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sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and for the meaning of the verb, Ez. xxii. 15 ('consume'). So the Heb. marg. (Qre), Aq., Pesh., Vulg. The Heb. text (K'tib) and Theod. have to seal up (Dnn for D), which is explained (in agreement with restrain in the last clause), as meaning partly to preclude from activity, partly to preclude from forgiveness (cf. Job xiv. 17): but this explanation is forced; and the Qre yields here a meaning in better harmony with the context.

and to cancel iniquity] The verb kipper means originally, as seems to be shewn by Arabic, to cover; in Hebrew, however, it is never used of literal covering, but always in a moral application, viz. either of covering the face of (i.e. appeasing1) an offended person, or of screening an offence or an offender. When, as here, the reference is to sin or iniquity, the meaning differs, according as the subject is the priest, or God: in the former case the meaning is to cover or screen the sinner by means (usually) of a propitiatory sacrifice2, and it is then generally rendered make atonement or reconciliation for (as Lev. iv. 20, 26, 31); in the latter case it means to treat as covered, to pardon or cancel, without any reference to a propitiatory rite, as Jer. xviii. 23; Ps. lxv. 3, lxxviii. 38, lxxix. 9 (A.V. to purge away or forgive). Here no subject is mentioned: it would most naturally (as in the case of the other infinitives) be God; moreover, when, in the ritual laws, the subject is the priest, the object of the verb is never, as here, the guilt. The rendering of R.V. marg. ('to purge away'), though somewhat of a paraphrase, is thus preferable to that of A. V.

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everlasting righteousness] The expression does not occur elsewhere. In thought, however, Is. xlv. 17, 'Israel is saved through Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be put to shame, and ye shall not be confounded, for ever and ever,' lx. 21, Thy people shall be all of them righteous, for ever shall they inherit the land,' are similar. The general sense of the four clauses, of which this is the last, is that the Messianic age is to be marked by the abolition and forgiveness of sin, and by perpetual righteousness. It thus expresses in a compendious form the teaching of such passages as Is. iv. 3 f. (the survivors of the judgement to be all holy), xxxii. 16, 17 (righteousness the mark of the ideal future), xxxiii. 24 ('the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity'), Ez. xxxvi. 25-27; Is. xlv. 17, lx. 21.

and to seal vision and prophet] i.e. to set the seal to them, to ratify and confirm the prophets' predictions, the figure (cf. John iii. 33, vi. 27) being derived from the custom of affixing a seal to a document, in order to guarantee its genuineness (Jer. xxxii. 10, 11, 44). The close of the 70 weeks will bring with it the confirmation of the prophetic utterances (such as those just quoted) respecting a blissful future.

A.V., R.V., 'seal up,' means to close up, preclude from activity, the

1 See Gen. xxxii. 20 [Heb. 21]; and cf. Prov. xvi. 14 ('pacify').

2 Occasionally without one, as Ex. xxx. 15, 16, Num. xvi. 46 f., xxv. 13.

3 See more fully the note in the writer's Deuteronomy, p. 425 f.; or the art. PROPITIATION in Hastings' Dict. of the Bible.

prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know there- 25 fore and understand, that from the going forth of the

sense of the expression, upon this view, being supposed to be that, prophecies being fulfilled, prophet and vision will be needed no more.

