What Are the Seventy Sevens in Daniel 9?
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A newly minted children’s minister decides to begin a series in the book of Daniel. It seems like a great idea. After all, there are at least two great Veggie Tales flicks centering on stories from Daniel. Who doesn’t love the story of Rack, Shack, and Benny not bowing to idols? And how are we not inspired by the story of Daniel choosing the lion’s den over betraying God? The first few chapters of Daniel would make great children’s ministry sermons. But then it’d get more difficult.
The latter part of Daniel is…well…weird. He has dreams and visions of beasts and other creatures which correspond to world powers. He talks about events that will happen in his lifetime and in many years to come. He even talks about one angel getting held up in heavenly traffic having to fight another angel before he could get to Daniel. (Okay, there is no mention of traffic, but that is how it might read in our day.)
Then we come to Daniel 9 and it gets even more confusing. When is this referring to? What do all these numbers represent? Or, to answer our question today, what are the seventy sevens of Daniel 9? I’ll try to give you an answer and show you the significance of the meaning.
What Are the Seventy Sevens of Daniel 9?
If I say the 4th of July what comes to your mind? Fireworks, BBQ, Freedom, Patriotic celebrations...? What about 9/11? It brings back a particular event, doesn’t it? You think about the terrorism that destroyed the Twin Towers.
These are just a few numbers which attach themselves to important events in the history of our nation. But what if I went on a trip to Lithuania, or Cambodia, or Kenya and started talking about “the 4th” or “9/11” or started quoting Lincoln’s four score and seven? Or even a reader who is not from the US stumbles upon this article. You hear those numbers and do not immediately make those connections.
If you say “the 4th” in a place that has little to no knowledge of our national holiday, and if they understand our language, how are they going to understand “the 4th”? They will likely take it literally and perhaps be confused that we forgot to mention the first, second, or third of whatever this thing is we’re talking about.
The Bible has similar numbers which are packed with meaning. No, I’m not going into the weeds of gematria (assigning numerical value to letters, words, or phrases). But rather there are numbers which would trigger the same emotional connections to the story of their people. But we, removed from that story, start to grab our calculator and take it literally. I am convinced this is what is happening in Daniel 9:24-27, when it refers to the seventy sevens.
If we consider the context of Daniel 9, we’re right on the heels of a terrifying vision in Daniel 8. It is confirmed for Daniel that his people will have many terrifying days ahead. But in Daniel 9 he believes the time for exile might be up and so he prays. And he prays a mighty prayer of repentance. He is reassured of God’s love for him and then the angel Gabriel appears to give further comfort.
And then Gabriel gives Daniel the vision in the latter part of Daniel 9, where the seventy sevens (or seventy weeks) is found. That means, whatever we are reading here is meant to communicate love and care and concern for Daniel. The angel, then, will do this in a way that is familiar to the prophet.
The Significance of Numbers in Scripture
The exact meaning of this “seventy sevens” or “seventy weeks” has been debated for years. In fact, even in the early church there was some debate and confusion about what exactly is meant by Daniel. I won’t pretend to have all of the answers, but one thing I do know – these numbers would have done for Daniel and his original audience what they don’t do for us. It is their “4th of July” or “9/11”.
For a Jewish person, 430 years would have held significant meaning. So would 49 years. And maybe so would 490 years. 430 years would connect to the Exodus story. You mention that and it’s a bit like saying “what are you doing on the 4th?” It was something which they celebrated every year at Passover. They’d have their kids up on their knees, telling them the story of how for 430 years they were in Egyptian bondage as a people and how God rescued them. You hear “430” and you think “rescue.”
But 430 isn’t in our text. Another number is 49. Or rather 490. Consider Leviticus 25:8, “You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years.” And what happened at the end of that 49 years? Leviticus tells us,
“Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan” (Leviticus 25:9).
