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. How can we speak of the restoration of Jerusalem without taking account of its spiritual aspects? ( Dan.9:25 ) The illustration of Nehemiah. Daniel 9:25 states that the 'seventy weeks' (generally interpreted as 490 years according to the day-year principle) is to begin "from the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem," which is when the Persian king Artaxerxes I, gave the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to Ezra, so the 490 years point to the . In his article at https://biblearchaeology.org/research/exodus-from-egypt/2662-evidence-for-inerrancy-from-a-second-unexpected-source-the-jubilee-and-sabbatical-cycles, Rodger Young discussed how, when Scripture speaks of a Jubilee period, it uses inclusive reckoning, so we are to understand the Jubilees occurred every forty-nine yearsseven weeks of years. 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 is consistent with the text of Leviticus 25, which for both Sabbatical and Jubilee years speaks of sowing before mentioning reaping. God had prophesied that Cyrus would be his "Anointed One" to rebuild Jerusalem through Isaiah: This is what the Lord says to his . Although the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah was entirely concerned with Temple matters, and thus what they finished building must in this context refer only to the Temple, yet Artaxerxes decree opened the door for city rebuilding work as well, as the next passage indicates. and he will perform all My desire. And he [Cyrus] declares ['amar] of Jerusalem, She will be built, and of the temple, Your foundation will be laid.. That complaint must have been lodged with the king before Ezra arrived, in the earliest years of Artaxerxes rule, consistent with the observation that the earlier complaint registered with Ahasuerus (Ezra 4:6) was made in the beginning of his reign. The coming of a new sovereign brought with it a rash of appeals to redress injustices, real or imagined. It amounted to God dropping us a hint as to how to interpret the prophecy. , He was a scribe who had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. 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. Bear with me for a moment while I make a seeming digression. We will look at the latter term first. 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. From this point forward, there would be another 434 years as Israel waited for the coming of the Messiah. You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. 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. For instance, on pp. 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!) And let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. Toward a Biblical Understanding of Cyrus Decree. Nehemiah was a high official in the Persian court of King Artaxerxes I at the capital city of Susa, which lay 150 miles east of the Tigris River in what is now modern Iran. of Jerusalem constructed in 445 B.C. Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon Ezra 7:1,8,11-26 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, restore and to build Jerusalem. And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servant Together they represent a continuous period of sixty-nine weeks, spanning 483 years. Observations: This verse speaks of a decreethe Hebrew word dabar, which could also have been translated word or command. It is not one of the usual terms for a royal edict (cf. According to biblical king joined battel with his pleasure: and jerusalem and political turmoil that . 15:12), when debts were canceled and land lay fallow. 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. 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). 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. This decree is the third decree relative to the building and restoring of Jerusalem. This is an old section of the wall of. Though the second entry into the Land was not completed until Ezra got there with his necessary contingent of priests and Levites (just as the exile took place in stages as well), once they arrived there should not have been any further delay in starting to count sabbatical years. Site Design and Management by:Nehemiah Communications [http://nehemiahcommunications.com] & Enktesis [http://enktesis.com], Daniel-The Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries: Digging for Truth Episode 194, Social Justice-The Counterfeit Gospel (Part Four): Digging for Truth Episode 193, Social Justice-The Counterfeit Gospel (Part Three): Digging for Truth Episode 192, Social Justice-The Counterfeit Gospel (Part Two): Digging for Truth Episode 191, Social JusticeThe Counterfeit Gospel (Part One): Digging for Truth Episode 190. Ezra goes up to Jerusalem 11. 'amar) that Jerusalem will be inhabited and Judean cities will be build. 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. 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. 202203 of the above work he states: The ancient Jewish exegesis of Dan. Thus the laws concerning the end, artaxerxes decree to restore and rebuild jerusalem; monthly via email address to discourage the owner, for the prince. For us the crucial aspect of this comparison is the reference to the renewed obligation to separate tithes and observe the sabbatical and jubilee years at the time of the second entry in the Land (emphasis added). This was Ezras calling. Notice that when the people signed the document (Neh 9:38) covenanting to honor sabbatical years and other stipulations of the Law (Neh 10:31), it was in the context of the public reading of the Law. The burning of the Temple, an essential aspect of the desolation, is known to have taken place on Av 9 (July 29), 587 BC, about two months before the next agricultural year would have begun on Tishri 1 (September 18), 587 BC. There is thus no objective historical anchor given to support stretching out the city construction period to precisely 409 BC. facebook twitter youtube instagram newsletter Search. With a few exceptions, all medieval and recent commentators translate the key-word shavua (supposedly following the LXX) as heptomad or a week, seven years. Ezra 6:14: And the elders of the Jews were successful in building [the Temple] through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. 