Daniel 9:24–27 — the whole oracle, both ways
Daniel 9 — Two Readings, Side by Side
The same four verses point two completely different directions depending on who is reading. To the Messianic reader they map onto Jesus, 33 AD. To the critical / Maccabean reader they map onto Antiochus IV, 164 BC. Below: first the full Antiochus story, then every verse with its key phrases highlighted and each reader's interpretation set beside the other. Colors on the phrases match the colors in the interpretation rows.
Reader 1 — the Messianic reading
→ Jesus, 33 AD
Christian / traditional · Anderson, Hoehner
- Start: Artaxerxes' decree to Nehemiah to rebuild the city — 444 BC
- Weeks: 7 + 62 joined = 69 × 7 = 483 years (360-day years)
- Anointed one: Jesus the Messiah
- Endpoint: Palm Sunday / crucifixion, 33 AD; city & Temple fall to Rome, 70 AD
Reader 2 — the critical / Maccabean reading
→ Antiochus IV, 164 BC
Mainstream critical scholarship · Porphyry, Collins
- Start: God's word to Jeremiah about the exile — ~587 BC
- Weeks: 7 | 62 split (Masoretic accent); the 490 is symbolic, not literal
- Anointed ones: Cyrus (after 7 weeks) + Onias III (cut off)
- Endpoint: Antiochus desecrates the Temple; it is rededicated 164 BC (Hanukkah)
Highlight key — the phrases both readers fight over
the decree / word to rebuild
the 7, 62, 1 “weeks”
the anointed one / Messiah
“cut off”
destroy the city & sanctuary
sacrifice ceases / abomination
the six goals
Part 1 — The Whole Antiochus Story
To judge the critical reading fairly you have to know the history it points to. Here is the crisis that the critical reader believes Daniel 9 (and Daniel 11) is really about.
The setup: Judea, the football between two giants
When Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, his empire was carved up by his generals. Two of the resulting kingdoms mattered for the Jews:
- The Ptolemies — ruled Egypt (the “king of the South” in Daniel 11).
- The Seleucids — ruled Syria/Babylon (the “king of the North”).
Judea (Israel) sat right between them and was fought over for a century. Around 200 BC the Seleucid king Antiochus III won it from Egypt at the Battle of Panium. So the Jews came under Seleucid (northern) rule — which sets up the villain.
The villain: Antiochus IV “Epiphanes”
He seized the Seleucid throne in 175 BC (he was not the rightful heir — his nephew Demetrius was a hostage in Rome). He took the title “Epiphanes” = “God manifest.” His critics nicknamed him “Epimanes” = “the madman.” He was aggressively pro-Greek and wanted his whole empire culturally unified — one people, one Greek way of life. That ambition ran straight into the Jews.
The corruption of the priesthood — and a murder
The high priesthood in Jerusalem became something you could buy from Antiochus. A Hellenizer named Jason bought it, shoving aside the legitimate high priest Onias III. Then Menelaus outbid Jason. In the chaos, the rightful high priest Onias III was murdered (~171 BC) — this killing is the “anointed one cut off” in the critical reading.
The explosion: the desecration of the Temple (167 BC)
In 168 BC Antiochus was campaigning in Egypt when a Roman envoy, Popillius Laenas, intercepted him, drew a circle in the sand around him, and ordered him to withdraw before stepping out of it (the “Day of Eleusis” — the “ships of Kittim” of Daniel 11:30). Humiliated, Antiochus vented his rage on Jerusalem. In 167 BC he:
- Banned the daily Temple sacrifice.
- Outlawed the Torah, circumcision, and the Sabbath — on pain of death.
- Set up an altar to Zeus in the Temple and sacrificed a pig on it — the “abomination that makes desolate.”
- Brutally persecuted faithful Jews (the martyrdoms of 2 Maccabees 6–7).
The revolt & the rededication (167–164 BC)
A priest named Mattathias and his sons rose in revolt. His son Judas Maccabeus (“the Hammer”) led a guerrilla war and, in 164 BC, recaptured Jerusalem and cleansed and rededicated the Temple — the origin of Hanukkah (the Feast of Dedication). Antiochus IV died that same year, 164 BC, on campaign in Persia.
- 323 BCAlexander dies. His empire splits; Ptolemies (Egypt/South) & Seleucids (Syria/North) emerge.
