Daniel Chapter 9

Daniel Chapter 9

🔵Introduction

Daniel 9:1 It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians.

The historical identity of Darius the Mede is debated, but based on biblical chronology and historical records, scholars generally place the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede around 539–538 BC, which was ~12 years after the writing of Daniel 8. Uriah Smith and others from the 19th century who studied this history did not have some of the historical data that we have today. As a result, they thought chapter 9 was less than one year after chapter 8. This was one factor that led them to make connections between the two chapters that today seem very unlikely - specifically the 2300 days and the 70 weeks.

Daniel 9:2 During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord , as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.

From this, we see that Daniel was not only a prophet, but a scholar also who read the prophesies of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 25:11-12 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith Jehovah, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate for ever.

🔵Prayer and Fasting

Daniel 9:3-4 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap{sackcloth} and sprinkled myself with ashes. 4 I prayed to Jehovah my God{el-o-heem'} and confessed: “O Lord{ad-o-noy'}, you are a great and awesome God!{ʼêl} You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.

Here, we see that Daniel is praying to his God(el-o-heem'), who's name is Jehovah. And in the prayer, he refers to Jehovah by the name "ad-o-noy'" 11 times.
There is often confusion about the word "el-o-heem'". Here is a study on that => https://sidnash.org/t/Jehovah-Elohiym.php
Continuing now with Daniel's prayer to Jehovah =>

Daniel 9:5-14 But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations{ordinances}. 6 We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land. 7 “Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. 8 O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. 10 We have not obeyed Jehovah our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice. “So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. 12 You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. 13 Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from Jehovah our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. 14 Therefore, Jehovah has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. Jehovah our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.

Daniel 9:15-19 “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness. 16 In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors. 17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary. 18 “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy. 19 “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”

Regarding, "the city that bears your name", King Solomon quotes Jehovah: "Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there... I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there..."( 2 Chronicles 6:5-6 )

🔵Gabriel Arrives

Daniel 9:20-21 I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with Jehovah my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 While I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in vision at the beginning, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice.

When did Daniel last-see Gabriel in vision? It was in the previous chapter - starting in Daniel 8:16, when Gabriel explained the prophecy of the 2300 evenings and mornings. According to a previous study, the duration of that prophecy was not 2300 years, but rather it was literal "evenings and mornings".

Daniel 9:22-23 He{Gabriel} explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. 23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I have come to show you, for you are very precious to God. Consider the matter so that you can understand the vision.

Based on the Hebrew words and the context, it seems to me that Gabriel was saying something like this: "Consider what I will tell you now so you can better understand what you saw in the (2300) vision" of Daniel 8.

🔵Gabriel Prophecies

Daniel 9:24 A period of seventy weeks{490 days} has been decreed for your people{Daniel's people - Israel} and your holy city{Jerusalem} to finish transgression, to put an end to sins, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to close up the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy.

Gabriel said that the following six things will happen during the 490 day prophetic time frame:

finish the transgression
- What "transgression" are we referring to here?
make an end of sins
make reconciliation for iniquity
bring in everlasting righteousness
seal up the vision and prophecy
anoint the most Holy
- Daniel 8:12-14 "And the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt-offering through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered. 13 ... How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Daniel 9:25-27 Now listen and understand! Seven weeks plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One —comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times. 26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. 27 The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah ( Deut8:3; Matt4:4 )

-Sid Nash: 07/11/2025. Latest version: https://sidnash.org/docs/Dan9.html