Tanakh Prophecy
"From the command to restore Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince: seven weeks and sixty-two weeks."
Fulfillment
"Jesus began His ministry at about thirty years of age."
Rabbinic Sources
"The Seder Olam compresses Persian chronology by ~165 years to obscure Daniel's timeline."
Deep Dive: Daniel's 70 Weeks — 7 + 62 weeks to Messiah
Historical Context
The prophecy of Daniel's 70 Weeks, specifically Daniel 9:25, is situated within a critical juncture in Jewish history. Written during the Babylonian Exile, Daniel's prophecies are believed to have been composed in the 6th century BCE, a time when the Jewish people faced immense challenges following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. The text is traditionally attributed to the prophet Daniel, who was taken captive to Babylon and served within the royal court, providing a unique perspective on the events of his time.
Daniel 9 specifically is a prayer of confession and supplication, where Daniel seeks to understand the fate of his people and the timeline for their redemption. The prophecy is directed towards the Jewish people, offering a glimpse into God's divine plan for the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. Archaeological evidence, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, confirms the existence and significance of the Book of Daniel in the Second Temple period, affirming its central role in shaping Jewish eschatological expectations.
Textual Analysis
The phrase "From the command to restore Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince" in Daniel 9:25 is pivotal for understanding the timeline of messianic expectation. The Hebrew word for "command" (מִצְוָה, mitzvah) implies a royal edict, indicating that a significant decree would initiate the countdown to the arrival of the Messiah.
The terms "weeks" (שָׁבוּעַ, shavua) are often interpreted as "sevens," suggesting a period of seven years, leading to a total of 69 weeks or 483 years. This interpretation is supported by the Septuagint and the Vulgate, which use the term "weeks" to denote a period of years, although some translations may render it as "sevens" or "weeks" without clarity on the duration.
The phrase "Messiah the Prince" (מָשִׁיחַ נָגִיד, Mashiach Nagid) carries significant weight. The term "Messiah" (מָשִׁיחַ) refers to the anointed one, a title imbued with royal implications, while "Prince" (נָגִיד) suggests a leader or ruler. This combination underscores the expectation of a political and spiritual leader who would emerge following the specified time frame.
Fulfillment Evidence
Two Millennia of Adversary Positions
9 eras of objections to this prophecy, with primary sources and Messianic corrections.
Seder Olam Rabbah
Timeline Points to Bar Kokhba, Not Jesus
Seder Olam Rabbah, a 2nd-century CE rabbinic text, compresses the Persian historical period from its actual length of over 200 years to just 52 years. This chronological revision shifts the endpoint of Daniel's 490-year prophecy away from the time of Jesus. Instead, this altered timeline was used to suggest that the prophecy culminated with the destruction of the Second Temple and the subsequent Bar Kokhba revolt, which some rabbis of the time, like Rabbi Akiva, endorsed as a messianic event.
Seder Olam Rabbah
Timeline Artificially Shortened to Discredit Jesus Fulfillment
The rabbinic chronicle Seder Olam Rabbah, in an attempt to calculate the date of the Second Temple's destruction according to Daniel 9, radically compresses the Persian period from over 200 years down to just 52. This chronological alteration shifts the prophecy's endpoint away from the time of Jesus and aligns it with the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE (which Seder Olam dates to 68 CE), suggesting the prophecy was about the Temple's destruction, not a personal Messiah.
Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki)
Weeks Point to Cyrus and Agrippa, Not a Single Messiah
"From the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks... From the declaration of Cyrus until the anointed one, the prince. This was Zerubbabel... And sixty-two weeks... and after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off... who is Agrippa, the king of Judea, who was ruling at the time of the destruction, shall be cut off and have nothing."
Rashi interprets the 'seven weeks' and 'sixty-two weeks' as separate, non-contiguous periods pointing to different figures. He identifies the 'anointed one' after seven weeks as either Zerubbabel or the High Priest Joshua. The 'anointed one' who is 'cut off' after the sixty-two weeks is identified as King Agrippa II, the last king of Judea, who was deposed around the time of the Second Temple's destruction in 70 CE.
