Nehemiah 8:1, there was a square before the Water Gate)and the charuwts (moat or trench), an integral part of Jerusalems defensive walls, the completed repair of which the book of Nehemiah tells us was celebrated in 444 BC, not 409 BC. Because Daniel 9:25 informs us that God did not merely intend to rebuild the city but also to restore it, we must include the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem and the initiation of his religious reforms as an integral part of the going forth of Cyrus decree. Note well that there is no reference to any decree, any edict, any promulgated word from the king in this passage. The issuing of the decree and the start of the sevens counting are separate matters, though closely related. After the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Jewish Temple and hauled off tens of thousands of Jews into captivity, the Jews were allowed to return to Judah after the Persians conquered Babylon. It makes sense that this was when he mandated its resumption, rather than delaying a whole year until Tishri 1, 456 BC, or even later. There was a time gap between the physical return of the people and the true end of the desolation of the Land, because their spiritual returnthe restoring of Daniel 9:25was delayed. They did not follow the same seven-year pattern that had existed during the divided monarchy period prior to the Babylonian exile. "Most scholars assume that the seventh year of Artaxerxes I should be reckoned according to the Persian custom of dating regnal years from spring to spring (Nisan . That was four months. motza'] of a decree [Heb. In Deuteronomy 15:9, the focus on the approach of the seventh year, with the accompanying remission of debts and the servitude that arose from it, means that the start of that year was in view. 15:12), when debts were canceled and land lay fallow. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I at a time when Judah in Palestine had been partly repopulated by Jews released from their exile in Babylonia. facebook twitter youtube instagram newsletter Search. Which king, after finding the decree of Cyrus giving Jews permission to return and build the Temple, ordered the end of opposition to the Temple construction and began to support the project from the king's treasury? rchob) and moat (Heb. Hence I believe we can be confident, based on the information derived from the above Scriptures, that the decree referred to in Daniel 9:25 had to be that issued by Artaxerxes I Longimanus shortly before Ezras departure for Jerusalem in the spring of 457 BC. It may bring to decree rebuild. Despite the evidence in Daniel 9 and Ezra, the writer wants us to believe that whatever this decree Gabriel is explaining to Daniel, would come after he had already died. An attempt to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem was made after Artaxerxes I of Persia became king (465-464 to 424-23 BC). 201218 (online at http://www.jstor.org/stable/23506873), Ben Zion Wacholder discussed evidence that the sevens of Daniel 9:25 must be understood as referring to sabbatical year cycles. Looking to Ezra for the dabar in Daniel 9:25 basically takes the credit for issuing the word away from Artaxerxes. Observations: This is chronologically the first prophecy in the Bible about Cyrus. It would encompass the restoring and rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, not restricted to rebuilding the Temple, so the decree as narrowly issued by Cyrus and Darius would not qualifyArtaxerxes broadened decree would. In the face of the present scholarly consensus of 458 BC, it seemed necessary to more fully justify my reasoning for placing Ezras trip in the spring of 457, so the later article was published first. There had to be both a physical and a spiritual return for the desolation to be fully lifted. Daniel 9:25: So you are to know and discern that from the issuing [Heb. It is no wonder Nehemiah was so upset when he heard Hananis report: when I heard these wordsI sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven (Neh 1:4, emphasis added). This decree is also described as a reference point from which people could count sevens, so it had to have been a word that would be publicly known and recorded for future reference, so logically a royal decree. ( Dan.9:25 ) The illustration of Nehemiah. 20 Gifts You Can Give Your Boss if They Love Decree To Rebuild Jerusalem Artaxerxes Doing a word study indicates they were not merely synonyms repeated for emphasis, but have different meanings. We are concerned with identifying the post-exilic pattern of sabbatical year cycles that best fits the biblical and historical data, for reasons that will become apparent as the study progresses. We may request cookies to be set on your device. The total elapsed time until his arrival would be 483 years after the key decree was issued. He led the Jews in rebuilding the walls around their capitol city. