Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 63 – Question 64
Quest. 63. Shall Messiah be slaine, v. 26. who this Messiah was, that should be slaine.
1. R. Selomo taketh this Messiah to be king Agrippa, that should be slaine by the Romanes a little before the destruction of Ierusalem: But this is a fabulous conceit. 1. for Agrippa was not slaine, but as Cornelius Tacitus writeth, lib. 5. Agrippa was confederate with the Romanes: and Iosephus also testifieth, that he tooke part with the Romanes, after be could not perswade the Iewes to giuegive ouer their intended warre: and that the said Agrippa suruiued after the destruction of the citie. 2. Beside here is a great error in Chronologie; for from the beginning of the 70. weekes, which he maketh 52. yeares before Cyrus, to the destruction of Ierusalem, are in the most compendious reckoning almost 600. yeares.
2. Theodoret and Eusebius by the Messiah vnderstand Hyrcanus, who was the last anointed gouernour of the Priests, and after him the Herodians vsurped the kingly authoritie vntounto the destruction of the citie: But the Messiah here spoken off, must reconcile iniquitie, and finish sinne, but so could not any of the anointed Priests.
3. M. Liuely by Messiah, taking the singular for the plurall, would hauehave meant the anointed gouernours: for all lawfull rule and authoritie ceased a little before the taking of the citie by the Romans: there was hauock made of the rulers and Elders, and a generall disorder and Anarchie brought in first vnderunder Albinus, then Florus: Persian Monarchie, pag. 212. and p. 241. And this reason he vrgeth why the Messiah is not here Christ: because it were an vnproper speach, to take the last weeke for the Messiah: as they are forced thus to interpret these words: after 62. weekes shall the Messiah be slaine, that is, in the 70. and last weeke.
Contra. 1. Whereas the Prophet here speaketh of one Messiah, by this interpretation we shall hauehave many, and a succession rather of gouernours, then any one certain gouernour, in which sense, I thinke, it cannot be shewed, that the word (Messiah) is taken throughout the whole Scripture. 2. and by this exposition of (Messiah) we are depriued of one of the most pregnant prophesies of Christs holy passion. 3. neither doth it follow, that the 70. weeke in that sense should be taken for the Messiah, no more then he himselfe taketh it, where he saith, that after 69. weekes counted from the commandement, th… Messiah (whom he interpreteth the annointed gouernour) should be cut off, the citie and Temple destroyed, leauing the last weeke of the seuentie, for the accomplishment thereof, pag. 224. for doth not he likewise vnderstand the 70. weeke after the 69. wherein the Messiah should be cut off? 4. euen to admit his owne sense, the lawfull anointed gouernours ceased in Ierusalem long before the destruction of Ierusalem, about the birth of Christ, in the 30. yeare of Herod, when that tyrant slew all the Sanedrim,L. Pl…ss. in his booke of the truenes of Christian religion, c. 29. 30. as the L. of Plessie sheweth out of Philo: whereupon he inferreth that to be the time, wherein the soueraigntie and Iurisdiction of Iudsh did cease. And so was Iacobs prophesie fulfilled, Gen. 49. 10. that the sc…pt…r should not depart from Iuda, nor a law-giuer from betweene his feete, vntill Shiloh come: M. Liuely hereunto answeareth, that this prophesie was rather fulfilled in the destruction of Ierusalem, which he calleth the beginning of Christs second comming to iudgement, the ende and accomplishment whereof shall be in the last day of iudgement: and therefore all the time afterward is called the last daies: and this is the reason why our Sauiour, Matth. 14. treateth in the same place of the destruction of Ierusalem, and of the end of the world. So M. Lively, p. 251.
But 1. this is a strange exposition, to vnderstand Christs comming in the flesh, when he was gone out of the world, and to make his going his comming. 2. Iacob prophesieth of the first comming of Christ in the flesh, as Iunius noteth out of the word Shilob▪ which he interpreteth, her sonne, the word properly signifying the matrice or wombe: because Christ was borne of a woman without the helpe of man, Iun. annot. in Gen. 49. 3. The reason why our Sauiour treateth of both those questions together is, because the Apostles had propounded two questions, both of the time of the destruction of the citie and Temple, and of the ende of the world: for thus they say, Tell vsus, when these things shall be, and what signe shall be of thy comming, and of the ende of the world, Matth. 24. 3. therefore our Sauiour satisfieth them in both their demands. 4. These very words last rehearsed shew, that the second comming of Christ, and the ende of the world should be ioyned together.
