People, Israel, with which alone the prophecy is concerned.

thy holy city: i.e. Jerusalem (verses: Daniel 9:2 , Daniel 9:7 , Daniel 9:16 ).

finish = put an end to.

transgression . Hebrew. pasha '(with Art.) App-44 . Compare Daniel 8:12 , Daniel 8:23 .

make an end of . Hebrew. hatham, as below ("to seal up").

sins . Hebrew. chata'. App-44 . Hebrew margin, with four early printed editions, some codices, and Vulgate, read "sin" (singular)

make reconciliation = make expiation or atonement.

iniquity . Hebrew. 'avah. App-44 .

seal up, &c . = make an end of by fulfilling all that has been the subject of prophecy.

prophecy = prophet.

the most Holy = a Holy of Holies. Never used of a person. This answers to the cleansing of the sanctuary (Daniel 8:14 ) which immediately precedes "the end". See App-89 .

Verse 25

Know therefore and understand. Note this second admonition, as shown in the Structure ("25-") above.

from the going forth, &c. : i.e. in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes (= the great king: i.e. Astyages), 454 B.C. See notes on Nehemiah 2:1 , Nehemiah 5:14 , Nehemiah 13:4 . Also App-50 and App-58 .

commandment = word. Hebrew. dabar. App-73 . Referring to the Divine word rather than to a royal decree.

Jerusalem . Not the Temple (as in Ezra), but the city (as in Nehemiah), which was the subject of Daniel's prayer, and therefore the answer to it.

Messiah = anointed. Only priests and kings were anointed, lepers, and Elisha (1 Kings 19:16 ) being the only exceptions.

Messiah the Princ e = "Messiah [that is to say] the Prince [of the People]". Messiah is a noun, and is connected with Prince by apposition: i.e. a priest-king. Only one such known to Scripture (Psalms 110:4 .3 John 1:4; 3 John 1:43 John 1:4 :25 ).

the Prince . Hebrew. nagid = a leader and ruler of the People (1 Samuel 9:16 ; 1 Samuel 10:1 ; 1Sa 13:14 ; 1 Samuel 18:13 ; 1 Samuel 25:30 . 2 Samuel 5:2 , &c). Therefore not Zerubbabel (who was a prince but not a priest); nor Ezra (who was a priest but not a prince); nor Cyrus (who was a king but not a priest, and he only as a type of Messiah, who was both).

seven weeks = forty-nine years (454-405 B. C). See App-50 , and App-91 .

threescore and two weeks = 434 years (405 B. C-A.D. 29): the two together being 49 + 434 = 483 years; leaving seven years to make up the full 490 years of Daniel 9:24 . See App-50 , and App-91 .

the street . . . and the wall = open place . . . and close street: implying the completeness of the restoration; which included the places of resort and the thoroughfares leading thereto, like our English "court and alley".

the street = the broad way or open space by the gates or elsewhere.

the wall. Hebrew. haruz. Whatever it may mean, it cannot be "wall", for that is homah (that which surrounds). Haruz = something cut in or dug out; and may well be used of what is narrow, and then that which is narrowed down to a deciding point, a decision or determination, as in Daniel 9:26 ; Daniel 11:36 . Compare Isaiah 10:22 .Job 14:5 , &c. See the Oxford Gesenius.

in troublous times: i.e. the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. This covers the forty-nine years. We know this, not from history profane or Divine, but from the statement here.

Verse 26

after threescore and two weeks . The definite Article here marks this period, as the one just mentioned in Daniel 9:24 , i.e. after the 483 years. How long "after" is not stated; but it must surely be either immediately or very soon after the Messiah was thus presented and proclaimed in and to Jerusalem as the Prince. The decree was issued in the month of Nisan, the same month as the events in Matthew 21:1 Matthew 26:61 . Compare Zechariah 9:9 . Luke 19:41-44 ("this thy day").

threescore and two: i.e. the sixty-two sevens (= 434 years). See note on Daniel 9:25 .

cut off: i.e. in death. Hebrew. karath (Genesis 9:11 .Deuteronomy 20:20 . Jeremiah 11:19 . Psalms 37:9 ). Compare Hebrew. gazar (Isaiah 53:8 ).

but not for Himself = but no sign of aught for Him: i.e. He shall be rejected and crucified, and shall not then enter on the kingdom for which He came. It will be rejected, and therefore become in abeyance. See John 1:11 .

