This article is contributed by Ray Konig, the author of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Miracle Worker, and 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies.
By Ray Konig
Published: August 15, 2024
Question: A reader asks: "Why do some people say that Daniel's Seventy Weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) is about two lesser messiahs rather than the one greater Messiah?"
Response: Daniel 9:24-27 is polarizing. If you view this prophecy as Messianic, then it convincingly points to the Messiah arriving during the early part of the first century, about 2,000 years ago, which convincingly points to Jesus as the fulfillment. The alternative is to view this prophecy as either unfulfilled or as non-Messianic.
For some commentators, such as myself, Daniel 9:24-27 is a remarkable prophecy that accurately predicted that the Messiah -- Jesus -- would appear 483 years after a call to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, as explained in my book Jesus the Messiah.
Jesus was anointed by God as the Messiah (John 1:29-34), and began his public ministry as the Messiah, in about AD 26. That is 483 years after a Persian king, who ruled an empire that included Israel, gave the first of two decrees to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, in about 457 BC. I have an online explanation of this at AboutBibleProphecy.com
That article, as linked above, will offer a detailed explanation of how Daniel 9:24-27 functions as a Messianic prophecy. But, for this article, we'll focus on why some commentators see this prophecy as being about the Messiah and why others see it as being a non-Messianic prophecy about two lesser messiahs.
To that end, let's see how different English translations handle Daniel 9:24-27, show some key differences in how they handle verses 25 and 26, and then explain these differences.
To start this process, here is the World English Bible (WEB) translation:
24 “Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.
25 “Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times.
26 After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined.
27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, wrath will be poured out on the desolate.” (Daniel 9:24-27, WEB)
As you can see, Daniel has time periods of "weeks." Scholars within Christianity and Judaism generally treat these as weeks of years, as in seven-year periods. This is partly because the verses (Daniel 9:1-23) leading up to this prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) are talking about years. A careful reading of verse 25 yields that the Anointed One -- the Messiah -- would appear after the first two time periods, which would be 483 years.
The WEB translation uses the term Anointed One in verses 25 and 26 for the underlying Hebrew word moshiach, which means anointed. Moshiach is the word from which we get the English word Messiah. In other words, Messiah means Anointed or Anointed One. By the way, the word Christ comes from the Greek word for anointed.
During Old Testament times, people were anointed as kings, priests and prophets. They could be considered as lesser messiahs or lowercase messiahs, as in regular people who were anointed for the tasks they performed. And, the Old Testament also promised a Messiah, an extraordinary person who would be anointed for the task of serving as the savior of the world.
You might have noticed that the term Anointed One is used twice in this prophecy -- and this a key juncture where commentators separate themselves into different camps, with some saying this is a prophecy about the Messiah (Messianic view) and others saying it is a prophecy about two lesser messiahs (non-Messianic view).
For many commentators who take a Messianic view of this prophecy, both references point to one Messiah. For them, the first reference in verse 25 involves the arrival of the Messiah, and the second reference in verse 26 involves Messiah being "cut off," as in rejected and executed. The Hebrew word that is translated as "cut off" is used in the Old Testament, such as in Exodus 31:14, to refer to being rejected, sentenced to death and executed.
For many commentators who take a non-Messianic view of this prophecy, the two references to an Anointed One point to two different people, who arrive at different times, neither of whom are the Messiah.
The non-Messianic view might be difficult to understand if you are reading an English translation like the World English Bible, or the New International Version, or the King James Version. But, it's easier to understand if you are reading some of the other English translations, such as the Revised Standard Version, which is used by some Christians, or various other translations that are commonly used by Judaists.
To give a good example of this different way of translation, let's take a look at verses 25 and 26 as they are rendered in the Revised Standard Version (RSV):
25 Know therefore and understand that 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 with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off, and shall have nothing; (Daniel 9:25-26a, RSV)
The RSV translation places a hard stop -- a period -- in the middle of verse 25, as in “ seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks ”. This is very different than some of the other English translations, such as the World English Bible, which has “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” as the translation.
The RSV translation also adds the phrase “Then for” immediately after its placement of the period in the middle of verse 25. The Hebrew word that appears in that location, within the underlying Hebrew text, is often translated as “and”. In fact, the same Hebrew word appears again at the beginning of verse 26, which the RSV translates as “And”. But, in the middle of verse 25, the RSV inserts a period, forgoes the word “and”, and adds the phrase “Then for”.
With the RSV translation, it is easier to see why some commentators believe that the references to an anointed one in verses 25 and 26 are two separate people, as in two lesser messiahs, who arrive at different times. This is in contrast to a Messianic view in which both references point to one Messiah, first in speaking of his arrival, and then in speaking of him being cut off.
It should be noted that during ancient times, when the Old Testament was being written, punctuation marks did not exist. Many centuries later, long after the writing of the Bible, some scholars concluded that there should be a hard stop, such a period, in the middle of verse 25, and some scholars did not.
So, how can we tell which type of translation is better -- the translation offered by the World English Bible, which would better support a Messianic view, or the translation offered by the Revised Standard Edition, which would better support a non-Messianic view? One way to answer this is to look at verse 24 -- in either the WEB or RSV translations:
"Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. (Daniel 9:24, RSV)
In this verse, we see that the problem of sin is addressed in three different ways, as in to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity. This is a verse that is talking about bringing a final and permanent end to the problem of sin. It also speaks of bringing in everlasting righteousness.
As it so happens, the Old Testament prophets, even before the time of Daniel, foretold that it would be the Messiah who would bring a final and permanent end to the problem of sin, by suffering and dying for our sins. We see an allusion to this in Genesis 3:15 and a detailed description of this in Isaiah 52:13-53:12.
And, the Old Testament prophets associated the Messiah with the qualities of being eternal, just and righteous -- as in everlasting righteousness -- in Isaiah 9:6-7, Jeremiah 23:5 and Daniel 7:13-14.
These points are discussed in more detail in the article How do we know that Daniel 9:24-27 is a prophecy about the Messiah?
As established by the prophets of the Old Testament, it is the Messiah who is to be anointed for the task of bringing an end to the problem of sin and for the task of bringing in everlasting righteousness.
And so, we have ample reason to conclude that Daniel 9:24-27, also known as the Seventy Weeks prophecy, is a prophecy about the Messiah, and is fulfilled by Jesus, who suffered and died for our sins, and who will reign eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven.
© 2024 Ray Konig.
Ray Konig is the author of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Miracle Worker, and 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies.
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