- ~200 BCAntiochus III takes Judea from Egypt (Battle of Panium). Jews now under Seleucid rule.
- 175 BCAntiochus IV Epiphanes seizes the throne. Not the rightful heir; styles himself “God manifest.”
- 171 BCOnias III, the rightful high priest, is murdered. ← the critical reading's “anointed one cut off.”
- 168 BCDay of Eleusis. Rome's Popillius Laenas humiliates Antiochus in Egypt; he turns on Jerusalem.
- 167 BCThe desecration. Daily sacrifice banned; altar to Zeus + pig in the Temple = the “abomination of desolation.” Maccabean revolt begins.
- 164 BCTemple recaptured & rededicated by Judas Maccabeus (Hanukkah). Antiochus IV dies in Persia. ← the critical reading's endpoint.
Why this matters for Daniel 9: the critical reader sees this entire arc — corrupt priesthood → murder of Onias → banned sacrifice → Zeus-altar abomination → rededication — as the literal fulfillment of the “anointed one cut off,” the “covenant with many,” the “sacrifice caused to cease in the midst of the week,” and the “abomination that makes desolate.” The final 7-year week (171–164 BC) fits astonishingly well — the sacrifice is cut off at almost exactly the midpoint (167 BC). That tight fit is why this reading is taken seriously.
Part 2 — The Four Verses, Both Readings Side by Side
KJV text. Highlighted phrases are the contested ones; each interpretation row below is color-matched to the phrase it explains. Green = Messianic reader. Purple = critical reader.
DANIEL 9:24
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”
Reader 1 — Messianic → Jesus
Seventy weeks → 490 real years, the full clock from the decree to the completion of redemption.
The six goals → accomplished by Christ's atonement: sin ended, iniquity reconciled, everlasting righteousness brought in, prophecy sealed. Cosmic scope, not a local temple event. “Anoint the most Holy” = Christ himself, or the heavenly sanctuary.
Reader 2 — Critical → Antiochus
Seventy weeks → a symbolic 490 = ten Jubilee cycles (10×49, Lev 25–26). Not a literal count — a theology of “sabbath rest completed,” reworking Jeremiah's 70 years (9:2).
The six goals → the cleansing & re-dedication of the Temple after Antiochus — Hanukkah, 164 BC. “Anoint the most Holy” = re-consecrating the defiled altar.
DANIEL 9:25
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the 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, even in troublous times.”
Reader 1 — Messianic → Jesus
The commandment to build Jerusalem → Artaxerxes' decree to Nehemiah, 444 BC — the only decree about the city and walls (“street… wall”), not the Temple.
7 weeks + 62 weeks → joined = 69 weeks = 483 (360-day) years from 444 BC.
Messiah the Prince → Jesus, arriving on the last day of the 483 years — Palm Sunday, 33 AD.
Reader 2 — Critical → Antiochus
The word to restore Jerusalem → God's prophetic word to Jeremiah (~587 BC) — the chapter opens with it (9:2). Hebrew dabar = “word,” not a royal edict.
7 weeks | 62 weeks → split by the Masoretic accent (atnach). 7 weeks = 49 yrs (587→538 BC); then a separate 62 weeks.
An anointed one, a prince → after the 7 weeks → Cyrus (called God's mashiach, Isa 45:1) or high priest Joshua. No article — “an anointed one,” not “the Messiah.”
The two hinges in this one verse: (1) Which decree? Messianic = Nehemiah 444 BC (because Daniel says city/walls); Critical = Jeremiah's word 587 BC (because the chapter is about Jeremiah's prophecy). (2) Join or split the 7 and 62? The Masoretic accent supports the split (favoring the critical Cyrus reading); the join is needed for the single 69-week run to Jesus.
DANIEL 9:26
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
Reader 1 — Messianic → Jesus
Cut off, but not for himself → the crucifixion of Jesus, 33 AD — a substitutionary death (“not for himself” = for others).
Destroy the city and the sanctuary → Rome destroys Jerusalem AND the Temple in 70 AD — and crucially, this comes after the anointed is cut off. Order: death (33) → destruction (70).
Reader 2 — Critical → Antiochus
Cut off → the murder of high priest Onias III (~171 BC) — the second anointed one.
