Daniel 9:1–9:19

Daniel 9:1-3 1. In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 1. Anno uno, id est, primo, Darii filii Assueri e semine Medorum, qui rex fuit constitutus, [78] in regno Chaldaico. 2. In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 2. In anno primo, inquam, [79] regni illius, ego Daniel intellexi in libris numerum annorum, de quibus fuerat sermo Jehovae, ad ad Jeremiam prophetam, [80] ad implendum desolationem Jerusalem annos septuaginta. 3. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 3. Et levavi faciem meam ad Dominum Deum, ut quaererem oratione et precationibus, [81] cum jejunio, sacco, et cinere. In this chapter Daniel will explain to us two things. First, how very ardently he was accustomed to pray when the time of redemption, specified by Jeremiah, drew nigh; and next, he will relate the answer he received from God to his earnest entreaties. These are the two divisions of this chapter. First, Daniel informs us how he prayed when he understood from books the number of the years. Whence we gather, that God does not here promise his children earthly blessings, but eternal life, and while they grow torpid and ease aside all care and spiritual concern, he urges them the more earnestly to prayer. For what benefit do God's promises confer on us, unless we embrace them by faith? But prayer is the chief exercise of faith. This observation of Daniel's is worthy of notice. He was stimulated to prayer because he knew from books the number of the years But I will defer the rest till to-morrow. Footnotes: [78] Verbally, was crowned, ie, was king. -- Calvin. [79] He repeats the words, the first year. -- Calvin. [80] Some translate the word vynty binthni, I was attentive, I diligently considered, but this is of little consequence as to the sense. -- Calvin. [81] Some take "prayers and supplications" for the accusative sense. -- Calvin. PRAYER. Grant, Almighty God, as in these days thou hast called us to a similar lot to that which the fathers under the Law formerly experienced, and as thou didst confirm them in patience, and arm them for constancy in warfare, and render them superior in all conflicts with Satan and the world. Grant, I pray thee, that we at this day, whom thou wishest to be joined to them, may become proficient in thy word. May we look forward to bearing the cross throughout our whole life. May we be prepared for the contest, and prefer miserable affliction under the standard of the cross, to spending a secure and luxurious life in our own enjoyments, and thus becoming deprived of that hope of victory which thou hast promised us, and whose fruit thou hast laid up for us in heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord. -- Amen.

In the first year of Darius the son of {a} Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the {b} realm of the Chaldeans; (a) Who was also called Astyages. (b) For Cyrus led with ambition, and went about wars in other countries, and therefore Darius had the title of the kingdom, even though Cyrus was king in effect.

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of Darius, — i.e., Of Darius Priseus, who, together with Cyrus the Persian, took Babylon, and with it the kingdom or monarchy of the Chaldeans, Daniel 5:31 by the consent of Cyrus, who married his daughter, and had the kingdom of Media with her for a dowry, after Darius’ death, as Xenophon Cyrop., lib. viii. testifieth. The son of Ahasuerus. — Called Cyaxares by the Greek historians. Both these names signify a great prince, an emperor; like as now we say the Great Turk, the Great Cham of Cacaia, …

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes,.... This is the same with Darius the Median, that took the kingdom after the death of Belshazzar; so called, to distinguish him from Darius the Persian; and yet Porphyry has the gall to assert that this was Darius the Persian, under whom the temple was built, that Daniel might appear to live later than he did: Ahasuerus, whose son he was, is not he that was the husband of Esther, and was many years later than this; but the same with Astyages king of the Medes, and who is called Ahasuerus, in the Apocrypha: "But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineve, which was taken by Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus: and before his death he rejoiced over Nineve.'' (Tobit 14:15) the father of Cyaxares, the same with this Darius, who was uncle to Cyrus that conquered Babylon, and made him king of it, and of the whole empire; for this was not the first year of his reign over Media, where he had reigned many years before, but over Chaldea, as follows: which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; by Cyrus his nephew; who having taken Babylon, and settled his affairs, undertook a journey to Persia, and made Media in his way; where he met with his uncle Cyaxares, the same with this Darius, and delivered the kingdom of Babylon to him, and married his daughter, with whom he had for her dowry the kingdom of Media, as Xenophon (y) relates. Now it was in the first year of his reign over the Chaldeans that Daniel had the following vision of the seventy weeks; which, according to Bishop Usher (z) and Mr. Whiston (a), was in the year of the world 3467 A.M. and 537 B.C. Dean Prideaux (b) places it in the year 538; and Mr. Bedford (c) in the year 536. (y) Cyropaedia, l. 8. c. 36. (z) Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3467. (a) Chronological Tables, cent. 10. (b) Connexion, &c. part 1. p. 125, 128. (c) Scripture Chronology, p. 711.

