In the previous blog, we saw that the reckoning of the seventy weeks of years begins with Cyrus, when the restoration of Jerusalem starts after the seventy years of desolation. Gabriel then divides the first 69 weeks into seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
But if the only intention had been to indicate a period of 69 weeks, that could simply have been stated as such. The fact that the first seven weeks are mentioned separately must therefore have significance. What do these first seven weeks mark?
seven weeks of years
By now we know how seven weeks of years are to be reckoned. Seven weeks of years bring us to the fiftieth year, the Jubilee year. The first seven weeks of Daniel therefore form the first Jubilee cycle within the seventy weeks of years. Reckoned from Cyrus, this brings us to a period of fifty years.
That in itself is significant. Gabriel sets apart exactly seven weeks of years, the same period used in Leviticus 25 to arrive at the Jubilee year.
Jerusalem rebuilt
The division into seven weeks and sixty-two weeks is not arbitrary. When we follow the order of the Hebrew text of Daniel 9:25, we see a striking structure:
Daniel 9 (based on ISA)
²⁵ from the going forth of the word to cause Jerusalem to return and to build (1)
until Messiah, Prince (2)
seven weeks (1)
and sixty-two weeks (2)
First, two points are mentioned, followed by two periods. The first period, the seven weeks, begins with the going forth of the word to cause Jerusalem to return and to build. The second period, the sixty-two weeks, then leads to Messiah, Prince.
The first seven weeks therefore stand in connection with the restoration of Jerusalem. This also fits the continuation of the verse, where it is said that the city will return and be built.
With Cyrus, this restoration begins, but Jerusalem is of course not rebuilt immediately. The restoration of the temple, the city, and its walls takes time. The first seven weeks of years are given for this.
As we have now seen, seven weeks of years bring us to the fiftieth year, the Jubilee year. The first period from Cyrus to the restoration of Jerusalem therefore spans one Jubilee cycle of fifty years.
Ezra and Nehemiah
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah describe this period. Ezra begins where 2 Chronicles ends: with the proclamation of Cyrus and the return from Babylon. The temple is rebuilt, and later Jerusalem itself is further restored.
In Nehemiah we eventually read about the restoration of the wall around Jerusalem. When Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem, he finds the city still in a damaged condition:
Nehemiah 2 (based on ISA)
¹⁷ And I say to them: You see the evil that we are in, how Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, and we shall no longer be a reproach.
Then they begin rebuilding the wall.
Nehemiah 2 (based on ISA)
¹⁸ …And they say: We shall rise up and build! And they strengthen their hands for the good.
Despite great opposition, the wall is completed. With this, the restoration that had begun under Cyrus reaches a decisive further stage.
a period of fifty years
This also gives a very different view of the chronology of Ezra and Nehemiah from what is commonly assumed. In the conventional chronology, more than a century is placed between the first year of Cyrus and the time of Nehemiah. But Daniel gives seven weeks of years for the first part of the prophecy: one Jubilee cycle of fifty years.
square and projecting corner
Daniel 9:25 says something further about the rebuilding of Jerusalem:
Daniel 9 (based on ISA)
²⁵ …square and projecting corner shall return and be built,
and in distress of the times.
Where many translations speak of “streets,” the Hebrew has the singular rechov: square. The second word, charuts, is often translated “moat.” ISA renders it as “projecting corner,” which probably points to a fortification of the city.
So this is not merely about a return to Jerusalem. The city itself would actually be rebuilt. And this would happen “in distress of the times.”
We recognize this clearly in Ezra and Nehemiah. The rebuilding took place under continual opposition. The work was resisted and was even halted for years (Ezra 4:4-5, 24). In the days of Nehemiah, the threat was so great that the rebuilding was even carried out while armed. The burden bearers did the work with one hand and held the spear with the other (Neh. 4:17).
It is precisely this period of difficult rebuilding that is announced beforehand in Daniel 9:25: Jerusalem would be rebuilt, but in distress of the times.
then sixty-two weeks
After these first seven weeks, the seventy weeks of years are far from over. Gabriel then mentions another sixty-two weeks.
The first seven weeks brought us from Cyrus to the restoration of Jerusalem. After that, a new period begins:
7 weeks => 50 years
62 weeks => ?
After these sixty-two weeks, something happens that stands at the center of the entire prophecy:
Daniel 9 (based on ISA)
²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off…
The prophecy therefore ultimately leads us to the Messiah. But before we move from the first seven weeks to the following sixty-two weeks, we first need to take a closer look at the chronology of Ezra and Nehemiah. Do the events they describe really fit within this first period of fifty years?
That is what the next blog will be about.