Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 12:7

"And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." — Daniel 12:7 (ASV)

And I heard the man ... – That is, he replied to the question at once, and in a most solemn manner, as if he were communicating a great and momentous truth respecting the future.

When he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven – Toward heaven; as if appealing to heaven for the sincerity and truth of what he was about to utter. The act of swearing or taking an oath was often accompanied with the lifting up of the hand to heaven, usually the right hand (Exodus 6:8; Deuteronomy 32:40; Ezekiel 20:5; Revelation 10:5); but here the angel stretched both hands toward heaven, as if he were about to make the affirmation in the most solemn manner conceivable.

And sware by him that liveth for ever – By the eternal God. That is, he appealed to him: he made the solemn asseveration in his presence; he called him to witness to the truth of what he said. The occasion; the manner; the posture of the angel; the appeal to the Eternal One – all give great sublimity to this transaction, and all imply that the answer was to be one of great consequence in regard to future times.

That it shall be for a time, times, and an half – Margin, or, a part. The word חצי chătsı̂y means, properly, half, the half part, that which is divided (חצץ châtsats – to divide), s. c., in the middle. The word “times” means two times, for it is dual in its form, and the expression means three times, or periods, and a half. See the meaning of the language fully considered and explained in the notes at (Daniel 7:24–28). (See Editor’s Essay on Year-day Principle, prefixed to the vol. on Revelation.)

And when he shall have accomplished – When he shall have finished his purpose in the matter; when he shall have done all that he could do.

To scatter the power – All that constituted the power – their armies, means of defense, etc. The word rendered “power” (יד yâd) means, properly, hand, but it is sometimes used to denote a part of a thing – as a portion that we take up by the hand – a handful; that is, a part of a thing taken up at once in dividing – Gesenius, Lexicon (2 Kings 11:7; Genesis 47:24). In accordance with this, Gesenius, Lengerke, and De Wette suppose that the reference here is to the scattering of a portion or part of the Hebrew people in other lands, and to the hope that they would be restored again to their own country; and that the meaning of the angel is, that when these dispersions were ended, all this would have been accomplished.

The word has also the sense of power, might, strength (Gesenius, Lexicon), the hand being regarded as the seat of strength (Isaiah 28:2; Job 27:11; Psalms 76:5 (6)).

Thus employed, it may denote whatever constituted their strength; and then the idea in the passage before us is, that all this would be scattered. When that should have been done; when that dispersion should have been ended; when these scattered forces and people should have been again restored, then all this that was predicted would be accomplished, and these troubles cease. This would be in the period designated by the “a time, times, and an half.” If it refers to Antiochus, it means that the scattered forces and people of the Hebrews would be rallied under the Maccabees, and that on their return victory would crown their efforts, and the land would be again at peace.

If it has a higher and an ultimate signification, it would seem to imply that when the scattered Hebrew people should be gathered into the Christian church – when their dispersions and their wanderings should come to an end by their returning to the Messiah, and, under him, to the true God, then the series of predictions will have received their complete fulfillment – for then religion will triumph in the world, and the kingdom of God be set up over all the nations, agreeably to (Romans 11:15–25). In reference, then, to the meaning of the passage as used by the angel here, the following remarks may be made:

1. It had an applicability to the times of Antiochus, and to the duration of the calamities that would come upon the Hebrew people under his reign. If there had been nothing further intended than this, the mere language employed would have found a literal fulfillment in these events, and there can be no reasonable doubt that the primary reference of the angel was to them. See this point fully considered and illustrated in the notes at (Daniel 7:24–28).
2. Yet there are circumstances which lead us to suppose that, at the same time, and by the laws of prophetic suggestion (see Introduction to Isaiah, Section 7.), more important events were also referred to, and were designed to be connected with this statement. Those circumstances are
   1. the manner in which the angel introduces the subject – by a solemn appeal, with outstretched arms, to heaven. This would look as if he regarded the answer as of momentous importance, and as if he were contemplating vast movements in the future.
   2. The fact that the language here had a settled meaning – referring, as used, elsewhere, to future events deeply affecting the welfare of the world. The language is so couched, indeed, that it would express the fact in regard to the duration of the troubles under Antiochus; but it was also of such a nature that in its higher signification it would describe the duration of more momentous transactions, and would designate a period when the true religion would begin its universal reign; when the evils of a vast Anti-christian power would come to an end, and when the kingdom of the saints would be set up in the world. See the notes at (Daniel 7:24–28).
3. The full meaning of the language would then seem to be, that the angel designed to include all in the future to which those words, as intended by the Divine Spirit, would be applicable. The period designated by the phrase, “a time, and times, and an half,” was most momentous. In that time the troubles introduced by Antiochus would end, and a state of peace and prosperity would succeed; and in that time, also, far greater troubles and woes – those connected with a most fearful apostasy from the true religion, and the setting up of a kingdom of oppression and wrong over the people of God, of which the oppressions and wrongs under Antiochus would be but an emblem, would also come to an end, and there would be a state of peace – a reign of righteousness – a prevalence of religion – and a far-diffused happiness in the world, at which the joy at the dedication of the temple, and the triumphs over Antiochus, would be but a symbol. The ultimate reference, therefore, I suppose, is to the downfall of that great Anti-christian power, the Papacy, and the spread and triumphs of the true religion subsequent to that, and consequent on that in the world.

These were events that justified the solemn asseveration of the angel, and that made it proper for him, in referring to them, to stretch out both his hands in this sublime manner to heaven.