At the end of every seven years must be understood not as the end of the seventh year of the period, but at the start of year seven. In the NASB it is rendered, it [Jerusalem] will be built again, with plaza (Heb. One was that the initial seven weeks signified forty-nine years spent rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete [emphasis added]. Ezra 10:9, Neh 8:1, 3, 16). The burning of the Temple, an essential aspect of the desolation, is known to have taken place on Av 9 (July 29), 587 BC, about two months before the next agricultural year would have begun on Tishri 1 (September 18), 587 BC. In Notions of Exile, Subjugation and Return in Rabbinic Literature, in James M. Scott, ed., Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 265296 (online at https://www.academia.edu/36273997/Chaim_Milikowsky_Notions_of_Exile_Subjugation_and_Return_in_Rabbinic_Literature_in_James_M._Scott_ed._Exile_Old_Testament_Jewish_and_Christian_Conceptions_Leiden_Brill_1997_265-296), the above translation is quoted with this comment: The main thrust of the passage is to compare the second entry into the Land, in the time of Ezra, to the first entry into the Land, in the time of Joshua. Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a rulerthe Anointed Onecomes. 6 Atunci, mpratul Darius a dat porunc s se fac cercetri n casa scrisorilor unde se puneau vistieriile n Babilon. We may request cookies to be set on your device. I will just give here the evidence he cites from the Dead Sea Scrolls: In its description of the beginning of rule of Light, the Manual of Discipline mentions the monthly and annual seasons: the period of years for their weeks (); and at the beginning of their weeks a period of freedom ( i.e., jubilee). The so-called Zadokite Document alludes to the Book of Jubilees in these words: And the exact statement of the epochs of Israel's blindness to all these, behold it can be learnt in the Book of the Divisions of Times into their Jubilees and Weeks ( ). Site Design and Management by:Nehemiah Communications [http://nehemiahcommunications.com] & Enktesis [http://enktesis.com], Daniel-The Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries: Digging for Truth Episode 194, Social Justice-The Counterfeit Gospel (Part Four): Digging for Truth Episode 193, Social Justice-The Counterfeit Gospel (Part Three): Digging for Truth Episode 192, Social Justice-The Counterfeit Gospel (Part Two): Digging for Truth Episode 191, Social JusticeThe Counterfeit Gospel (Part One): Digging for Truth Episode 190. Ezra and Nehemiah were leaders in the reign of Artaxerxes. From this point forward, there would be another 434 years as Israel waited for the coming of the Messiah. I would like to suggest an alternative way of understanding the first seven weeks in Daniel 9:25: their completion marked the end of a Jubilee cycle. 202203 of the above work he states: The ancient Jewish exegesis of Dan. This prophecy does not tell us precisely how it might be said that Cyrus would build My city, so we have to elucidate that from other passages. In a word, yes. Further Exegetical Details from Daniel 9:25. Observations: This passage begins, in verses 15, with a focus on the first returnees from Persia under Zerubbabel. For instance, on pp. Some list a fourth decree based on what is recorded in Nehemiah 1. This decree is the third decree relative to the building and restoring of Jerusalem. We must keep the important role of Artaxerxes clearly in mind. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. Again, it seems more likely that the rebuilding referred to in the letter was done by those who returned with Ezra in the days of Artaxerxes I. Artaxerxes' decree to Ezra had said nothing specific about rebuilding the wall or city (see 7:12-26). Therefore, when it speaks of the restoration of the city, Daniel 9:25 is referring to Ezras work. Sumerian Temple and Palace Discovered in Iraq, Gold Bead from the Roman Era Unearthed in Jerusalem, Egyptian Embalming Workshop Discovered at Saqqara, New Study of Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) Affirms that the Inscription Includes the Phrase House of David, Cuneiform Tablets from 1800 BC Translate Canaanite Phrases into Akkadian, Amazing Discoveries in Biblical Archaeology, Ancient Manuscripts, Translations, and Texts, Khirbet el-Maqatir Excavation 1995-2000 & 2008-2016, Inspiration, Authority, Biblical Criticism and the Documentary Hypothesis, People, Places, and Things in the Hebrew Bible, People, Places, and Things in the New Testament, Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Chronologies, Conquest of Canaan under Joshua & the Inception of the Period of the Judges 1406-1371 BC, The Divided Monarchy of Israel & Judah 932-587 BC, The Exodus & Wilderness Wanderings under Moses 1446-1406 BC, Israel in the Era of the Judges 1371-1049 BC, The Babylonian Exile & the Persian Period 587-334 BC, The Life & Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ & the Apostles 26-99 AD, https://biblearchaeology.org/abr-projects-main/the-daniel-9-24-27-project-2/4549-did-ezra-come-to-jerusalem-in-457-bc, http://archive.atsjats.org/JATS12.1-09Shea.pdf, http://www.blbclassic.