-26 the people: i.e. the Roman people. Compare Luke 19:41-44 ; Luke 21:20 .

the prince that shall come = a prince, &c. This is "the little horn" of Daniel 7:8 , Daniel 7:24-26 ; Daniel 8:9-12 , Daniel 8:23-25 . See App-89 .

shall destroy the city, &c . See Matthew 21:41 ; Matthew 22:7 . This also was "after threescore and two weeks", but not within the last seven; which are confined to the doings of "the prince's people, the people that is coming" ("the little horn") after the doings of "the people" in the destruction of the city, which ends Daniel 9:26 . What "the little horn" will do is stated in the words which follow. Antiochus never did this. He defiled it, but left it uninjured.

the end thereof: or, his own end [come]: i.e. the end of the desolator looking on to the end of the last seven years.

and unto the end of the war = up to the full end of the war (i.e. the end of the last seven years).

desolations = desolate places. Compare Matthew 23:38 .

determined . See note on "the wall", Daniel 9:25 .

Verse 27

he shall confirm the covenant = make a firm covenant: i.e. the little horn will do this at the beginning of the last seven years. See note below on "one week". It may even be the beginning of the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14 . Compare Daniel 11:21-24 .

the covenant = a covenant.

many = the many.

one week . This is the last seven years which completes the "seventy" of Daniel 9:24 ; the time when action commences in connection with Daniel's "city" and "People" (i.e. Jerusalem and Israel). These have been in abeyance since Daniel 9:26 . Israel is " Lo-ammi" (= not my people, Hosea 1:9 , Hosea 1:10 ). For the present interval between, Daniel 9:26 and Daniel 9:27 , see Luke 4:18-20 ; Luke 21:24 . App-50 ; also App-63 . This fills the first half of the "week" (see Revelation 11:3-11 ).

the midst of the week = the middle of the week (i.e. at the end of the first three and a half years).

the sacrifice and the oblation to cease = sacrifice and oblation to cease. This is the action of "the little horn" (See Daniel 8:11 , Daniel 8:12 , Daniel 8:13 ; Daniel 11:31 ; Daniel 12:11 ). This belongs to the time of the end, and will be accompanied by the setting up of the abomination mentioned below and by our Lord in Matthew 24:15 . See App-89 and App-90 .

for the overspreading of = on the wing, or battlement of; but Ginsburg suggests ' al kanno (instead of 'al kanaph) = in its stead [shall be]: i.e. in place of the daily sacrifice. Compare Daniel 11:7 .

abominations he shall make it desolate = the abomination that maketh desolate. See App-90 . This is certainly future. See Matthew 24:15 . Our Lord tells us where it will stand "in the holy place": i.e. in the Temple at Jerusalem: and we have the same admonition to "understand" (compare verses: Daniel 9:23 , Daniel 9:25 , above). Antiochus, the type of "the little horn", defiled the sanctuary, but he did not destroy it. He cannot therefore be the fulfiller of this prophecy, though he foreshadowed him.

abominations . Jehovah's name for an "idol", as being what he detests. Hebrew. shakaz = to be abominable. The "of" in this connection being the Genitive (of the Origin), App-17 .: i.e. which causes the desolation. Compare 2 Kings 23:13 .Isaiah 44:19 , &c. Daniel 12:11 is conclusive.

until the consummation = unto a full end. The reference is to Isaiah 10:22 , Isaiah 10:23 .

determined . See note on "the wall", Daniel 9:25 above.

shall be poured upon = shall come pouring upon. For the fulfillment, compare Revelation 16:1 , Revelation 16:2 , Revelation 16:3 , Revelation 16:4 , Revelation 16:8 , Revelation 16:10 , Revelation 16:12 , Revelation 16:17 .

desolate = the causer of desolation. See Daniel 12:11 . Then the consummation of Daniel 9:24 will be fulfilled.