After 49 years, there is Jubilee. A return, going back, no longer being captive, no longer being in bondage. Now add to this the biblical idea of something being “tenfold” to show abundant blessing and what do we have? What might be happening in Daniel? It is a tenfold Jubilee. As Jim Hamilton says,
“Just as liberty was proclaimed in Israel in the year of Jubilee, at the ultimate tenfold jubilee the captives will go free, the land inheritance will be enjoyed and clan fellowship restored.” (Hamilton, With the Clouds of Heaven, 126)
That is tracking with what we see in verse 24 when the angel says, “…finish the transgression, put an end to sin, atone for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place...” Most of what you read there happens in the year of Jubilee. It’s the end of captivity, the end of exile. The debt has been paid; you’ve been bought back.
I am convinced that rather than giving us some end times calendar, this “seventy sevens” is meant to encourage Daniel and show him that a tenfold year of Jubilee is coming. And I believe that this is ultimately fulfilled through the gospel of Jesus Christ. But my view is not the only view out there. There are a few other ways which people interpret this verse. I’ll give you a few and then circle back to how I understand this verse.
Other Views of This Verse
There are many different views on what this seventy sevens could mean, but we might put them all under six major heads. The first view is the traditional messianic interpretation. This view holds that the final week is a reference to the ministry of Christ and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Jesus ultimately fulfills these seventy weeks.
Another popular view is the dispensationalist view. In this view there is a parenthesis between the 69th and 70th week. The first 69 weeks refer to the first coming of Christ and the 70th week is seen as the future seven-year tribulation period which culminates in the second coming of Christ. Almost the polar opposite of this view is the preterist view, which believes all of these events have already been fulfilled and relate to Jewish history, and likely terminated in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed.
The historical-critical interpretation views this as symbolic and figurative rather than a literal timeline. Many hold that the seventy weeks is symbolic of a complete period of judgment and restoration. Most in this camp will view the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean revolt to be the fulfillment of Daniel’s words here. Many of the proponents of this view are modern critical scholars.
Another view is that these words here by Daniel are typological and foreshadowing prophecy that has multiple fulfillments. It might have a fulfillment in Antiochus IV, another fulfillment in the ministry of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as a future fulfillment in the end times. This is an attractive view in that it blends the best of historical and futurist perspectives.
Finally, one might take a covenantal interpretation of this passage. It is somewhat similar to the Messianic view but here it is focused upon covenants. In this view the seventy weeks are seen as a complete period marking the culmination of God’s redemptive plan for Israel. The end of these weeks signals the establishment of the new covenant through the work of Christ.
What Is the Significance of This Verse?
Personally, I tend to fall somewhere among those who hold this to be a messianic interpretation, but I also have affinity with those who hold a typological understanding of the passage. As noted, I believe the seventy weeks is meant to give encouragement to Daniel. However we interpret this passage — whether we view it as being future or past — we know that it will ultimately point to the victory of Christ.
How might this bring encouragement to Daniel and to us?
We see in these verses talk of “putting an end to sin” and having our iniquity atoned for. This certainly points to the good news of the gospel. It is through this that our record of guilt is expunged. Christ has paid our penalty. Daniel wouldn’t have known or seen all of this fully, but he was able to trust in a God of mercy and know that someday all would be made well. Our sin would be finally and fully covered.
But it also spoke to their shame. The exile was a period marked by deep shame. Scripture says they were a laughingstock to the people around them. We might feel something similar today. We don’t like shame, we run from it, we hide it. But in the darkness this shame has a tendency to grow. The message of Daniel can help us to see that our shame is not definitive.
The gospel speaks here as well. “To bring an everlasting righteousness.” It’s giving you a new identity. Jesus takes our shame, swallows it up and gives us His identity. Where you once might have placed the banner, “there is something deeply wrong with me,” Christ writes the words, “you are deeply accepted.” He bore our shame, he enters into the shame, he conquers it.
There are six things Daniel mentions here and they are all connected to a year of Jubilee. They have been in exile, they are experiencing guilt, shame, and fear. Is there any way that God can forgive us? Is there any way that we can ever rise above this shame? Is there any way that God can ever restore us? Is there any way that God can rewrite our story, is flourishing no longer an option for us, can he heal?
Seventy sevens – a tenfold year of Jubilee – gives a definitive yes in Christ.
Photo credit: Unsplash/waldemar