Purpose
The vision in Daniel 9 promises Israel 490 years, divided into three parts:
-
-
- 7 weeks (49 years),
- 62 weeks (434 years), and
- 1 week (7 years).
-
In the RSV and some other translations, in Daniel 9:25, the messiah appears after the first 49 years. For example:
“From the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again …”
Given this translation, the messiah cannot be Jesus Christ because the decree to restore Jerusalem, with which the 490 years began, was issued nearly 500 years before Christ.
In contrast to the RSV, in the NASB, KJV, NIV, ASV, ERV [margin], MLB, and the JB and some other translations, the messiah appears after the 7 + 62 weeks (483 years). For example:
“… from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again …”
In this translation, the messiah can be Jesus Christ.
The reason for the difference in the translations is punctuation (commas, full stops, etc.). In the original Hebrew, there was no punctuation. The original Hebrew did not even have spaces between words.
Messiah appears after 483 years.
For the following reasons, the translations that put the Messiah after 483 years are correct:
(A) When the Hebrew was first translated into Greek, in the centuries before Christ, punctuation was added. The punctuation of all the ancient Greek translations, namely the Septuagint (LXX) and those of Theodotion, Symmachus, Aquila, and the Peshitta, treats the 7 and 62 weeks of Daniel 9:25 as a single period at the end of which the Messiah appears. The Vulgate and Syriac, and in modern times, also the NASB, adopted this punctuation.
(B) The Jews first added punctuation to the Hebrew about 500 years after Christ, in the Masoretic period. The Masoretic version of Daniel 9 adds an athnach (a principal disjunctive divider within a verse) after the words “seven weeks.” This resulted in the RSV translation, in which the messiah appears at the end of the first 7 weeks. There seems to be no reason to follow the Jewish translation. The Jews had a motive to remove Jesus from the prophecy. Pusey, p. 190, quotes Rashi to the effect “that on account of ‘heretics,’ i.e., Christians,” the clause was divided by an athnach.
(C) Fair treatment of the text requires that the Messiah in Daniel 9:26 be the same as the Messiah in Daniel 9:25. Two different messiahs in two consecutive verses are unlikely. If verses 25 and 26 describe the same messiah, and if he appears at the end of the first 49 years, but is killed after the end of the 483 years, as verse 26 states, then he is at least 434 years old when he is killed. He must, therefore, also appear at the end of the 483 years.
(D) The problem can be solved by noting that this passage is poetry and by analyzing the structure of the poem. This shows that verses 25 and 26 alternate between Jerusalem and the Messiah:
| (A) Jerusalem | (B) Messiah |
| 25 From a decree to restore Jerusalem | until Messiah the Prince |
| There will be 7 weeks | and 62 weeks |
| It will be built again | 26 The Messiah will be cut off after 62 weeks |
This table shows that the seven weeks explain the rebuilding of the city, while the sixty-two weeks explain the Messiah. This rules out the Masoretic punctuation. It confirms that the Messiah appears at the end of the 62 weeks.
Other Articles
Daniel 9
🔗 Summary of the articles below
🔗 Daniel 9 Explained, Verse-by-Verse
🔗 Introduction to Daniel 9
🔗 The 70 weeks renewed God’s covenant with Israel.
🔗 What was the Decree to Restore Jerusalem?
🔗 When did the 490 end?
🔗 Are the events described chronologically?
🔗 Who makes what covenant during the last seven years?
🔗 What is the Abomination of Desolation in 9:27?
🔗 When will the goals in 9:24 be fulfilled?
🔗 When did Daniel 9 say the Messiah would come?
🔗 Does Daniel 9 describe the same crisis as Daniel 7?
🔗 Was the vision the answer to Daniel’s prayer?
🔗 Where are the 70 years of Babylonian captivity in history?
🔗 The Book of Nehemiah – Valuable context for Daniel
🔗 Dispensational Interpretation – An Evaluation
🔗 Other Anomalies in the Dispensational Interpretation
🔗 Historical-Critical Interpretation of Daniel 9
🔗 The Symbolical Interpretation of Daniel 9
Other Core Articles
🔗 The Mark of the Beast
🔗 All articles on this Site
🔗 Daniel’s Little Horn Identified
🔗 Daniel 9 – Verse-by-Verse
🔗 Daniel 9 – Four Alternative Interpretations
🔗 The Dragon of Revelation 13
🔗 The Beast of Revelation
🔗 The Trinity Doctrine
🔗 The True Origin of the Trinity Doctrine
🔗 The Sabbath was part of the Arian Controversy.
🔗 Christ’s Return
Other Article Series
🔗 The Antichrist in Daniel
🔗 The 490 years of Daniel 9
🔗 Book of Revelation
🔗 Christology – Who is Jesus?
🔗 Why does evil exist?
🔗 Death, Eternal Life, and Eternal Torment
For general theology, I recommend Graham Maxwell.