Discerning Daniel's Seventy Weeks?

Much research and writing have gone into calculating when Daniel's 70 weeks' prophecy¹ began unfolding — that is, “from the going forth of the commandment”:

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 (Old Testament | Daniel 9:25).

One researcher / writer, William Struse,² summarizes the four Persian possibilities of the Second Temple era³ as:

1. A decree by Cyrus (the Great) in his first year (2 Chronicles 36: 22) [536 B.C.]
2. A decree by Darius (the Great) Artaxerxes in his second year (Ezra 6: 7– 14) [520 B.C.]
3. A decree by “Artaxerxes” (Longimanus?) in his seventh year (Ezra 7) [458 B.C.]
4. A decree by “Artaxerxes” (Longimanus?) in his twentieth year (Nehemiah 2) [445 B.C.]

Struse considers them all in lengthy detail (pp. 41-110), but to cut straight to the conclusion, he rejects them all in favor of unacknowledged commands from the divine King of kings, rather than selecting the command of a mortal king. In testing and then rejecting the four Persian decrees, Struse reasons thus:

1. the meaning of the word command in Daniel 9:25 (Heb. dabar: speech, word, speaking, utterance, commandment) references God in the same manner as evidenced in Daniel 9:2, 12. and 23

2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word [dabar] of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem (Old Testament | Daniel 9:2)

12 And He hath confirmed His words [dabar], which He spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem (Old Testament | Daniel 9:12)

23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment [dabar] came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision (Old Testament | Daniel 9:23).

2. the “going forth of the commandment” (dabar) through Haggai and Zechariah:

14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and [even⁴] Artaxerxes king of Persia.
15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king (Old Testament | Ezra 6:14 - 15).

16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem (Old Testament | Zechariah 1:16)

Proposed Timeline: 

▪ Decree of Cyrus: 536 BC (2 Chr. 36:22, Ezra 1:1-3)
“Short-Lived Enthusiasm: Unfortunately the enthusiasm of Joshua the high priest, Zerubbabel the governor, and the other repatriated Israelite captives for building the temple didn’t last long. ... [T]he harassment of their enemies and their own personal interests caused them to abandon their efforts to rebuild the temple. For the next sixteen years Israel neglected the house of YHWH and instead expended their efforts on their own dwellings and on intermingling with the women of the surrounding nations.

“YHWH Intervenes: ... After such glorious beginnings under the decree of Cyrus, the dreams of the early Jewish repatriates were all but squelched. It had been nearly two decades and the temple was still not built, Jerusalem was defenseless, and the people lived scattered amongst their enemies in their own land. 
     “Then something changed. YHWH’s divine anger had run its course. In the fullness of His eternal plan, He set events in motion once again. At this pivotal point in Israel’s history, the word of YHWH went forth, and He commanded the people to “return and build Jerusalem”⁵:

   “In the second year of Darius the king [520 BC], in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word [dabar] of YHWH by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh YHWH of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that YHWH’s house should be built.
    “Then came the word [dabar] of YHWH by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith YHWH of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith YHWH of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith YHWH.
    “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith YHWH of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house . . .
    “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of YHWH their God, and the words [dabar] of Haggai the prophet, as YHWH their God had sent him, and the people did fear before YHWH. Then spake Haggai YHWH’s messenger in YHWH’s message unto the people, saying,
                           “I am with you, saith YHWH.
    “And YHWH stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of YHWH of hosts, their God, in the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king (Haggai 1: 1–15, bold emphasis by sms).

“Do we understand what we are reading? This is YHWH’s own commandment to return and build— clearly given and precisely dated! Thus begins one of the most important events in the history of the world. YHWH begins His countdown to the coming Messiah and mankind’s reconciliation to Himself. Here Haggai the prophet witnesses the “word” or dabar of YHWH, the living God of the Bible, commanding Israel to shuwb, to return (turn back) and build His sanctuary, the very heart of the city of Jerusalem. But YHWH wasn’t satisfied with giving His word to only one Old Testament prophet. Out of the mouth of two witnesses He confirmed his word.