Destroy the city and the sanctuary → the depredations of Antiochus — his plundering and defiling of the Temple and attacks on Jerusalem (167 BC). (This is the reading's weak point — see below.)
This is the verse that decides it — and it favors the Messianic reading. The text says the anointed one is cut off and then “the people of the prince… destroy the city AND the sanctuary.” Antiochus never destroyed either one — he defiled the Temple, but it stood, was cleansed within three years, and Jerusalem was never leveled. The only power that actually destroyed both the city and the sanctuary, after an anointed one was killed, is Rome in 70 AD. That sequence (anointed killed → then city + temple destroyed) fits 33 AD → 70 AD and does not fit Antiochus, under whom the Temple was rescued, not destroyed.
DANIEL 9:27
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Reader 1 — Messianic → Jesus
Covenant with many, one week → the 70th (final) week. Two views: (a) Christ's new covenant, His death ending the sacrificial system “in the midst” (after a ~3.5-yr ministry); or (b) a still-future week (an Antichrist figure).
Sacrifice cease / abomination → the cross made Temple sacrifice obsolete; the “abomination” Jesus still pointed forward to (Matt 24:15) → 70 AD or the end. So Antiochus didn't exhaust it.
Reader 2 — Critical → Antiochus
Covenant with many, one week → the final 7 years (~171–164 BC). “Covenant with many” = the pact of the Hellenizing Jews with Antiochus (1 Macc 1:11).
Sacrifice cease “in the midst” → the banning of the daily sacrifice, 167 BC — almost exactly the midpoint of the 171–164 week. The abomination = the altar to Zeus. End of week = 164 BC rededication.
This is the verse that most favors the critical reading. The banned sacrifice + the idol-altar “abomination” (167–164 BC) is a real, tight fit for “cause the sacrifice to cease” + “abomination that makes desolate” — and the timing lands the cessation right at the middle of the final week. Any honest Messianic reader has to concede this is the strongest anchor the Antiochus view has. The Messianic reply is that Jesus, a century+ later, still spoke of “the abomination of desolation” as future (Matt 24:15), so Antiochus couldn't have exhausted the prophecy.
Part 3 — Where Each Reading Wins and Loses
| The clause | Messianic reader (Jesus, 33 AD) | Critical reader (Antiochus, 164 BC) |
|---|
| 9:24 six goals | Atonement — cosmic redemption. Fits the grand language. | Temple rededication. Fits a local temple event. |
| 9:25 the decree | Nehemiah 444 BC — matches “city/street/wall.” | Jeremiah 587 BC — matches the chapter's own setup (9:2) & “word.” |
| 9:25 7 & 62 weeks | Joined → exact date. Goes against the Masoretic accent. | Split → Cyrus at 49 yrs. Backed by the accent but the 62 weeks overshoot Antiochus by ~67 yrs. |
| 9:26a cut off | Crucifixion. “Not for himself” = substitution. | Onias III murdered. A real killing of an anointed priest. |
| 9:26b city + sanctuary destroyed | Rome, 70 AD — after the death. Order fits. | FAILS — Antiochus destroyed neither; Temple cleansed, city stood. |
| 9:27 sacrifice ceases + abomination | Cross / future; Jesus calls it still future (Matt 24:15). | Strong — 167 BC ban + Zeus altar, at the week's midpoint. |
| The arithmetic | Lands on an exact day — but needs 3 chosen moves (444 + 360-day yr + join). | Overshoots if literal — rescued only by calling the 490 “symbolic.” |
The honest bottom line. Verse 27 gives the Antiochus reading a genuine foothold — the halted sacrifice and idol-altar of 167 BC really do fit “sacrifice ceases” + “abomination.” But verse 26 breaks it: an anointed one is killed and then the city and the sanctuary are destroyed — which Antiochus never did, and which Rome did do in 70 AD, right after 33 AD. So read as a whole oracle, the passage runs past Antiochus toward a killing-then-destruction sequence that fits Jesus → Rome. Neither side gets a free lunch: the Messianic reader pays with three interpretive choices that aren't strictly forced; the critical reader pays by conceding the numbers are symbolic and by stumbling on 9:26. The strongest form of the Messianic case is therefore cumulative (the whole 9:24–27 shape) — not a single-verse knockout.
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