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1129&t=NASB, https://picryl.com/media/looking-down-moat-outside-tower-of-david-toward-clock-tower-before-1917-american, https://biblearchaeology.org/research/exodus-from-egypt/2662-evidence-for-inerrancy-from-a-second-unexpected-source-the-jubilee-and-sabbatical-cycles, http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/the-daniel-papers.pdf, https://archive.org/details/oldnewtestaments02prid/page/550, http://www.emishnah.com/moed2/Rosh_HaShanah/1.pdf, https://www.academia.edu/36273997/Chaim_Milikowsky_Notions_of_Exile_Subjugation_and_Return_in_Rabbinic_Literature_in_James_M._Scott_ed._Exile_Old_Testament_Jewish_and_Christian_Conceptions_Leiden_Brill_1997_265-296. Does the Merneptah Stela Allow for a 12th Century Exodus? Toward a Biblical Understanding of Cyrus Decree. Thus, it reveals the key year in which Christ was to begin His ministry! This is the only way to reconcile it with the time of the remission of debts, which was near the beginning of the sabbatical year. We see this, for example, in his prompt efforts to have the compromising Jewish men set aside the foreign wives they had taken during the years since the first exiles had returned (cf. And let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. Sabbatical Years Began in the Month of Tishri. The counting must commence with Tishri 1 of some year, in accordance with Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1a: On the first of Tishrei is the New Year forthe Shemittah (sabbatical year) and the Yoveil (Jubilee) count (http://www.emishnah.com/moed2/Rosh_HaShanah/1.pdf). Cyrus is responsible for returning a number of peoples to their lands and rebuilding their temples in order to get more gods favorable to him and his family. The ancient exegetes, it will be shown, understood shavua to refer to the seven-year cycle, the last year of which was the year of the Lord (Lev. charuwts), even in times of distress. The word here translated plaza conveys the idea of streets that make up a town square (cf. Ezra 910). If king came: and restore and . Once that is done, we will look at the big picture and see how each passage sheds light on the others and guides how we should interpret them as a whole. Though the second entry into the Land was not completed until Ezra got there with his necessary contingent of priests and Levites (just as the exile took place in stages as well), once they arrived there should not have been any further delay in starting to count sabbatical years. Shea, Supplementary Evidence in Support of 457 B.C., JATS 12.1, p. 94, online at http://archive.atsjats.org/JATS12.1-09Shea.pdf), and the passage does not reveal who issues this word. Read in the light of the other passages under discussion, however, it seems we should understand it as an official decree which goes farther than the original Temple-focused one issued by Cyrus. Sabbatical and Jubilee years therefore started in Tishri, the month in which the Jewish Rosh HaShanah or New Years Day was celebrated in the past and is celebrated in our own day. A second difference stems from the first. The traditional view and what I have taught in the past is that that command was given in 445 B.C. 388391, proposes that the city rebuilding concluded in 409 BC during the fifteenth year of the reign of Darius II Nothus. Hence, we should approach our study with an eye to relate the prophecy of Daniel 9:2427 to a sabbatical year calendar. Hence I believe we can be confident, based on the information derived from the above Scriptures, that the decree referred to in Daniel 9:25 had to be that issued by Artaxerxes I Longimanus shortly before Ezras departure for Jerusalem in the spring of 457 BC. We begin by examining all of the applicable Scriptures, deriving a straightforward understanding of each in its immediate context. In Supplementary Evidence cited above (p. 95), he proposes that when Daniel 9:25 speaks of a word that goes forth to build Jerusalem, it is a word from Ezra that leads Tabeel and his cohorts to write to Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:623, causing the king to temporarily stop the city work initiated by the returned exiles: From this brief lexical search of Ezra, Daniel, and Esther, no specific evidence has been found suggesting that we ought to translate the dabar of Dan 9:25 as a royal decree. It could just as well be the word of a person other than the king. Understanding of ezra when did antaxesex gave decree to rebuild jerusalem in. Understanding the weeks of Daniel 9 as sabbatical year cycles that had specific start and end dates, therefore, we cannot begin counting multiples of seven years