Whether we are reading about a period of 7 years, as we do in Genesis 29:27-28, or about a period of 7 days as we do in Leviticus 12:5, can only be determined by examining the local context. In order to know which is in view, we have to read the local context. In this update of the original post, I will insert the text of each of these passages for your consideration.
"But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks,
as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her
purifying threescore and six days." (Leviticus 12:5)
as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her
purifying threescore and six days." (Leviticus 12:5)
Can you imagine a woman being considered 'unclean' for 14 years because her baby is a girl? Of course not, and as a result, we understand that the Hebrew word shabuwa in this verse means a period of seven days, not a period of seven years.
"Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service
which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years."
(Genesis 29:27)
which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years."
(Genesis 29:27)
In this verse we are actually told that the shabuwa in view is a seven-year period.
From these two passages we have now learned that the Hebrew word shabuwa can mean either a period of seven years or a period of seven days, depending on the local context.
It is commonly understood that, of the seventy weeks (shabuwa) of Daniel's ninth chapter; sixty nine weeks elapsed/concluded on the day of the triumphal entry of Yeshua (Jesus) into the city of Jerusalem. That is the day that He was hailed as the Messiah of Israel (Daniel 9:25). That day is usually referred to as Palm Sunday, and for convenience, that is what I will call it here.
The 70 periods of seven began with the edict made by the Persian King Cyrus commanding the Israelites to leave Babylon and return to their homes in the land of Canaan. Israel had been taken into captivity 70 years earlier when King Nebuchadnezzar sat on the throne of the empire.
At the beginning of chapter nine, Daniel informs us that he learned from the book of Jeremiah that the captivity of Israel was only supposed to last for a total of 70 years. He told the king of Babylon, and the king of Babylon made the decree that allowed Israel to return home.
I suspect that it helped a lot that Daniel was able to show the king a verse in the prophecy of Isaiah where he (Cyrus) was going to be used by the God of Israel to accomplish His purposes (Isaiah 45). It's a good thing that Daniel had been studying the Torah. And so the decree was issued. Israel was free to go.
Our specific interest will be in is the last four verses of the ninth chapter of Daniel, verse 24 through verse 27. In the last four verses of the chapter, God, through Gabriel told Daniel what He (God) was going to accomplish during the next SEVENTY SHABUWA. These accomplishments are listed in those four verses; the first six are in verse 24. We will consider them in great detail, one at a time.
Summary: God was going to accomplish seven things over the period of seventy shabuwa that would begin when the Israelites were set free from Babylon.
No comments:
Post a Comment