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and to anoint a most holy] 'most holy' or 'holy of holies' (lit. holiness of holinesses) is an expression belonging to the priestly terminology and is variously applied. It is used of the altar of burntoffering (Ex. xxix. 37, and the altar shall be most holy,' xl. 10), of the altar of incense (Ex. xxx. 10), of the Tent of meeting, with the vessels belonging to it (ib. vv. 26—29; cf. Num. iv. 4, 19, Ez. xliv. 13); of the sacred incense (ib. v. 36), of the shew-bread (Lev. xxiv. 9), of the meal-offering (Lev. ii. 3, 10, vi. 17, x. 12), of the flesh of the sin- and guilt-offering (Lev. vi. 17, 25, vii. 1, 6, x. 17, xiv. 13, Num. xviii. 9; cf. Lev. xxi. 22, Ez. xlii. 13, Ezr. ii. 63, 2 Ch. xxxi. 14); of things ' devoted to Jehovah (Lev. xxvii. 28); of the entire Temple, with the territory belonging to it, in Ezekiel's vision (Ez. xliii. 12, xlv. 3, xlviii. 12); and once (perhaps) of the priests (1 Ch. xxiii. 13), And Aaron was separated, to sanctify him as (a thing) most holy1, him and his sons for ever, to burn incense, &c.': 'the holy of holies,' or 'the most holy (place),' is also the name, in particular, of the inmost part of the Tent of meeting, and of the Temple, in which the ark was (Ex. xxvi. 33, and frequently). As no object is called in particular a most holy (thing),' general considerations, viewed in the light of the context, can alone determine what is here intended. A material object, rather than a person, is certainly most naturally denoted by the expression, and most probably either the altar of burnt-offering (which was in particular desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes), or the Temple generally, is what is meant. The term anoint is used both of the altar of burnt-offering in particular, and of the Tent of meeting and vessels belonging to it in general, in Ex. xxix. 36, and xxx. 26-28 (cf. xl. 9-11; Lev. viii. 10, 11; Num. vii. 1, 10, 84, 88),-each time immediately preceding the passages quoted above for the use in the same connexion of the term 'most holy.' The consecration of a temple in the Messianic age (cf. Is. lx. 7; Ez. xl. ff.) is, no doubt, what is intended by the words.

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25-27. The 70 weeks are now broken up into three periods of 7, 62, and 1 week, respectively; and the events by which each of these periods is to be marked are signalized.

25.

The 7 weeks and the following 62 weeks.

understand] R. V. discern,—the Hebrew word being the same as that rendered have discernment in v. 13 (R.V.), and different from the one rendered understand in vv. 2, 23.

II.

the going forth of the word] cf. (for the expression) v. 23, Is. lv. The reference is to the Divine word spoken by Jeremiah (Jer.

1 The words ought however, perhaps, to be rendered (cf. A.V., R.V.) 'that he should sanctify that which was most holy, he and his sons for ever,'-the reference being to the sanctuary and sacred vessels (cf. Ex. xxx. 29), and to the various sacrifices mentioned above.

commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall,

xxx. 18, xxxi. 38f.), the meaning of whose predictions is here interpreted (cf. v. 2).

to restore] lit. to cause to return or bring back, often used of exiles (as Jer. xii. 15), but not used elsewhere of restoring (i.e. rebuilding) a city. To repeople (in for 1),―lit. to cause to sit, figuratively of a city, to cause to be inhabited,—is a plausible emendation (Bevan): cf. the same word in Is. xliv. 26 ('she shall be made to be inhabited, lit. be made to sit), Jer. xxx. 18 (see R.V. marg. : lit. shall sit), Ez. xxxvi. 33 (lit. cause the cities to sit, followed by and the waste places shall be builded').

unto an anointed one, a prince] The term 'anointed' is used most frequently in the O.T. of the theocratic ruler of Israel ('Jehovah's anointed,' 'his, my, anointed,' &c., 1 Sam. xii. 3, Ps. xviii. 50, &c., but never 'the anointed'); of the high-priest, Lev. iv. 3, 5, 16, vi. 22 ('the high-priest, the anointed one'), 2 Macc. i. 10; in a figurative sense also of Cyrus, as the agent commissioned by Jehovah for the restoration of His people, Is. xlv. 1, and of the patriarchs, Ps. cv. 15 ("Touch not mine anointed ones'). On the rend. of A.V., see further p. 144.