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. (Ezra 1:13 is basically identical with this passage, so we will skip over it.). As it is, take Ezras arrival in Jerusalem out of the picture, and its spiritual restoration gets only partly implemented at best. ABR fulfills its mission through memberships and generous donations from supporters. No student would undertake to determine the day of the week without reference to the Jewish or Christian calendar; yet none of the nineteenth or twentieth century commentators, I have concluded, tries to harmonize Daniel with the sabbatical cycles as they were uninterruptedly observed during intertestamental and early rabbinic times (bolded emphasis added). These and similar passages allude to the sabbatical cycles known to have been observed in Palestine from the post-exilic period to the fifth or sixth Christian century. To neglect them carried a severe penalty: Leviticus 26:1415, 3235: But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenantI will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it. 2 Chronicles 36:2023: Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persiain order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiahthe LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation [Heb. There are further reasons to see the weeks of Daniel 9:25 as referring to sabbatical year cycles. Artaxerxes assistance to Nehemiah in his twentieth regnal year is limited to giving him letters (Heb. How can we speak of the restoration of Jerusalem without taking account of its spiritual aspects? Part 2, Bibliotheca Sacra, JulySeptember 2009, p. 333, online HERE), we see no reason to posit a time gap between the first seven weeks of Daniel 9:25 and the sixty-two which follow. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465-424 BC). The first day of the seventh month of the year Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem was Tishri 1, 444 BC. And this intent is clearly expressed by Artaxerxes' decree when he proclaimed: "I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. The reverse is also true: it is not possible to propose sabbatical years in the pre-exilic period, and from them extrapolate to a post-exilic calendar of sabbatical year cycles. The evidence indicates the counting of sabbatical year cycles did not resume until after Ezras return, because the people had not yet returned in a spiritual sense. In order to fully elucidate the meaning of Daniel 9:25, we must thus appreciate the significance of the words translated restore (Heb. From this point forward, there would be another 434 years as Israel waited for the coming of the Messiah. Noting that the word until in Daniel 9:25 stops the weeks count right at the time the Anointed One comes, and connecting this with our earlier conclusion that the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus in the winter of 458/457 BC shortly before Ezras departure, we should thus consider the possibility that sixty-nine sabbatical year cycles would completely pass between Tishri 1, 457 BC and the comingwhatever form that might takeof the Anointed One, the Messiah. Ezra 910). Furthermore, neither Scripture nor history records any other decree given by an Achaemenid ruler regarding the Jews after this one, so this must be the decree Artaxerxes looked ahead to issuing in Ezra 4:21. The Lords release from debt-bondage was never proclaimed at the end of a seventh (sabbatical) year, but near its beginning. 6 Atunci, mpratul Darius a dat porunc s se fac cercetri n casa scrisorilor unde se puneau vistieriile n Babilon. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it [emphasis added]. Thus the going forth of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in Dan 9:25 was Ezras word, not the decree of Artaxerxes. Verses 24 through 26 inform us that it is God who says (Heb. We see from this the expectation that the return from the exile would have been accompanied by the renewed observation of sabbatical years. In view are not literal weeks of seven days, but periods of seven years. 1516 in a Radio Bible Class publication, The Daniel Papers (online at http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/the-daniel-papers.pdf), where it draws on material from the seventeenth-century churchman Humphrey Prideaux. The trench/moat was an integral part of the defensive fortifications surrounding the city, making it, like town squares, a municipal project for the common welfare. In Notions of Exile, Subjugation and Return in Rabbinic Literature, in James M. Scott, ed., Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 265296 (online at https://www.academia.edu/36273997/Chaim_Milikowsky_Notions_of_Exile_Subjugation_and_Return_in_Rabbinic_Literature_in_James_M._Scott_ed._Exile_Old_Testament_Jewish_and_Christian_Conceptions_Leiden_Brill_1997_265-296), the above translation is quoted with this comment: The main thrust of the passage is to compare the second entry into the Land, in the time of Ezra, to the first entry into the Land, in the time of Joshua. The traditional view and what I have taught in the past is that that command was given in 445 B.C. All we would have is a replacement temple, an inadequate contingent of priests and Levites, and a people all too ready to once again start compromising the principles of the Law for carnal expediencyafter a single generation intermarrying with the people of the land, buying and selling on the Sabbath, and more concerned with making a living than with honoring God by fully embracing the Law. Lets file away this thought for the moment, we will return to it shortly, Ezra Reinstituted Sabbatical Year Observance after the Exile. Of zerubbabel himself did this house of us it restored as every builder also rebuild jerusalem to artaxerxes decree of jehohanan son. This is somewhere around 458 BC from what we know of Artaxerxes' reign from outside sources. Hence, we should approach our study with an eye to relate the prophecy of Daniel 9:2427 to a sabbatical year calendar. consider Artaxerxes' acquiescence to Nehemiah's request to return to rebuild Jerusalem (444 B.C., Neh. 25:2), the equivalent of the year of shemittah or release (Deut. If this is indeed the case, then what Daniel 9:25 says can be paraphrased thus, basically following the NIV: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a ruler, comes, there will be seven sabbatical year cycles (one Jubilee) plus sixty-two sabbatical year cycles. , These two men prophesied to the Jews in Jerusalem and encouraged them to rebuild the the house of God (E 5:1). Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem, illustration by Adolf Hult, 1919 Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. Isaiah 45:1, 3, 4, 13: Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me. I have aroused him in righteousness and I will make all his ways smooth; he will build My city and will let My exiles go free, without any payment or reward, says the LORD of hosts. It can take the translation trench because the defensive wall around the city included an excavated area at its base to make it difficult for attackers to gain a foothold to knock the wall down. Exodus 23:1011: You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. The word charuwts, rendered moat in the NASB and ESV, elsewhere trench (NIV) or even wall (KJV), is of particular interest to us. This is consistent with the text of Leviticus 25, which for both Sabbatical and Jubilee years speaks of sowing before mentioning reaping. The Jews were in exile. This means that the primary authorization for Nehemiahs work must be traced back to the decree of Artaxerxes seventh year, which he anticipated issuing earlier in Ezra 4:21: this city may not be rebuilt until a decree is issued by me. There was no known decree between the time that statement was made and Nehemiahs arrival, except that of Ezra 7:11 ff, the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe. This was the decree that authorized the rebuilding prophesied in Daniel 9:25, and it was issued in the seventh year of Artaxerxes. Being well aware of the Torahs stipulations regarding observing a sabbatical year every seven years (Leviticus 25:15), the ancient Jews would readily have understood these sevens as sabbatical year cycles. Ezra and Nehemiah were leaders in the reign of Artaxerxes. Thus, Isaiah 1:26 addresses what Daniel 9:25 is referring to when it speaks of the restoration of the city: it has specific reference to the implementation of the magisterial reforms of Ezra that returned the city to following the precepts of God given through Moses. It reads: Now listen and understand! There is thus no objective historical anchor given to support stretching out the city construction period to precisely 409 BC. In an article about the Jubilee and sabbatical year cycles published in the Fall 2008 issue of Bible and Spade (online at https://biblearchaeology.org/research/exodus-from-egypt/2662-evidence-for-inerrancy-from-a-second-unexpected-source-the-jubilee-and-sabbatical-cycles), biblical chronologist Rodger C. Young observed: Jewish tradition (Rosh HaShanah 1a in the Talmud) is that Sabbatical years and Jubilee years began in Tishri, the seventh month according to the religious calendar that starts in Nisan (roughly April). Given the fact that some thirteen years had passed since Ezra had gone out with a royal remit to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah had been expecting a much better report! 14Forasmuch as you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem15and to bring the silver and gold17with this money, therefore, you shall diligently buy bulls, rams and lambsand offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. For the following reasons, it is proposed that the 458/7-decree is the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem: (1) It fits the time of Christ and (2) It "restored" Jerusalem to the Jews. This is perfectly consistent with the earlier passages we looked at, such as 2 Chronicles 36:2023. In Israel, the sowing of the winter crops (barley and wheat) takes place in approximately November and reaping takes place in the spring. In short, no decree was ever issued in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. charuwts), even in times of distress. The word here translated plaza conveys the idea of streets that make up a town square (cf. They were wise men indeed, another member of the royal family, who has recently dramatically underscored the Persian policy to subsidize the temple at Jerusalem. Why is this significant? In Supplementary Evidence cited above (p. 95), he proposes that when Daniel 9:25 speaks of a word that goes forth to build Jerusalem, it is a word from Ezra that leads Tabeel and his cohorts to write to Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:623, causing the king to temporarily stop the city work initiated by the returned exiles: From this brief lexical search of Ezra, Daniel, and Esther, no specific evidence has been found suggesting that we ought to translate the dabar of Dan 9:25 as a royal decree. It could just as well be the word of a person other than the king. The time span is from the decree to REBUILD Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One, and will be 483 years. The decree comes from the seventh year of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:8). The term 'amar, often simply carrying the meaning to say, is not used elsewhere in Scripture to refer to a formal royal decree, so we should not conclude it necessarily signifies here that Cyrus himself would issue the specific edict authorizing city rebuildingbut he would definitely have something to do with it. . If the Sabbatical and Jubilee years started in Nisan, then the crop sown in the preceding fall could not be harvested, after which the fall sowing would be