4. Iunius, who vnderstandeth this place of the true Messiah, yet referreth the ende of these 70. weekes to the destruction of the citie, is forced to vse a kind of zeugmatical construction, as he calleth it, by supplying the word after in this sense, after 62. weekes, after, the Messiah is slaine: so also Polanus: which words they thus interpret, not that after the 62. weekes the Messiah should be cut off: but after such time as the Messiah should be slaine, which was within the 69. weekes, and after the said 62. weekes, then should follow the destruction of the citie. But who seeth not, how in this exposition the text is strained: for the nominatiue is turned into the accusatiue, after the Messiah slaine, or the ablatiue, the Messiah beeing slaine: and the word after is inserted, which is not in the text. And the very first reading of the words, after 62. weekes the Messiah shall be slaine, doe euidently giuegive this sense, that after that time, and not before, he should be slaine.
5. Iunius hath an other interpretation in his annotations, shewing the accomplishment hereof in the members of Christ, how that after the Messiah himselfe was slaine, his members were persecuted: for in the ende of the 69. weeke, about the 7. yeare of Nero, Iames was put to death, and a grieuous persecution was raised against the Church: But the members and seruants of the Messiah, can not be the Messiah: and this cutting off must be after the 69. weekes, not in any part of them: neither as is shewed before, doth the 69. weeke extend to the 7. of Nero, beeing expired before the baptisme of Christ.
6. Oecolampad. yeeldeth this as a reason, why this cutting off can not in his iudgement be referred to the death of Christ; because the word signifieth, so to cut off, as the thing cut off be in a manner extinguished and perisheth: but so was not Christ cut off, who hanging vponupon the crosse, was written in the superscription king of the Iewes: But M. Calvin. answereth this obiection well, qu…ad communem sensum, quia putabant homines prorsus esse abolitum, this was true according to the common sense, because men thought that Christ was wholly abolished: So that he was in the opinion of men, as quite cut off, as the Prophet Isay faith, c. 53. 8. he was cut out of the land of the liuing. 2. And the word here vsed ca…ath, signifieth to cut off either by death or banishment, as Amos. 1. 5. I will cut off the inhabit a…ts of Bikeath-auen, &c. the sense then is no more but this, that the Messiah shall be an off, that is, slaine.
7. Wherefore the plaine and proper meaning of these words is, that after these weekes the Messiah out Blessed Sauiour should be put to death for our sinnes: And this is an euident proofe of this sense: because it is said, v. 27. He shall confirme the conenant, which euen in M. Liuelies iudgement is vnderstood of the Messiah, p. 218. Then the Messiah, to whom this word (he) hath reference vntounto, must be expressed, and spoken of before.
Quest. 64. Of the meaning of these words, and he shall hauehave nothing, or rather not for himselfe.
1. There are diuerse expositions of these words. 1. Oecolampad, referreth them to the people of Ierusalem, nothing to him, that is, the people shall hauehave neither king nor Priest, nothing shall be left vntounto them: but the Messiah beeing spoken of immediately before, these words, veen…o, and not to him, must hauehave reference to the Messiah.
2. Iunius in his first edition thus interpreteth, nihil ad illum, nothing to him, that is, death shall hauehave no power vponupon him, neither for all this, shall his iudgements be staied, which he purposed to bring vponupon the citie.
3. In his last edition, in his annotations, and in his commentarie, he thus expoundeth: that all shall depart from him, he shall not hauehave in Ierusalem any disciple: for a little before the besieging of the citie, they of the Church were admonished by reuelation to goe out of Ierusalem vntounto a towne in Petrea called Pella. Euseb. l. 3. hist. Eccl. c. 5.
4. Not much differing here-from, is the interpretation of Lyranus, Hugo, Pintus, with others, following the Latine translation: non erit ei populus qui eum negaturus est, they shall not be his people, which denied him: for the Iewes said they had no king but Cesar, Ioh: 19. 15. and as for this man (say they) we know not whence he is, Ioh. 9. 29.
5. M. Calvin thus interpreteth, nihil ei erit, he shall hauehave nothing: so also Genevens. that is, he shall hauehave a contemptible death, and be counted as nothing: as the Prophet Isai saith, c. 53. 3. He hath neither forme not beautie.
6. Vatablus thus expoundeth, there shall be none to helpe him or deliuer him.
7. But the fittest and best sense is this: the Messias shall be slaine, but not for himselfe, Bulling. B. translation, H. Br. vponupon Daniel. And this sense best agreeth to the prophesie of Christ, Isa. 53. 4. We did iudge him as plagued, and smitten of God, but he was wounded for our transgressions, &c. And to the Apostles doctrine, 2. Cor. 5. 25. He hath made him sinne for vsus, that knew no sinne, that we should be made the righteousnes of God in him. But seeing here mention is made of the death of Christ, before we goe any further, it shall not be amisse briefly to handle the questions of the time both of the birth, baptisme, and passion of our blessed Sauiour.