prince (7), properly one in front, leader, -is used (a) of the chief ruler of Israel, 1 Sam. ix. 16, x. I, xiii. 14 and frequently; (b) of a foreign ruler, Éz. xxviii. 2; (c) of some high official connected with the Temple, Jer. xx. I ('who was prince-overseer in the house of Jehovah'), 1 Ch. ix. 11, 2 Ch. xxxi. 18, xxxv. 8, Neh. xi. 11; (d) in the Chronicles, more generally, of a leader (1 Ch. ix. 20, xiii. 1, xxvii. 16), commander (2 Ch. xi. 11), or superintendent (1 Ch. xxvi. 24, 2 Ch. xxxi. 12). The anointed one, the prince,' who is here meant, is apparently (see more fully below) Cyrus (Is. xlv. 1), who is called in Is. xlv. 1 Jehovah's 'anointed,' and who, it is said in Is. xliv. 26, 28, xlv. 13, will give command for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, which is here, it will be observed, just the subject of the following clause. Grätz and Bevan, however, suppose that Jeshua, son of Jozadak, the first high-priest after the restoration (Ezr. iii. 2; Hag. i. 1; Zech. iii. 1), is intended. The date would suit in either case: the prophecies contained in Jer. xxx.xxxi. were delivered probably shortly before the fall of Jerusalem, about B.C. 587, and 49 years from 587 would be 538, which was just the date of the capture of Babylon by Cyrus. Jeshua is mentioned among those who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (Ezr. ii. 2).

shall be seven weeks: and for threescore and two weeks it shall be built again, (with) broad place and moat (?); and that, in strait of times] so, according to the Heb. interpunction, in manifest agreement with what the sense requires. Seven weeks are to elapse from the 'word' commanding the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the 'anointed one, the prince'; then it will be built again, as a complete city, with 'broad place' and moat (?), but in strait of times,-with allusion, viz. to the subject, and sometimes oppressed, condition of Jerusalem from B.C. 538

even in troublous times. And after threescore and two 26 weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and

:

to 171 (comp. for the earlier part of the period Ezr. iv., Neh. vi., ix. 37) Jerusalem would, indeed, be rebuilt, after the restoration in 538, with material completeness, but would not until long afterwards enjoy the splendour and independence which the prophets had promised (e.g. Is. lx.). A 'broad place,' or as we might say 'a square,' was a standing feature in an Eastern city: see in A.V. Jer. v. i, and in R.V. 2 Ch. xxix. 4, xxxii. 6, Ezr. x. 9 (one before the Temple), Neh. viii. 1, 3, 16, --unhappily, in A.V. nearly always1, and even in R.V. often, misrendered street, and so confused with something entirely different. The word rendered 'moat' does not occur elsewhere in the O.T.: the root signifies to cut, make incisions, and in the Mishna almost the same word is used of a trench in a field or vineyard. Whether these facts justify the definite sense of moat is, perhaps, questionable, especially as 'walls' and 'towers' are more commonly mentioned in connexion with the defences of Jerusalem. Prof. Bevan, following the Pesh., suggests the plausible emendation, 'broad place and street' ( for ), two words often found in parallelism: see in A.V. Jer. v. 1; in R.V. Prov. i. 20, vii. 12, Is. xv. 3; also Cant. iii. 2, Am. v. 16, Nah. ii. 4 (here, badly, broad way's). Whether, however, the text be altered or not, the general sense remains the same: Jerusalem will be rebuilt with the usual material completeness of an Eastern city; but will not enjoy political ease and freedom.

in strait of times] For the expression cf. Is. xxxiii. 6, ‘stability (i.e. security) of thy times' for 'times,' also, 1 Ch. xxix. 30.

26, 27. The 70th week (B.C. 171 to 164).

26.

And after the threescore and two weeks shall an anointed one be cut off, and shall have no......] The 'anointed one' cannot be the same as the 'anointed one' of v. 25; for he lives 62 'weeks' (i.e. 434 years) after him. The language is intentionally allusive and ambiguous. The term 'anointed' (see on v. 25) is used sometimes of the high-priest; and the reference, it seems, is here to Onias III. Onias III. was highpriest till B.C. 175, when he was superseded by his brother Jason, who by the offer of 440 talents of silver purchased the office from Antiochus for himself (2 Macc. iv. 7-9). Jason held office for three years, at the end of which time a certain Menelaus, whom he had employed as his agent to carry the 440 talents to the king, took advantage of the occasion to secure the high-priesthood for himself by offering Antiochus 300 talents more. The money promised by Menelaus not being paid, he was summoned before the king. When he arrived he found Antiochus absent in Cilicia and a courtier named Andronicus representing him at Antioch. Menelaus, anxious to secure Andronicus's favour, presented him with some golden vessels which he had stolen from the Temple. Onias, who was in the neighbourhood, hearing of what he had done, rebuked him sharply for his sacrilege; and Menelaus, resenting