Daniel learned from the books of the prophets, especially from Jeremiah, that the desolation of Jerusalem would continue seventy years, which were drawing to a close. God's promises are to encourage our prayers, not to make them needless; and when we see the performance of them approaching, we should more earnestly plead them with God.

CHAPTER 9 Da 9:1-27. Daniel's Confession and Prayer for Jerusalem: Gabriel Comforts Him by the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks. The world powers here recede from view; Israel, and the salvation by Messiah promised to it, are the subject of revelation. Israel had naturally expected salvation at the end of the captivity. Daniel is therefore told, that, after the seventy years of the captivity, seventy times seven must elapse, and that even then Messiah would not come in glory as the Jews might through misunderstanding expect from the earlier prophets, but by dying would put away sin. This ninth chapter (Messianic prophecy) stands between the two visions of the Old Testament Antichrist, to comfort "the wise." In the interval between Antiochus and Christ, no further revelation was needed; therefore, as in the first part of the book, so in the second, Christ and Antichrist in connection are the theme. 1. first year of Darius—Cyaxares II, in whose name Cyrus, his nephew, son-in-law, and successor, took Babylon, 538 B.C. The date of this chapter is therefore 537 B.C., a year before Cyrus permitted the Jews to return from exile, and sixty-nine years after Daniel had been carried captive at the beginning of the captivity, 606 B.C. son of Ahasuerus—called Astyages by Xenophon. Ahasuerus was a name common to many of the kings of Medo-Persia. made king—The phrase implies that Darius owed the kingdom not to his own prowess, but to that of another, namely, Cyrus.Daniel, considering the time of the captivity, Daniel 9:1 ,2 , maketh confession of his people’s sins, Daniel 9:3-15 , and prayeth for the restoration of Jerusalem, Daniel 9:16-19 . Gabriel informeth him of the seventy weeks, and of the time and death of the Messiah, and of the succeeding troubles, Daniel 9:20-27 . In the first year of Darius; that is, immediately after the overthrow of the kingdom of Babylon, which was also the year of the Jews’ deliverance from their seventy years’ captivity; therefore punctually here set down. The Lord hath carefully recorded the several periods of time that relate to his church, and the signal providences both of mercy or judgment exercised towards it; for hereby God is glorified in the signal displaying of his attributes, and the saints’ graces exercised, especially faith and patience, by calling to mind what God hath done in time past, Psalm 77:5-7 . This Darius was not Darius the Persian, under whom the temple was built, as Porphyrius would have it, that thereby he might persuade unlearned men that Daniel lived long after the time that he did live in. Therefore this is called Darius the Mede, and by the Greeks called Cyaxares. Which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; and this is confirmed by Xenophon.

In the first year of Darius - See the notes at Daniel 5:31 , and Introuction to Daniel 6 Section II. The king here referred to under this name was Cyaxares II, who lived between Astyages and Cyrus, and in whom was the title of king. He was the immediate successor of Belshazzar, and was the predecessor of Cyrus, and was the first of the foreign princes that reigned over Babylon. On the reasons why he is called in Daniel Darius, and not Cyaxares, see the Introduction to Daniel 6 , Section II. Of course, as he preceded Cyrus, who gave the order to rebuild the temple Ezra 1:1 , this occurred before the close of the seventy years of the captivity. The son of Ahasuerus - Or the son of Astyages. See Introduction to Daniel 6 Section II. It was no unusual thing for the kings of the East to have several names, and one writer might refer to them under one name, and another under another. Of the seed of the Medes - Of the race of the Medes. See as above. Which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans - By conquest. He succeeded Belshazzar, and was the immediate predecessor of Cyrus. Cyaxares II ascended the throne of Media, according to the common chronology, 561 b.c. Babylon was taken by Cyrus, acting under the authority of Cyaxares, 538 b.c., and, of course, the reign of Cyaxares, or Darius, over Babylon commenced at that point, and that would be reckoned as the "first year" of his reign. He died 536 b.c., and Cyrus succeeded him; and as the order to rebuild the temple was in the first year of Cyrus, the time referred to in this chapter, when Daniel represents himself as meditating on the close of the captivity, and offering this prayer, cannot long have preceded that order. He had ascertained that the period of the captivity was near its close, and he naturally inquired in what way the restoration of the Jews to their own land was to be effected, and by what means the temple was to be rebuilt.