Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 55 – Question 57
55. Quest. The seuerall interpretations of Daniels 70. weekes, dispersedly handled before, summed together.
The sundrie opinions and diuers interpretations of the numbring of Daniels weekes, may be sorted out in this manner into these 6. orders or ranks. 1. Some beginne the account too soone, and ende too soone. 2. Some beginne too late, and ende too late. 3. Some beginne too soone, and ende too late. 4. Some beginne too late, and ende too soone. 5. Some beginne well▪ and ende not right, and they either ende too soone, or too late. 6. Some ende well their account, but beginne not right, and that either too soone or too late: the first foure doe erre both in the beginning and ende, the other two faile but in the one, either in the beginning or ende.
1. Of the first sort is Orige…, who beginneth from Adam, and endeth 69. weekes of the account at the natiuitie of Christ, the 70. weekes he extendeth thence to the destruction of the citie▪ see this opinion confuted before, qu. 40.
2. Of the second sort are diuers. 1. all they which beginne the acount after the raigne of Cyrus, as Chrysostome, who beginneth at the 20. yeare of Darius Longimanus, and endeth at the subuersion of Ierusalem: so Eusebius beginneth at Darius Hystaspis, and endeth at Traian the Emperour: and Iunius, Iosephus Scalliger, M. Liuely, beginne at the 2. yeare of Darius Nothus, and ende with the ruine of the citie: see their opinions more at large, quest. 47. Likewise Apollinaris beginneth at Christs natiuitie, and endeth at the comming of Antichrist toward the ende of the world: see qu. 34. and 48.
3. Some beginne too soone, and ende too late, as Hyppolitus, beginning 50. yeares before Cyrus, and ending toward the dissolution and ende of the world: and R. Salomon, who beginneth at the destruction of the first Temple, and endeth at the destruction of the second: see qu. 40. and 48.
4. Some beginne too late and ende too soone, as Melancthon, that beginneth his second reckoning from Longimanus, and endeth at the baptisme of Christ: see before, qu. 47.
5. Some beginne well, and ende too soone, as Origen, who in one account beginneth a… Darius the Mede, and endeth at the natiuitie, qu. 47. before: so also Melancthon in one accoun…. Eusebius also in one account beginneth at Cyrus, and endeth in Hyrcanus time. Some beginning right, ende too late: as Tertullian beginning at Darius, and Clemens Alexandrinus at Cyrus, ende at the subuersion of Ierusalem: qu. 47. before. And some Hebrewes beginne at Darius the Mede, but extend the yeares to the raigne of Adrian the Emperour: see quest. 48.
6. Some ende right, namely at the passion of Christ, but beginne too soone, as Lyranus and Burgensis, who beginne in the 4. or 5. yeare of Zedekiah, see qu. 41. some ending there also, beginne too late; as they which beginne at the 20. yeare of Longimanus, and end at the passion of Christ: of which opinion are Theodoret, Zonaras, Ioannes Lu…idus, Pererius, Bullinger, with others: see before, qu. 49.
Then the best account of these weekes, is to pitch the beginning and ende both right: and that is to beginne them at Cyrus, at the first going forth of the word for the returne of the people, as is prooued before at large, quest. 43. and to determine and conclude them at the most holy passion of our blessed Sauiour, as is likewise before prooued at large, qu. 49. of this chapter. Now I will returne to examine the words, as they lie in the text.
56. Quest. Why the 7. weekes are seuered from the 62. v. 25. VntoUnto the Messiah shall be 7. weekes, and 62. weekes.
1. Some thinke that no other reason is to be giuen hereof, but that the Angel of purpose thus speaketh, that the prophecie should be vttered in darke and obsture tearmes: as Hierom to this purpose saith vponupon the 45. of Ezekiel, Scriptura difficultatem habet in numeris, vt intentum faciat animum auditoris, the Scripture vseth some difficultie in numbers, to make the minde of the hearer more intent: But it is euident, by the diuiding of the last weeke from the rest, wherein some speciall matters are deliuered, concerning the death of the Messiah, and the confirming of the couenant, and ceasing of the sacrifices, that there is some speciall intendment in the setting apart also of the 7. weekes from the rest.