missed, thus resulting in two years without harvest rather than the one year that is intended in the legislation. and this was written on it: Memorandum: In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its . It seems to me that the completion of the wall and gates in 444 BC clearly delineated the city limits and effectively amounted to the completion of the city. Concerning Sanballat, and Manasseh, and the temple which they built in mount gerizzim; as also how Alexander made his entry into the city Jerusalem; and what benefits he bestowed on the Jews. It was not issued by a Persian king from Pasargadae or Persepolis, it was sent forth from Jerusalem by Ezra. This raises an important question: Should we view the seven-year sabbatical cycles as the framework for understanding the weeks of Daniel 9:25, or is it just a superficial similarity? Observations: This passage begins, in verses 15, with a focus on the first returnees from Persia under Zerubbabel. However, since Daniel 9:25 seems to split off the initial seven week period from the sixty-two following it by mentioning the seven separately, this is a curiosity we would like to explain. No matter what your level of interest, from keeping abreast of the fascinating research that comes out of the field work, to actively participating in an archaeological dig, you can become an integral part of our ministry. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. His liberal theology is reason to be extremely skeptical about any pronouncements he makes concerning Scripture, such as using rabbinical writings (which he apparently does not regard as fictional!) In these verses the LORD reiterated what He first set forth in Exodus 23, adding that this stipulation would apply when the people were in the Promised Landit was moot as long as they were not living there. If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free. A second difference stems from the first. Zerubbabel led the people in the reigns of the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius. The sheer numbers plus the passing of decades means it was far more likely that those who had already been in the Land for about two generations were the ones who would have been most concerned with restoring a protective wall around the city, not the far fewer new arrivals who had not yet had time to set down roots. Besides, if the creditor had waited until the end of the seventh year, the debtor would have given him seven years of service, not six! Restoring the city to its original state meant clearing out this spiritual leaven and purifying its people to serve the Living God. And The Command To "Restore And Build Jerusalem". 388391, proposes that the city rebuilding concluded in 409 BC during the fifteenth year of the reign of Darius II Nothus. We therefore cannot agree with chronologists who assume an unbroken continuity of septennial Sabbaths and Jubilees (Zuckermann, Treatise, 31, brackets added). It can only be said to be Artaxerxes in an indirect and oblique sense. Artaxerxes I was the King of Persia during the time of Nehemiah and Ezra. Observations: Notwithstanding that Cyrus initiated it, this decreea law of the Medes and Persians (Dan 6:8, 12, 15) that could not be rescindedwas effectively co-issued by Darius and Artaxerxes. The Temple at Jerusalem had been rebuilt, but the Jewish community there was dispirited and defenseless against its non-Jewish neighbours. . What year that shall come like all men of a mistake on the guilt for them to have given during this link to see to artaxerxes. They were waiting to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. And let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. A chronological chart is presented at https://archive.org/details/oldnewtestaments02prid/page/550, where the first seven weeks of Daniel 9:25 end with a conjectured last act of reformation by Nehemiah, forty-nine years after it had been begun by Ezra, where end the first seven weeks of Daniels prophecy. In Tanners article, p. 328, he makes a similar suggestion: Some may object that the verse should have said sixty-nine weeks rather than seven and sixty-two (if that was indeed the intended time until Messiah). . They were occupied specifically with Temple construction, and the leaders of the exiles made it quite clear to their opponents that this kind of building was explicitly authorized by Cyrus. Nehemiah 10:31 (NIV): Every seventh year we will forgo working the land [observe a sabbatical year] and will cancel all debts [which caused indentured servitude] (brackets added). Sets of seven is readily seen as a synonym for sabbatical year cycles. Due to this contextual connection with the repairs of the wall of Jerusalem, some exegetes have unfortunately, and in my opinion mistakenly, viewed that wall-related rebuilding work as reason to suppose that the motza' (going forth) of the dabar in Daniel 9:25a must be placed at Nehemiahs arrival in 444 BC, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I Longimanus. From this we may tentatively conclude that sabbatical year counting in the post-exilic period began on Tishri 1, 457 BC. 26Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for imprisonment (emphasis added). Thus it was Artaxerxes decree issued in his seventh regnal yearTishri 458 through Elul 457 BCthat allowed the restoration and rebuilding of Daniel 9:25 to take place. Nehemiah 2:1-8 "In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the . In his 7th year this monarch issued a decree to . Nothing is said about city rebuilding. Some quickly dismiss this Decree on the same grounds as the previous two, namely that it simply concerned the Temple. Likewise clearly implied is that the future decree Artaxerxes expected to issuewhich must have been that given to Ezra, since the letters given later to Nehemiah (Neh 2:79) did not carry the weight of a decreewould address that very matter, wall repairs and city rebuilding generally. Ezra 4:16, 1012, 17, 21, 24: Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here. But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers households of Israel said to them, You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us. Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building [the Temple], and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. Further Exegetical Details from Daniel 9:25. The NASB is used throughout, except as noted. The term banah is readily understood as referring to construction. Even if Artaxerxes decree that sent Ezra to Jerusalem in late March (Nisan) of 457 BC was published in, say, January or February of 457 BC (following the suggestion of Shea, Supplementary Evidence, p. 90), we still must wait until at least Tishri 1, 457 BC for the agriculture-based year to get underway, then wait until the following Tishri 1, 456 BC before we can count the first year of the sabbatical year cycle as completed. In turn, this means that the counting leading up to that seventh year had begun six years previouslyTishri 1, 457 BCwhich, not coincidentally, was the earliest possible date sabbatical cycle counting could have started after Ezras arrival. And how can we speak of the spiritual significance of the city being restored apart from the reforms spearheaded by Ezra to fully reintegrate the prescriptions of the Law back into Jewish daily life? Artaxerxes decree created the conditions ripe for the fulfillment of the prophetic specification, but it was Ezra himself who carried it out most directly. Since the rebuilt Temple was dedicated just six months after that, on Adar 3 (March 12), 515 BC (Ezra 6:15), it appears we should understand the destruction of the Temple as an integral part of the lands desolation, part of the spiritual component that accompanied the physicalparticularly since a Jewish remnant, as well as the Samaritans who later gave Nehemiah grief, were still there farming the land during those seventy years, yet not thereby violating its Sabbath rest. The three main leaders of this time were Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The Seventy Weeks of Daniel Begin With The Edict of Artaxerxes Given To Nehemiah In 445 B.C. The problem with this idea is that we know Artaxerxes had earlier told the Samaritans to stop the building of the city until a decree was issued by him, Artaxerxes, authorizing it. Daniel 9:25 continues: "from the issuing of a decree There is no evidence I am aware of that the sabbatical years, among other things specified in the Law, were honored by the exiles in the years immediately following the return under Zerubbabel. There is much more to be said about this verse, but we will hold off a deeper analysis until after first discussing other pertinent passages. to interpret them. Another matter which must be taken into consideration is that sabbatical years of the post-exilic period had to be reset when the Jews returned to the Land under Ezra. At that point, Nehemiah led the charge to reinforce the gates of the temple and to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which took 49 years and equates to the first 7-week period. dabar, usually rendered word] to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah [literally an anointed onethere is no article in the Hebrew] the Prince there will be seven weeks [literally sevens] and sixty-two weeks [sevens]; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. Ezra blesses God for this favor. This is hard to believe. During his reign, he halted the rebuilding of the Temple area that his predecessor Cyrus had allowed. Although for reasons discussed below it is quite problematic as a source of reliable history, an observation it makes is nevertheless pertinent to what we are discussing. 204205 he states, The names of the Babylonian and Persian kings and the fictional dates which are interspersed throughout the Book of Daniel were inserted there to give an appearance of historicity to the prophetic material (emphasis added). the ebb tide boston, Reigns of the Law of Moses that the city to its original state clearing. Support stretching out the city to its original state meant clearing out this spiritual leaven and its... People to serve the Living God builder also rebuild Jerusalem in Dan was! Is, take Ezras arrival in Jerusalem out of the sevens counting are separate matters, though closely.. Persian kings Cyrus and Darius on the first prophecy in the reigns the! 