Rashi
Anointed Ones are Cyrus and Agrippa, Not Jesus
"until the anointed one, the prince: That is Cyrus... And after the sixty-two weeks, the anointed one will be cut off: This is Agrippa, the king of Judea, who was ruling at the time of the destruction."
Rashi interprets the prophecy's key figures as Jewish national leaders other than Jesus. He identifies the first 'anointed one' in verse 25 as King Cyrus of Persia, who decreed the Temple's rebuilding. He then identifies the 'anointed one' who is 'cut off' in verse 26 as Agrippa II, the last king of Judea before the Temple's destruction, thus containing the entire prophecy within events central to the Second Temple period and disconnecting it from Jesus.
Abraham Ibn Ezra
Anointed Prince is Nehemiah or Another Second Temple Figure
"until an anointed prince: This is Zerubbabel. Others say that it is the high priest Joshua. And the correct interpretation in my opinion is that it is Nehemiah, for the meaning of 'prince' (nagid) is a governor."
Ibn Ezra argues that the prophecy refers entirely to events of the Second Temple period. He offers several candidates for the 'anointed prince,' including Zerubbabel and the High Priest Joshua. However, he states his preferred interpretation is that the 'anointed prince' is Nehemiah, who as governor of Judea, fits the title 'nagid' (prince/leader).
Tovia Singer
Christian Translation Manipulates Hebrew Grammar
"The Hebrew text of Daniel 9:25 reads, '...until an anointed one, a prince, will be seven weeks; and for sixty-two weeks it will be rebuilt...' The Christian mistranslation deliberately moves the pause in the verse in order to have the 69-week messianic timetable terminate with the arrival of Jesus."
Tovia Singer argues that Christian translations intentionally alter the grammatical structure of Daniel 9:25 to create a continuous 69-week period. He points to the Masoretic accent mark (atnach), a major disjunctive accent, which falls after 'seven weeks.' This, he claims, separates the timeline into a 7-week period and a 62-week period, breaking the 483-year chain that Christians use to point to Jesus. The first 'anointed one' appears after 7 weeks (49 years), not 69 weeks.
Tovia Singer
Prophecy Fulfilled by Murder of High Priest Onias III
"The 'anointed one' who is 'cut off' in verse 26 is none other than the righteous high priest, Onias III, who was murdered in 170 B.C.E."
Tovia Singer, following a line of critical scholarship, argues that the prophecy is not about Jesus but about events in the 2nd century BCE. He identifies the 'anointed one' who is 'cut off' as the righteous Jewish High Priest, Onias III, who was assassinated around 170 BCE. This interpretation places the prophecy's fulfillment squarely in the context of the Maccabean crisis, long before the birth of Jesus.
IslamQA.info
Prophecy Fails Because Jesus Was Not Killed
"The Christians believe that the Messiah was killed, but the Qur’an states that this is false and is a lie... Based on this, it is not correct to interpret the seventy weeks as referring to the Messiah Jesus the son of Mary (peace be upon him), because he was not killed; rather he was taken up into heaven."
From an Islamic perspective, the prophecy cannot apply to Jesus ('Isa) because the Qur'an states that he was not crucified or killed, but was saved by Allah and raised to heaven. Since Daniel 9:26 says the 'anointed one will be cut off,' and Islam denies this event happened to Jesus, the prophecy must refer to someone else or its meaning is misunderstood. The core of the objection is theological, based on the Qur'an's contradiction of the biblical account of Jesus's death.
Chabad.org (Rabbi Nissan Dovid Dubov)
Anointed Prince is Cyrus at the Start of the 70 Weeks
"The first period of seven 'weeks' (49 years) refers to the period of exile following the destruction of the First Temple... 'From the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem until the Anointed Prince' refers to the 49 years from the destruction of Jerusalem until the declaration by Cyrus, the 'anointed' of G-d, permitting the Jews to return to Israel."
Presenting a modern iteration of traditional rabbinic thought, Chabad.org explains that the 'anointed prince' is Cyrus the Great. The timeline begins with the destruction of the First Temple, and the first 7 weeks (49 years) culminate in Cyrus's declaration allowing the Jews to return. The subsequent 62 weeks then cover the duration of the Second Temple era, ending with its destruction.