Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 75 – Question 78

Commentary on Daniel · Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 75 – Question 78

p. 348Quest. 75. How long after the Messiah was slaine, this destruction happened by Titus.

1. Barbinel, that ignorant and rayling Rabbine, as M. Calvin reporteth his opinion, saith there passed 200. yeares betweene the death of Christ, and the destruction of Ierusalem by the Romanes: But herein he sheweth his blind folly: for vntounto the second destruction by Adrian, there were not from Christs death aboue an 104. yeares, which happened in the 18. yeare of the raigne of the Emperour Adrian; the first destruction was according to the saying of our Sauiour, within the memorie of that generation, then liuing.

2. Lyranus and Paulus Burgens. thinke that the citie was taken by the Romanes about 42. yeares after the death of Christ: but it cannot be so much, as shall afterward be shewed by the computation of the yeares of the Emperours. Pintus also concurreth with Lyranus, counting 38. yeares and an halfe from the ende of the halfe of the 70. weeke, that is, 3. yeares and an halfe, which he reckoneth after Christs passion to the destruction of Ierusalem.

3. But Iunius commeth more yeares too short, then these doe ouershoote: he maketh it but 36. yeares from the passion of Christ, to the destruction of the citie: annotat. in 9. Dan.

4. Iosephus Scaliger holding that Christ suffered in the 35. yeare of his age, whereas he commonly is held to hauehave suffered in the 33. yeare, bringeth Christs passion nearer by two yeares to the destruction of the citie, then the ordinarie account is: and so he must make the time 38. yeares or thereabout, from the death of Christ to the ruine of the citie.

5. M. Lydyat bringeth Christs passion within 34. yeares of the finall ouerthrow and destruction p. 349of the citie by the Romanes: for he setteth Christs passion in the yeare of the world 4040. or in the 22. yeare of Tiberius, and the destruction of the citie in the 4074. yeare: the reason of which alteration is, for that he maketh the passion of Christ to hauehave beene 4. yeares later, then vsuall; namely, in the 22. yeare of Tiberius: whereas our blessed Sauiour is commonly held to hauehave suffered in the 18. yeare of Tiberius: see this opinion examined before, qu. 69.

6. But the iust time was 40. yeares, as may be shewed by a threefold computation. 1. by the distance of the Olympiads. 2. by the yeares of the Emperours. 3. by the yeares of the kings of Iudea the Herodians.

1. Christ is held to hauehave suffered in the 4. yeare of the 202. Olympiad: and the destruction of the citie fell into the 4. yeare of the 212. Olympiad: which distance maketh iust 40. yeares. Perer. Bulling.

2. The yeares of the Emperours are thus counted: Tiberius raigned in all 23. Christ then suffering in his 18. yeare, there remained 5. yeares more: then Caligula raigned 4. Claudius 14. Nero 14. Galba, Otho, Vitellius, 1. Vespasian 2. these summes make 40. years: Bulling. But the precise and exact reckoning is this, as Eusebius in his Chronicle setteth them downe: All these yeares, with the moneths and daies, beeing summed together, 18. years beeing diducted of Tiberius raigne, will make 40. yeares and summe odde daies.

3. The third reckoning is by the yeares of the Herodians, whose whole time from the beginning of the raigne of Herod the great, to the ende of their gouernment at the destruction of Ierusalem, was 103. yeares: which is summed thus: Herod the great raigned 37. yeares, Archelaus 9. Herod the Tetrarch 24. Herod Agrippa 7. Agrippa the sonne of Agrippa 26. Oecolampad. Now of this account 63. yeares must be cut off for the raigne of Herod, in whose 30. complete, and 31. begunne, Christ was borne, as is shewed before qu. 67. and for the yeares of our blessed Sauiours life, who died in his 33. yeare, and the remainder is 40.

7. Iulius Africanus exceedeth the rest, in counting 43. yeares from the death of Christ, which he placeth in the 15. yeare of Tiberius, to the ruine of the citie: but herein was his error, he held that Christ died in his 30. or 31. yeare.

76. Quest. Why mention is made of the destruction of Ierusalem here, seeing it is without the compasse of the 70. weekes.

1. One reason hereof is, because Daniel was desirous to vnderstand what should befall his citie in time to come, the Angel doth satisfie his full desire, and as he had told him of the reedifying of the Temple and citie, so he also foretelleth of the finall ende and dissolution of both.

2. An other cause is, that after the Angel had shewed him that the Messiah should be slaine, then further, that it might appeare, what an hainous sinne this was, the destruction of the citie is sore shewed to follow, as a iust punishment for so great a wickednes: Perer. so also Lyranus: quia hoc factum fuit in poenam mortis Christi, because this was done for a punishment because of the death of Christ, it is immediatly mentioned, though it fell not out within the 70. weekes. Here then are two reasons shewed of the destruction of the citie, the slaying of the Messiah, and the vtter reiecting of him, Polan.