2. Some doe thinke, that it is onelyonly an Hebrew phrase, who vse to set the lesse number before the greater: as we would say, speaking of Abraham, he liued an 175. yeares, but the Scripture saith, he liued 5. and 70. and an 100. yeares: so Hierome. But to this Calvin answereth, non continuat seriem annorum, &c. he continueth not here the course of yeares, as in setting downe the age of man, &c. for the reason in setting downe of numbers in that manner is, because they are of diuers kinds: when the yeares are numbred by hundreds, tennes, and vnions: but here the number is all of the same kind, 70. in all. And if the Hebrew phrase should be here obserued, he should hauehave said, nine; and sixtie, or 7. 2. and 60. two should not be put after 60. And why is the 70. weeke put last of all? it should after that manner of speaking be put first: as to say thus, 1. and 7. and 62. There is then more here to be con…idered then the phrase onelyonly.
3. Some make no matter at all of this diuision, but put the 7. weekes and 62. weekes together: that after 69. weekes the Messiah shall be slaine, Melancth. Vatab. Osiand. but then this diuision made of purpose by the Angel should seeme to be idle.
4. Pererius therefore giueth this reason of this diuision, because in these seuen weekes, which make 49. yeares, there were two notable accidents; the repairing of the citie by Nehemiah, and in the ende of this tearme fell out that notable historie of Mordecat and Esther vnderunder Artaxerxes Mnemon. But Pererius is here deceiued: for as it shall afterward appeare, the repairing of the citie by Nehemiah, was without the compasse of these 7. weekes: and the other storie fell out in the space of this tearme, but not vnderunder Mnemon: that Assuerus is most like to be Darius Hystaspis, as is before shewed, qu. 44.
5. Some giuegive a mysticall reason of it, as Burgens. addit. 4. Antiqua lex dicitur septenana, nova octonaria, the olde law is signified by seuen, the new law by eight: to shew hereby that the Messiah should bring in a new law, and abolish the old. But the Messiah was not to come in those 7. weekes, but after 62. weekes more.
6. So then in that the 7. weekes are diuided from the rest, it doth not so much shew what notable accidents should fall out therein, as it doth prescribe the very number of yeares, after the which from the going out of the word, the Temple and citie should againe be repaired and reedified; which accordingly came so to passe, as shall be shewed afterward.
57. Quest. Whether these 7. weekes must be counted before the 62. weekes, or after.
It beeing then agreed vponupon, that there was some speciall cause in seuering these 7. weekes from the rest, yet there is some question, wh…n these 7. weekes should beginne, before or after the 62. weekes.
1. Tertullian putteth them after: for the 62. weekes he extendeth from Darius to the birth of Christ, and then 7. weekes and an halfe, that is, 53. yeares, he counteth from thence to the destruction of Ierusalem. But from Christs birth, who suffered in the 34. yeare of his age, to the destruction of the citie, some 40. yeares after, was aboue seuen weekes, they make 10. weekes, 70. yeares at the least.
2. Some Hebrewes, whose opinion Hierome rehearseth in his commentarie vponupon this place, doe ende the 62. yeares at the taking of the citie by Titus, and from thence to the finall destruction by Adrian the Emperour, they count 8. weekes more, which maketh 56. yeares. But beside that there are found from Darius to Adrian the Emperour, aboue 600. yeares, whereas 72. weekes make but 490. yeares: the 7. weekes must be counted to the Messiah, as is euident, v. 25. not after.
3. Theodoret bringeth the 69. weekes to Hyrcanus death, and from thence to the baptisme of Christ, he counteth 7. weekes, that is 49. yeares: But he is much deceiued in his account: for from Hyrcanus death to the baptisme of our Sauiour, are about 60. yeares: for after Hyrcanus in the 32. yeare of Herod, or thereabout, was Christ borne, who was baptized in the 30. yeare of his age.
4. Now that these 7. weekes are to be counted before the 62. weekes, not to be cast after them, 1. the order of the words declare: there shall be seuen weekes to the Messiah, and 62. weekes. 2. and beside it is said, that not after 69. weekes, but after 62. weekes Messiah shall be slaine: so that vnlesse the 62. weekes be put to the 7. weekes, the yeares will not bring vsus to the Messiah. 3. the accidents that fell out after that time, the building of the citie, and the wall, which were done after the tearme of these 7. weekes, which things accordingly came to passe, will bring backe these 7. weekes into the first place. 4. And beside the Angel directly beginneth the 7. weekes from the going forth of the word, v. 25.