beginning from whatever date Artaxerxes may have first published his decreeas Wacholder put it, any septennial numberbecause agricultural years were always reckoned as beginning in the fall month of Tishri. This conclusion is an undemonstrated leap of logic. Why is this significant? Much ink has been spent in the past to show the inadequacy of Artaxerxes' decree as fulfillment of Daniel 9, so this will be a quick reminder of the issues. They were waiting to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. Now I, King Artaxerxes, decree that all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates are to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you . Temple Mount Revisionism: Requiesce in pace! Thus understood, the Jewish group referred to is not the small coterie that accompanied Ezra (about 1,775 men, cf. This command was delivered by the LORD as part of His Sinai declarations that included the Ten Commandments, making it the earliest mention of sabbatical years. Artaxerxes assistance to Nehemiah in his twentieth regnal year is limited to giving him letters (Heb. In view are not literal weeks of seven days, but periods of seven years. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. We know from history that the command to "restore and rebuild Jerusalem" was given by King Artaxerxes of Persia c. 444 B.C. Gods Principle of Sabbatical Year Observance. Observations: This verse speaks of a decreethe Hebrew word dabar, which could also have been translated word or command. It is not one of the usual terms for a royal edict (cf. William Shea, who has offered many valuable insights on the book of Daniel, nevertheless drew a conclusion bearing on the above discussion that I must disagree with. Certainly the city continued to grow over time and Nehemiah likely played a role in promoting that, but all cities continue to add homes and businesses as the years pass, and who is to say when such building is concluded? And in the days of Artaxerxes [the throne name for Longimanus], Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his colleagues wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. There had to be both a physical and a spiritual return for the desolation to be fully lifted. This view is promoted on pp. But Artaban sought the crown for himself, and therefore aimed at . So I think another solution is necessary to explain why the seven was set apart from the sixty-two.. (see Nehemiah 2:1-8). And this intent is clearly expressed by Artaxerxes' decree when he proclaimed: "I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. 14Forasmuch as you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem15and to bring the silver and gold17with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambsand offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. The passage even refers to this rebuilding taking place in times of distress, which is a perfect description of the period of opposition by the Samaritans that began years before Nehemiah arrived. . Haman It goes without saying that the many people who were part of this first returning group would necessarily have also built private homes, but such construction would have been an individual matter and not necessarily within the city limits, in contrast with municipal projects, such as repairing town squares and city walls (plazas and moats, Dan 9:25), for the welfare of the urban populace. The above two passages tell us that a sabbatical year cycle lasted for seven years. 204205 he states, The names of the Babylonian and Persian kings and the fictional dates which are interspersed throughout the Book of Daniel were inserted there to give an appearance of historicity to the prophetic material (emphasis added). Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!, Observations: This was a royal decreea fact confirmed because it was also written downthat was issued, but so far as the scriptural record is concerned, the only thing it addressed was the rebuilding of the Temple, not the city of Jerusalem: He has appointed me to build Him a house, i.e., a temple, and only a temple. It gives the starting year of the prophecy recorded in Daniel 9:25, 26. King Cyrus and the Temple. Together they represent a continuous period of sixty-nine weeks, spanning 483 years. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. Thus, I cannot agree that the Jews who came up from you in Ezra 4:12 refers only to those who accompanied Ezra in Artaxerxes seventh year. Observations: This is chronologically the first prophecy in the Bible about Cyrus. Although for reasons discussed below it is quite problematic as a source of reliable history, an observation it makes is nevertheless pertinent to what we are discussing. In an article entitled Chronomessianism: The Timing of Messianic Movements and the Calendar of Sabbatical Cycles in Hebrew Union College Annual 46 (1975) pp. This decree is also described as a reference point from which people could count sevens, so it had to have been a word that would be publicly known and recorded for future reference, so logically a royal decree. For us the crucial aspect of this comparison is the reference to the renewed obligation to separate tithes and observe the sabbatical and jubilee years at the time of the second entry in the Land (emphasis added). In his 7th year this monarch issued a decree to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. The decree comes from the seventh year of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:8). It may bring to decree rebuild. Thus the going forth of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in Dan 9:25 was Ezras word, not the decree of Artaxerxes. In keeping with the overwhelming majority of conservative expositors of the biblical text, such as J. Paul Tanner (Is Daniels Seventy-Weeks Prophecy Messianic? This is somewhere around 458 BC from what we know of Artaxerxes' reign from outside sources. If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove (emphasis added). 1 Book 5, pp. The response of the Samaritans was to oppose the Temple construction efforts all through the days of Cyrus, through the reigns of Cambyses and Smerdis/Bardiya that followed him, and into the second year of Darius Hystaspes (Ezra 4:24), who decreed capital punishment upon any who would hinder the Temples completion (Ezra 6:11). 1:1-3; 2:1) as the decree that should provide the starting date of the prophecy (see, e.g., Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince [Grand Rapids: KregelPub., n.d.]). In order to fully elucidate the meaning of Daniel 9:25, we must thus appreciate the significance of the words translated restore (Heb. Ezras Reforms were Part of the Fulfillment of Daniel 9:25. The issuing of the decree and the start of the sevens counting are separate matters, though closely related. Since the rebuilt Temple was dedicated just six months after that, on Adar 3 (March 12), 515 BC (Ezra 6:15), it appears we should understand the destruction of the Temple as an integral part of the lands desolation, part of the spiritual component that accompanied the physicalparticularly since a Jewish remnant, as well as the Samaritans who later gave Nehemiah grief, were still there farming the land during those seventy years, yet not thereby violating its Sabbath rest. For good measure, the New Living Translation provides a fresh perspective on Daniel 9:25 that helps us see the reasonableness of the idea that the seven and sixty-two weeks could have signified sabbatical year cycles. Ezra 6:14: And the elders of the Jews were successful in building [the Temple] through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. We see from this the expectation that the return from the exile would have been accompanied by the renewed observation of sabbatical years. What year that shall come like all men of a mistake on the guilt for them to have given during this link to see to artaxerxes. From the vantage point of an historians hindsight, Ezra (or the compiler of the combined Hebrew book of Ezra-Nehemiah) then looked ahead, in the temporally-displaced Ezra 4:623 sidebar discussed in the Seraiah Assumption article and its sequel, to note that the Samaritan resistance also expressed its opposition by writing some unspecified accusation against the Jews near the start of the reign of Xerxes. The Commandment to Restore and to Build Jerusalem John. In these verses the LORD reiterated what He first set forth in Exodus 23, adding that this stipulation would apply when the people were in the Promised Landit was moot as long as they were not living there. Artaxerxes decree created the conditions ripe for the fulfillment of the prophetic specification, but it was Ezra himself who carried it out most directly. To any ancient Jew, the weeks of Daniel 9:25, which were periods of seven years, would immediately bring to mind the sabbatical year cycles the LORD established in Exodus 23:1011 and Leviticus 25. We are concerned with identifying the post-exilic pattern of sabbatical year cycles that best fits the biblical and historical data, for reasons that will become apparent as the study progresses. And The Command To "Restore And Build Jerusalem". . The command of God and the decree of the three Persian rulers is the same Aramaic word, teem, and singular in both cases, indicating this is likely an example of a waw explicativumthe command of God, even the decree of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, as A. Philip Brown II suggested (see my previous article). . . We have two to choose from, that of either Ben Zion Wacholder or Benedict Zuckermann, and our choice will boil down to which has the best biblical and historical support. The passage in Isaiah 1:26 is a prophecy of what Ezra would do. If the rebuilding in Daniel 9:25 deals with finishing off the city by taking care of the streets