3. A third reason, why mention is here made of this desolation is, to make the Iewes inexcusable: that seeing they hauehave found all this to be true by their wofull experience here foreshewed by the Angel, that their citie is destroied vntounto this day because of their treacherie against the Messiah, their obstinate blindnes therein might appeare, that yet continue enemies vntounto the blessed Messiah and his holy Gospel. Perer.

77. Quest. Of the meaning of those words, v. 26. the ende thereof shall be with a flood, and vntounto the ende of the battell it shall be destroied, &c.

1. By this similitude of inundation, three things are signified, that it shall be, casus repentinus, ineluctabilis, vniuersalis, a sudden casualtie, ineuitable, and generall, Iun. in comment. p. 350like as a flood sweepeth all away before it, and spareth nothing; so none should be spared in this destruction. 2. Thereby also is signified the perfect desol…tion, that should be brought vponupon the citie: like as the ouerflowing of waters pulleth vp trees by the rootes, and ouerthroweth the very foundations of houses; so in this desolation, the citie should be made euen with the ground, and one stone should not be left vponupon an other, as our Sauiour foretold them, Luk. 19. 44. Bullinger. 3. Further, like as in inundations and ouerflowings, the waters still encrease, and swell more and more, so hereby is signified, that calamitates magis & magis increscebant, their calamities should more and more encrease: for still their state waxed worse and worse: they were afflicted by Pompey, but more by Crassus; and he was tolerable in respect of the gouernours which followed, Pontius Pilate, Albinus, Florus, who still were more cruell one then another, Oecolampad. 4. And in that it is said, vntounto the ende, or at the ende of the warre: thereby is vnderstood, that though the Iewes might sometime resist and put the Romanes to much trouble and businesse, yet in the ende they should preuaile, and make a finall desolation, Melancthon. 5. Thus the Scripture vseth by this similitude of invndations and ouerflowing of waters, to set forth the horrible wast and desolation that followeth vponupon cruell warre, as Isay. 8. 7. 8. the host of the king of Assur is described; he shall come vp vponupon all their riuers, and goe ouer all their bankes, and shall breake into Iudah, and ouerflowe and passe thorough, and shall come vp vntounto the necke, &c. And in the same manner, are the armies of the Babylonians described, Ierem. 47. 2. Polan.

Quest. 78. That the ende of the state of the Iewes, not of the Romanes, is here signified.

R. Salomon giueth this corrupt interpretation of this place, that in the ende of the last battell of Gog and Magog spoken of Ezek. 38. Messiah shall subdue the Romanes, and all other aduersaries to the Iewes, and then the citie and Temple shall be restored: But this is a corrupt glosse: 1. the next verse euidently sheweth, that this desolation is vnderstood of the Iewes, as is euident by the ceasing of the sacrifices there mentioned. 2. It is but a dreame, that their Messiah shall be a glorious temporall Prince, seeing the Angel here sheweth, that Messiah shall be slaine by them. 3. by Gog and Magog are vnderstood the Scythians and Sarmatians, and other people which ioyned with Antiochus against the Iewes, which battell was before the destruction of Ierusalem aboue 240. yeares. And that Magog signifieth the Scythians, this euidence there is, because the Scythians built a citie in Syria, which they called Magog, as witnesseth Plinie lib. 5. c. 23. Polan.

2. But whereas the Latine translator readeth, post finem belli, after the ende of the warre shall be the destruction: which reading if it were right, then the Rabbines sense is ouerthrowne, who saith their desolation shall but continue vntounto that warre: Lyranus to make good the Latine translation, saith there are two Hebrew words, which are verie like, foreign and foreign which he saith differ but in certaine points: the first signifieth, yet, and so in effect may be taken for after, as Ionas 3. 5. yet fourtie dayes, and Nini…h shall be destroyed, that is, after 40. dayes, which word is like to hauehave beene vsed here: sed postea mutata est punctatio per Iudaeos, but afterward the pointing was changed by the Iewes, &c. But Lyranus fayleth diuersely in this his defence of the vulgar Latine. 1. there is great difference betweene these two words, not in points onelyonly, but in letters: the word vsed in that place of Ionas consisteth of three letters, it hath va… in the middes, and cholem, but the other word which signifieth vntill, hath but two letters, with camets, and without cholem. 2. to imagine, that the Iewes hauehave altered points, and changed words in Scripture, is verie dangerous: for so should we hauehave no certaintie in Scripture: and beside, it is not like the Iewes would vse any such fraud, seeing that they hauehave in account the number of all the letters in the old Test… ment. 3. therefore retaining the best reading according to the originall, the cauills of the Iewes may be otherwise answered, as is set downe before.