Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 9
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Daniel 9
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Daniel 9
"In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans," — Daniel 9:1 (ASV)
On Darius the Mede see Excursus D.
Was made king. —The phrase corresponds with took the kingdom (Daniel 5:31), and shows that Darius was not king by his own right, but that he received his authority from another— i.e., Cyrus.
"in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years." — Daniel 9:2 (ASV)
Understood. He gave special attention to Jeremiah’s prophecy of the seventy years of the Captivity. Two passages occur in that prophet’s writings where the duration of the Captivity is mentioned (Jeremiah 25:11; Jeremiah 29:10), to the former of which Daniel refers (Daniel 9:11–12). It will be observed that there existed at this time a collection of sacred books, consisting of what had been already admitted into the Canon.
Seventy years. It appears from Haggai 1:2 and Zechariah 1:12 that considerable uncertainty prevailed as to the time from which the seventy years were to be reckoned. It has been pointed out (Professor Leathes’ Old Testament Prophecy, p. 179) that three periods of seventy years occur in connection with the Captivity:
- From B.C. 606, the date of Jeremiah’s prophecy, to B.C. 536, the edict of Cyrus.
- From B.C. 598, Jehoiachin’s captivity, to B.C. 528, the period of Ezra 4:6.
- From B.C. 588, the destruction of the Temple, to B.C. 518, the edict of Darius (Ezra 6:1).
In the first year of Cyrus, seventy years had elapsed since the captivity of Daniel, but to him it was a question of melancholy importance whether his computation had begun at the right date.
"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes." — Daniel 9:3 (ASV)
I set my face. — Compare Daniel 6:11. Probably he prayed, as on that occasion, with his face towards Jerusalem. The prayer of Daniel bears some resemblance to those offered by Ezra and Nehemiah, while that of Baruch resembles it much more closely. (On this see Excursus F.)
"And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments," — Daniel 9:4 (ASV)
The covenant: See Exodus 19:5.
"we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy precepts and from thine ordinances;" — Daniel 9:5 (ASV)
We have sinned.— It has been remarked that four stages of sin are pointed out by the prophet, corresponding to the four different words which he uses. “Sin” refers especially to sins of deed, “committing iniquity” to sins of word, “done wickedly” to sins of thought, “rebelled” implies the person against whom the sin has been committed. The whole result of sin under these several aspects is expressed by the words departing from Your precepts.
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