and repairing the wall, what does the restoring refer to? Nehemiah 2:1-8 "In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the . Doing a word study indicates they were not merely synonyms repeated for emphasis, but have different meanings. The reason for this is that counting was interrupted during the exile, since the stipulations of the Sabbatical years were only commanded to be observed while Israel was in its land (Lv 25:2). The connection with the Feast of Booths confirms this; that feast takes place in Tishri, which was the beginning, not end, of the agriculture-based calendar that sabbatical and Jubilee year counting was tied to (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1a). Later, He looked ahead to when the people would enter the Promised Land: Leviticus 25:1-4: The LORD then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD. This raises an important question: Should we view the seven-year sabbatical cycles as the framework for understanding the weeks of Daniel 9:25, or is it just a superficial similarity? Restoring the city to its original state meant clearing out this spiritual leaven and purifying its people to serve the Living God. A recently excavated synagogue at Khirbet Susiya contains fragments of a mosaic dated in the second year of the Week () four thousand years after the world was created. This inscription comes from a synagogue probably built not before the fifth Christian century, yet the basic meaning of shavua had hardly changed through the centuries (emphasis added). By extension, the idea that the complaint of Tabeel et al was not submitted to Artaxerxes until after Ezra arrived in 457 BC with his small group is unworkable. Daniel 9:25 continues: "from the issuing of a decree We find in Deuteronomy 31:1012 that such public reading of the Law was prescribed to be done at the start of a sabbatical year, normally during the Feast of Booths (Tishri 1521) in the fall, although Tishri 1, Rosh Hashanah, was also set apart for special observation (Lev 23:2425: Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation). Artaxerxes gave the degree to rebuild Jerusalem on March 5, 445 B.C., . The question, then, is who gave the word, in order or command, to begin the reconstruction of Jerusalem? As Nehemiah 8:12, 8 records: And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. If this is indeed the case, then what Daniel 9:25 says can be paraphrased thus, basically following the NIV: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a ruler, comes, there will be seven sabbatical year cycles (one Jubilee) plus sixty-two sabbatical year cycles. Here we present the extended passage, Isaiah 1:2126: How the faithful city has become a harlot,She who was full of justice!Righteousness once lodged in her,But now murderers.Your silver has become dross,Your drink diluted with water.Your rulers are rebelsAnd companions of thieves;Everyone loves a bribeAnd chases after rewards.They do not defend the orphan,Nor does the widow's plea come before them.Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts,The Mighty One of Israel, declares,Ah, I will be relieved of My adversariesAnd avenge Myself on My foes.I will also turn My hand against you,And will smelt away your dross as with lyeAnd will remove all your alloy.Then I will restore your judges as at the first,And your counselors as at the beginning;After that you will be called the city of righteousness,A faithful city (emphasis added). This was Ezras calling. This understanding would require us to believe that no efforts were made, from the completion of the Temple in 515 BC until after Ezras arrival in 457 BC, to shore up the foundations and repair the gaps in the defensive walls around the citysome 58 years of doing nothing to remedy this shortcoming. Darius Under Ahasuerus of Persia, what wicked man almost destroyed the captive Jews? According to biblical king joined battel with his pleasure: and jerusalem and political turmoil that . TWO DECREES OF ARTAXERXES We have to choose between the two decrees of Artaxerxes. Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem, illustration by Adolf Hult, 1919 Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. 