“In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius [520 B.C.], came the word [dabar] of YHWH unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, YHWH hath been sore displeased with your fathers. Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith YHWH of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith YHWH of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith YHWH of hosts . . .

“Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word [dabar] of YHWH unto Zechariah . . .

“Then the angel of YHWH answered and said, O YHWH of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten [70] years? And YHWH answered the angel that talked with me with good words [dabar] and comfortable words [dabar]. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith YHWH of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

“Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

“Cry yet, saying, Thus saith YHWH of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and YHWH shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1: 1–17, emphasis [WS])”⁶

▪ God's Word to return and rebuild: 520 BC (Zechariah 1, Haggai 1, Ezra 6)
▪ Temple construction resumes: 520 BC (Ezra 6:7-14)
▪ 2nd Temple completed: 516 BC & dedicated 515 BC (Ezra 6 & 7)
▪ Ezra goes to Jerusalem: 515 BC (Ezra 7)
▪ Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem and completes the wall in 52 days: 501 BC (Nehemiah 2)

This is only a brief selection of Struse's analysis, so if understanding Daniel's prophecy interests you it might be profitable to read Struse's entire thesis and decide for yourself, but there is also one other correction(?) to consider in Daniel 9 — a variation observed by Berean Ron Bublitz in the ESV Bible translation.

“Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.”⁷

After his initial shock at the separation of the seven and sixty-two weeks into distinct, separate time periods, Bublitz writes:

This began the journey of research and discovery culminating in this book.   During the following flurry of research, I discovered why the ESV had translated the passage the way it had – and it was not wrong after all.   In addition, my research included such areas as the original Hebrew, the Aramaic Peshitta, traditional scholarly interpretations, textual criticism, chronology of the Babylonian Exile, the life of Jesus Christ, eclipses, astronomy, calendar systems and modern fulfilled prophecy with a brief stop in plant physiology.   I was overwhelmed at what began to take shape.   I want to share these amazing discoveries with you over the next pages.⁸ 

This blogger, SMS, has much yet to study in Struse, Bublitz, and others, but wishes to share these men's observations and insights for studying Daniel 9. They appear not to be aware of each other's work, (and therefore differ in their views), but between the two of them, we might be able to make progress in better understanding these last days; and perhaps the final, one week of:

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 (Old Testament | Daniel 9:27).

Let us all be Bereans.⁹

----------------------------/
1. Old Testament | Daniel 9:20 - 27 (Bold emphasis added.)
   20 ¶ And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
   21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
   22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
   23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
   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.
  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.
   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.
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.
2. Struse escribes himself as “a follower of Yeshua, a husband, father, author, and blogger. His writings reflect a life long interest in Biblical history and Bible prophecy. William is the author of two [now three] books on Bible prophecy and three novels. // He resides in the desert of Southern Arizona with his love, Winnie and their five children.” Also: “William’s books in the Prophecies & Patterns series are a labor of love provided free of charge to blog subscribers. These books take a unique look at Bible prophecy, Biblical history, and the Bible’s messianic symbolism in light of Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind.” https://www.the13thenumeration.com/
SMS note: I have read all three of his books but have yet to study and proof them in depth, so as always, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21) See also Bublitz, Ron. Hidden Rhythms in Prophecy: How Astronomical Cycles Interpret Prophecies in Daniel, Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Chapter 11 Who Gave the Command?) (p. 81+). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
3. Struse, William. Daniel's 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy (Prophecies & Patterns Book 2) (p. 58). PalmoniQuest LLC. Kindle Edition. (See also his charts at p. 59, 120, etc. for the dates.)
4. Ibid., pp. 81-84.
5. Ibid., p. 116.
6. Ibid.,  (pp. 117-118). 
7. ESV Old Testament | Daniel 9:25 (bold emphasis added by SMS).
8. Bublitz, Ron. Hidden Rhythms in Prophecy: How Astronomical Cycles Interpret Prophecies in Daniel, Jeremiah and Ezekiel (pp. 5-6). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
9. New Testament | Acts 17:11-12
   11 These [of Berea] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word [preached by Paul and Silas] with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
   12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.