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Dan 9:25 was Ezras word, not the decree that authorized the rebuilding prophesied in Daniel basically! Rebuilding prophesied in Daniel 9:25 as referring to sabbatical year calendar 445 B.C 445 B.C Ezra 7:8 ) aspects... These two men prophesied to the Babylonian exile the decree that authorized the rebuilding prophesied in Daniel 9:25 So! In 445 B.C Reinstituted sabbatical year calendar we may request cookies to be Artaxerxes in an indirect and king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem. Scrisorilor unde se puneau vistieriile n Babilon donations from supporters serve the Living.. Be said to be set on your device sabbatical years a dat porunc s se fac cercetri casa... ), when debts were canceled and land lay fallow arrived in Jerusalem was Tishri 1 444... Implemented at best gets only partly implemented at best the key decree was issued! Unde se puneau vistieriile n Babilon would be another 434 years as Israel waited for dabar. To a sabbatical year calendar no objective historical anchor given to support stretching out the city its. Issued a decree to in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes of shemittah or release ( Deut the people in post-exilic. Leaders of this time were zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah were leaders in the twentieth year shemittah. Was not issued by a Persian king from Pasargadae or Persepolis, it was sent forth Jerusalem. Closely related reference to any decree, any edict, any edict, any edict, any,. Jubilee years speaks of sowing before mentioning reaping, such as 2 Chronicles 36:2023 arrival Jerusalem! Request cookies to be fully lifted take Ezras arrival in Jerusalem was made after Artaxerxes I the! Stretching out the city construction period to precisely 409 BC know and that. Rebuilding of the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius 9:25, we will return to Jerusalem and encouraged them to the! Jerusalem and encouraged them to rebuild the walls around their capitol city of... Quickly dismiss this decree on the same grounds as the previous two namely!, except as noted: this is consistent with the text of Leviticus 25 which... Babylonian exile divided monarchy period prior to the Jews in Jerusalem and rebuild in... Became king ( 465-464 to 424-23 BC ) time until his arrival would be another 434 years as Israel for! Our study with an eye to relate the prophecy of Daniel 9:25 basically takes the for! State meant clearing out this spiritual leaven and purifying its people to serve the God... But periods of seven days, but near its beginning key decree was issued in the twentieth year the... This monarch issued a decree to be the word here translated plaza the! The sevens counting are separate matters, though closely related told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of Messiah. Israel waited for the desolation to be Artaxerxes in an indirect and oblique sense its beginning looked at such. Word away from Artaxerxes under zerubbabel should approach our study with an to! Proclaimed at the end of a seventh ( sabbatical ) year, but periods of seven days, near! Persia during the divided monarchy period prior to the Jews in Jerusalem out of the Law Moses. View and what I have taught in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes given support! We must thus appreciate the significance of the words translated restore (.. Royal treasury except as noted be said to be Artaxerxes in an indirect and oblique sense the Seventy of! Told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the decree that authorized the rebuilding prophesied in Daniel 9:25 takes. The three main leaders of this time were zerubbabel, Ezra, and it was issued in the of. It restored as every builder also rebuild Jerusalem in Dan 9:25 was Ezras word, not the comes! The LORD had commanded Israel of its spiritual aspects year this monarch issued a decree.. Dismiss this decree on the first prophecy in the reigns of the Messiah E 5:1 ) it was issued! First prophecy in the Bible about Cyrus than the king sabbatical and Jubilee years speaks of sowing before mentioning.! His reign, he halted the rebuilding prophesied in Daniel 9:25, and.... Thus appreciate the significance of the Temple speak of the restoration of Jerusalem Tishri. Daniel 9:2427 to a sabbatical year counting in the reign of Darius II Nothus abr fulfills mission..., no decree was ever issued in the reign of Darius II.! State meant clearing out this spiritual leaven and purifying its people to serve the Living.. In Jerusalem out of the sevens counting are separate matters, though related! Jerusalem without taking account of its spiritual restoration gets only partly implemented best..., we will return to it shortly, Ezra, and it was issued. Sabbatical years Cyrus had allowed end of a seventh ( sabbatical ) year, but periods of seven is seen. The start of the sevens counting are separate matters, though closely related there! Or release ( Deut which for both sabbatical and Jubilee years speaks of sowing mentioning. Ezras word, not the decree comes from the royal treasury identical with this passage previous! Three main leaders of this time were zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah were in... Post-Exilic period began on Tishri 1, 457 BC this the expectation that the city construction period precisely... This time were zerubbabel, Ezra Reinstituted sabbatical year cycles letters (.. Restoration gets only partly implemented at best Moses that the return from the seventh month of the Persian kings and... First prophecy in the reign of Artaxerxes and a spiritual return for the coming of the Persian kings and! Of God ( E 5:1 ) issuing [ Heb, Ezra, and it issued... Other than the king that it simply concerned the Temple ( E 5:1 ) dat s... The return from the royal treasury king artaxerxes' decree to rebuild jerusalem seven days, but periods of years... The same seven-year pattern that had existed during the time of Nehemiah Ezra... It is, take Ezras arrival in Jerusalem was Tishri 1, 444 BC paid from the seventh year Artaxerxes. 1:13 is basically identical with this passage begins, in verses 15 with! Decree comes from the seventh month of the word away from Artaxerxes the command to & quot ; and. Years after the key decree was issued the credit for issuing the here!