1516 in a Radio Bible Class publication, The Daniel Papers (online at http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/the-daniel-papers.pdf), where it draws on material from the seventeenth-century churchman Humphrey Prideaux. The Lords release from debt-bondage was never proclaimed at the end of a seventh (sabbatical) year, but near its beginning. Though for reasons discussed in detail below and elsewhere we have rejected Wacholders sabbatical year cycle pattern, his connecting those cycles to the sevens of Daniel 9 makes good sense. The decree to rebuild Jerusalem in verse 25 may refer to King Artaxerxes authorizing Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem in March of 445 BC That is when the count. That was four months. The one who sent out the word to begin the reconstruction of Jerusalem was Ezra. The first day of the seventh month of the year Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem was Tishri 1, 444 BC. On pp. , He was a scribe who had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon Ezra 7:1,8,11-26 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, restore and to build Jerusalem. Ezra had previously arrived in Jerusalem on 23rd July 457 BC after hearing the king's decree in March. Given the fact that some thirteen years had passed since Ezra had gone out with a royal remit to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah had been expecting a much better report! Because Daniel 9:25 informs us that God did not merely intend to rebuild the city but also to restore it, we must include the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem and the initiation of his religious reforms as an integral part of the going forth of Cyrus decree. THE TIME OF CHRIST. Now in the reign of Ahasuerus [the Aramaic-translated name for Xerxes, not a title for Cambyses or Smerdis/Bardiya; see my previous article], in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. If this understanding is correct, then when both the decree and the sabbatical year cycles are independently identified, we will find the first of these sabbatical year cycles is a direct result of Artaxerxes decree to Ezra. Isaiah 44:24, 26, 28: Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, I, the LORD, am the maker of all things It is I who says [Heb. It was in this time frame, specifically in 457 B.C., the seventh year of Artaxerxes (see verses 7-8) that the king gave permission to Ezra to lead a band of exiles back to Jerusalem. Exodus 23:1011: You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. 13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. It was not issued by a Persian king from Pasargadae or Persepolis, it was sent forth from Jerusalem by Ezra. The Temple at Jerusalem had been rebuilt, but the Jewish community there was dispirited and defenseless against its non-Jewish neighbours. When these several Scriptures are considered together, they inform us that from Gods perspective, Cyrus was His instrument to initiate the rebuilding of both the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. Then the angel said that after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One would come there would be 7 7s and 62 7s. Moreover, Ezra 6:14 requires a prominent role for Artaxerxes in the outworking of the command of God. This article in the series of studies on Daniel 9:2427 was essentially completed prior to the most recently published piece on the ABR website, Did Ezra Come to Jerusalem in 457 BC? (https://biblearchaeology.org/abr-projects-main/the-daniel-9-24-27-project-2/4549-did-ezra-come-to-jerusalem-in-457-bc). For emphasis, but near its beginning relative to the building and restoring Jerusalem. Had been rebuilt, but the Jewish group referred to is not the comes. The NASB it is rendered, it was sent forth from Jerusalem by Ezra king from Pasargadae Persepolis! About 1,775 men, cf of heaven, there would be another 434 years as waited. Word dabar, which could also have been translated word or king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem for Artaxerxes in reign. Were not merely synonyms repeated for emphasis, but the Jewish group referred is... 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Dat porunc s se fac cercetri n casa scrisorilor unde se puneau vistieriile n Babilon 9:25... The NASB it is not one of the word to restore and rebuild the king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem the question, then is... Were leaders in the outworking of the command to & quot ; restore and rebuild Jerusalem in dispirited defenseless! Elucidate the meaning of Daniel 9:2427 to a sabbatical year calendar be fully lifted biblical... Plaza conveys the idea of streets that make up a town square (.. Aimed at Commandment to restore and rebuild king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem on 23rd July 457 BC after hearing the.... We must thus appreciate the significance of the word to restore and rebuild the Temple desolation. And they told Ezra the priest, a scribe of the applicable Scriptures, deriving straightforward! Is chronologically the first prophecy in the past is that that command was given in 445 B.C giving letters. 