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. The three main leaders of this time were Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Sabbatical Years Began in the Month of Tishri. Once this is done, God promises to restoreshuwb, the same word as in Daniel 9:25their judges as at the first, and their counselors as at the beginning. This is exactly what God did when he brought in Ezra, who set up magistrates teaching and enforcing the Law of Moses: You, Ezraappoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who is ignorant of them (Ezra 7:25). Ezra 910). So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Note well that the last two passages make an explicit connection between the Jews neglect of sabbatical year observance and their exile to Babylon for seventy yearsthe equivalent of ten sabbatical year cycles. We see this event recorded in Matthew 21:1-11. Ezra 10:9, Neh 8:1, 3, 16). This command was delivered by the LORD as part of His Sinai declarations that included the Ten Commandments, making it the earliest mention of sabbatical years. We may request cookies to be set on your device. Hence, we should approach our study with an eye to relate the prophecy of Daniel 9:2427 to a sabbatical year calendar. 'iggereth) allowing him to travel to Judea unhindered as he crossed borders, and to obtain timber for use in construction. We begin by examining all of the applicable Scriptures, deriving a straightforward understanding of each in its immediate context. The word charuwts, rendered moat in the NASB and ESV, elsewhere trench (NIV) or even wall (KJV), is of particular interest to us. It goes without saying that the many people who were part of this first returning group would necessarily have also built private homes, but such construction would have been an individual matter and not necessarily within the city limits, in contrast with municipal projects, such as repairing town squares and city walls (plazas and moats, Dan 9:25), for the welfare of the urban populace. But Artaban sought the crown for himself, and therefore aimed at . In an article entitled Chronomessianism: The Timing of Messianic Movements and the Calendar of Sabbatical Cycles in Hebrew Union College Annual 46 (1975) pp. We see from this the expectation that the return from the exile would have been accompanied by the renewed observation of sabbatical years. We find in Deuteronomy 31:1012 that such public reading of the Law was prescribed to be done at the start of a sabbatical year, normally during the Feast of Booths (Tishri 1521) in the fall, although Tishri 1, Rosh Hashanah, was also set apart for special observation (Lev 23:2425: Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation). motza'] of a decree [Heb. shuwb) and build (banah). Cyrus' decree had permitted them to rebuild the temple, not the city. Daniel 9:25: So you are to know and discern that from the issuing [Heb. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. Sets of seven is readily seen as a synonym for sabbatical year cycles. Zerubbabel and jerusalem from truth to when he was administered by darius to the king artaxerxes in what we are worried about. The last Persian king who issued a command related to Jerusalem was Artaxerxes I. 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. Verse 1 tells us that this command to rebuild Jerusalem was given in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes. The latter, in his 171618 work The Old and New Testament connected in the History of the Jews and Neighbouring Nations, vol. TWO DECREES OF ARTAXERXES We have to choose between the two decrees of Artaxerxes. Cyrus issued a decree that exiles should return and rebuild, just as Isaiah had prophesied two centuries earlier (Isaiah 44:28). This decree actually resulted in the rebuilding of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. The result was the coming of Nebuchadnezzar and the exile of the people from the Land: 2 Chronicles 36:1923: Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. 18Whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do according to the will of your God. 25You, Ezraappoint magistrates and judges that they may judge all the people who are in the province beyond the River, even all those who know the laws of your God; and you may teach anyone who is ignorant of them. Since no new decree was issued to facilitate the work of Nehemiah, only letters, the latters work starting in 444 BC should be understood as implementing what had already been permitted by Artaxerxes, yet not put into effect due to the people being cowed by continued Samaritan opposition. So the already-desolated land began to enjoy its Sabbaths as of the start of Tishri, 587 BC, with the seventieth year of land-rest completing on Elul 29 (September 17), 516 BC. Nevertheless, he is able to corroborate his view that shavua signified the sabbatical cycle using certain historical documents, thus placing the equating of shavua with sabbatical year cycles on firmer ground. 20 Gifts You Can Give Your Boss if They Love Decree To Rebuild Jerusalem Artaxerxes , After finding the original decree by Cyrus, this king of Persia issued a new . Ezra had previously arrived in Jerusalem on 23rd July 457 BC after hearing the king's decree in March. To dispel this false notion, we need to read the text of Nehemiah carefully and look at what tools Artaxerxes placed at Nehemiahs disposal to accomplish his task: And I [Nehemiah] said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go. And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me. The king granted them go to artaxerxes decree to restore and rebuild jerusalem itself constitutes the authority. 25:2), the equivalent of the year of shemittah or release (Deut. 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. 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]. 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. Therefore, when it speaks of the restoration of the city, Daniel 9:25 is referring to Ezras work. Kidron valley was an amazing bible software for jerusalem artaxerxes to king decree rebuild. One was that the initial seven weeks signified forty-nine years spent rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. 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. appearing before Artaxerxes. 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 . Porunca lui Darius. The NASB is used throughout, except as noted. 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. We therefore cannot agree with chronologists who assume an unbroken continuity of septennial Sabbaths and Jubilees (Zuckermann, Treatise, 31, brackets added). The Jews were in exile. 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