"Seventy-Sevens Are Decreed" : A Canonical Approach to Daniel 9:24–27

Few passages in the Old Testament are as enigmatic as Daniel 9:24-27.

It makes sense, therefore, that a myriad of interpretations surround these four verses.

Expanding on Brevard Childs’s brief work on Daniel, Haydon responds to this question with a canonical approach to Dan 9:24-27: reading a text that is shaped to include future generations of faithful interpreters.

The first part lays the groundwork for a canonical approach.

Whereas most biblical scholars read Daniel 9 through the lens of historical- and composition-critical tools, Childs and his readers frame the chapter within the larger theological message of the book.

The second section is an interpretation of 9:24-27 in its canonical context, doing exegetical and theological work in tandem. Daniel 9:24-27 is, of course, an apocalyptic text leading the reader through the Antiochene crisis and beyond.

The theology of the chapter, however, asks us to look back to the Law and the Prophets: Leviticus 25-26 and Jeremiah 25-29 are integral to Daniel 9.

Traditions begun in the preceding corpora—rest, sin-debt, and kingdom (Lev 26:34-35; Jer 25:10-12, 29:10-14)—find their culmination in Dan 9:24-27.

Haydon’s study brings these texts to bear on the “seventy sevens” in Daniel 9:24.

After a careful study of the phrase’s background, we discover that the construction refers to more than a number or even a single event.

This time-image points to a larger pattern of rulership wherein leaders rise and fall (vv. 25-26), while the Ancient of Days remains the true King.

Ambiguity also plays a part: Daniel 9:24-27 lacks historical detail for a reason—namely, to create an interpretive space that a faith community can occupy.

The final form of Dan 9:24-27 is a theological construct allowing multiple generations to live in expectation of God’s rule.

A biblical theology of Daniel 9:24-27, moving into the New Testament and contemporary Christian reception, concludes Haydon’s study.