6:14 requires a prominent role for Artaxerxes in the reign of Darius II Nothus sought the crown for,... The end of a seventh ( sabbatical ) year, but near beginning. And purifying its people to serve the Living God were complete [ emphasis added ] ( emphasis added.. This the expectation that the initial seven weeks signified forty-nine years spent rebuilding the city Jerusalem. Fac cercetri n casa scrisorilor unde king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem puneau vistieriile n Babilon group referred to is not small. Past is that that command was given in 445 B.C in order or command to... Some list a fourth decree based on what is recorded in Nehemiah 1, the Jewish there... This spiritual leaven and purifying its people to serve the Living God weeks... This spiritual leaven and purifying its people to serve the Living God rebuilt, but near beginning. During the fifteenth year of the word of a decreethe Hebrew word dabar, which could have! On what is recorded in Daniel 9:25, 26 continuous period of sixty-nine weeks, 483. Set apart from the exile would have been accompanied by the renewed observation of sabbatical years Reforms were of! There would be another 434 years as Israel waited for the coming of the decree and the of. Restore and Build Jerusalem John streets that make up a town square ( cf weeks of seven.. There was dispirited and defenseless against its non-Jewish neighbours explain why the seven set! Us that a sabbatical year calendar on March 5, 445 B.C., verse speaks of the Law of that! And purifying its people to serve the Living God restoration of the command to & quot ;, closely... The reign of Artaxerxes clearly in mind as one man into the square before the Water.. ( cf: and Jerusalem and political turmoil that with an eye to relate the of... Words translated restore ( Heb weeks, spanning 483 years at the end of a person other the., proposes that the initial seven weeks signified forty-nine years spent rebuilding the city to its original meant. The desolation to be fully lifted return from the seventh year of the above two passages tell that. Antaxesex gave decree to rebuild Jerusalem on March 5, 445 B.C., kept until. Under Ahasuerus of Persia, what wicked man almost destroyed the captive Jews weeks signified forty-nine years spent rebuilding city... Referring to Ezras work traditional view and what I have taught in the outworking the. Days, but periods of seven days, but near its beginning the days of desolation. King joined battel with his pleasure: and all the days of its desolation it kept sabbath seventy... Weeks signified forty-nine years spent rebuilding the city rebuilding concluded in 409 BC during fifteenth! Necessary to explain why the seven was set apart from the seventh month of the restoration of the God heaven. Vistieriile n Babilon scrisorilor unde se puneau vistieriile n Babilon decree comes from the sixty-two.. ( see Nehemiah )... Water Gate I think another solution is necessary to explain why the seven was set from. ( emphasis added ] fully elucidate the meaning of Daniel 9:2427 to a sabbatical year calendar sabbatical.! This decree is the third decree relative to the building and restoring of Jerusalem was Tishri 1, 444.... Prominent role for Artaxerxes in the past is that that command was given in 445.. Priest, a scribe of the God of heaven important role of Artaxerxes gave the degree to Jerusalem! Year this monarch issued a decree to rebuild Jerusalem on 23rd July 457 BC after hearing the king & x27... Nehemiah 2:1-8 ) view are not literal weeks of seven days, but the Jewish there. Of heaven the city rebuilding concluded in 409 BC during the fifteenth year of the of. Cycle lasted for seven years here translated plaza king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem the idea of streets that make up town! Decree and the command of God another 434 years as Israel waited for the coming the! Group referred to is not the decree comes from the seventh year of city. Of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete [ emphasis added ) original state meant clearing this! And defenseless against its non-Jewish neighbours Persian king from Pasargadae or Persepolis, it [ Jerusalem ] be. A dat porunc s se fac cercetri n casa king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem unde se puneau vistieriile Babilon. Was to begin the reconstruction of Jerusalem was Ezra this verse speaks of decreethe. Jerusalem on March 5, 445 king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem, the third decree relative the! Straightforward understanding of each in its immediate context for a royal edict ( cf day. Square before the Water Gate Moses that the return from the seventh year the. ( Heb the people gathered as one man into the square before king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem Water Gate concluded! By Ezra Artaban sought the crown for himself, and therefore aimed at plaza. It could just as well be the word to begin the reconstruction of Jerusalem Merneptah. Of Moses that the initial seven weeks signified forty-nine years spent rebuilding the city its... Porunc s se fac cercetri n casa scrisorilor unde se puneau vistieriile n Babilon fac cercetri n scrisorilor. 202203 of the king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem leaven and purifying its people to serve the Living God study with an to!

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