1 As Gen. xix. 2; Deut. xiii. 16; 2 Sam. xxi. 12 (see R.V. marg.); Jer. ix. 21; Lam. ii. 11, 12; Zech. viii. 4, 5.

the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the

the rebuke, prevailed upon Andronicus to assassinate Onias. Antiochus, upon his return home, was vexed with what had occurred, and (according to 2 Macc.) had Andronicus put to death at the very spot at which he had murdered Onias (2 Macc. iv. 7-9, 23—38). The assassination of one who was the lawful high-priest was an occurrence which might well be singled out for mention in the prophecy; and how the godly character of Onias, and his unjust end, impressed the Jews, appears from what is said of him in 2 Macc. iii. 1, 2, iv. 2, 35-37, xv. 121. On the chronological difficulty involved in the verse, see below, p. 146 f. and, shall have no..... ....] The clause is difficult; though the same text (1) was perhaps already read (but rendered incorrectly) by the LXX. (kal ouk orai), and is distinctly implied by Aq., Symm., and the Pesh. The rendering and shall have nothing' may be defended by Ex. xxii. 3 [Heb. 2], though, it is true, the 'thing' lacking is there more easily supplied from the context than is the case here; but the sense obtained is not very satisfactory, and the sentence (in the Heb.) reads also incompletely; we should have expected, 'and shall have no [helper],'-as Grätz would actually read, comparing xi. 45,or '[successor],' or '[seed],' or something of the kind. Still, if the text be sound, this, it seems, must be the meaning: the anointed one,' when he is 'cut off,' will have nought, i.e. he will be left with nothing, -no name, no house, no legitimate successor. (LXX. and be no more, would be the correct rendering of '; but this reading is suspiciously easy.) The rendering of A.V., but not for himself,' is an impossible one: N is not a synonym of, but always includes the substantive verb, 'there is not,' was not,' 'shall not be' (the tense being supplied according to the context).

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the people of a prince that shall come] viz. against the land, the verb being used in the same hostile sense which it has in i. 1, xi. 13, 16, 21, 40, 41. The allusion is to the soldiery of Antiochus Epiphanes, who set Jerusalem on fire, and pulled down many of the houses and fortifications, so that the inhabitants took flight, and the city could be described as being 'without inhabitant, like a wilderness' (1 Macc. i. 31, 32, 38,

1 This account of the end of Onias III. is accepted generally by historians (e.g. Ewald, v. 295; Schürer2, i. 152; Grätz ii. 2, 303): but 2 Macc. (which alone records it) is known to contain much that is not historical; and Josephus not only does not mention the assassination of Onias, but, while he sometimes (Ant. XII. ix. 7, XIII. iii. 1-3, XX. x.) speaks of Onias' son as fleeing to Egypt, and founding there the temple at Leontopolis, elsewhere (B. 7. 1. i. 1, VII. x, 2-3) says that Onias himself, after Antiochus attack upon Jerusalem in 170 (Introduction, p. xliii.), fled to Egypt, and founded the temple at Leontopolis (cf. Bäthgen, ZATW, 1886, pp. 278-282). On these and some other grounds, Wellhausen (Gött. Gel. Anz. 1895, pp. 950-6; Isr. u. Füd. Gesch.3, 1897, pp. 244-7), partly following Willrich (Juden u. Griechen vor der Makkab. Erhebung, 1895, pp. 77-90), regards the account of Onias' murder in 2 Macc. as apocryphal: see, however, on the other side, Büchler, Die Tobiaden u. die Oniaden (1899), pp. 106-124, 240 f., 275 f., 353-6, whose conclusion on this subject has the weighty support of the historian Niese, Gött. Gel. Anz. 1900, p. 196. If Wellhausen's view is correct, the reference in this verse of Dan. will be to the cessation of the legitimate high-priesthood, when Jason was superseded by the Benjaminite (2 Macc. iv. 23, cf. iii. 4; Büchler, p. 14) Menelaus.

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