"Daniel 9:24 Sevens—seventy are determined concerning your people, and concerning your holy city, to finish the transgression, to seal up sins, to wipe away iniquity, and to bring everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies" (DLT: torahtimes.org). 

Sevens : שבעים. The New International Version renders, "Seventy sevens".  The Stone Edition Tanach renders, "Seventy septets".  BDB says "n.m. period of seven (days or years), heptad, week ... heptad or seven of years, late."  However, the German Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, by Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner,  ©1985, is much more up to date, "שבוע Einheit von Sieben, Siebent" = unit (period) of seven, seventh .  Siebent = seventh.  Perhaps  שביעים = שבעים  instead of שבועים?  However, it does not make any difference because the prophecy works out both ways regardless of reading different vowel points.

 

concerning : על. Here we will deal with the rest of the verse.  The seventy sevens are God's measuring clock for accomplishing the goals that he itemizes in the following list.  These are goals for Israel and Jerusalem, and no other entities.  No other people or place is meant.  Those who say so are taking the whole passage out of context.

 

to finish the transgression : לכלא הפשע.  The transgression is definite and singular.   It refers to the rebellion of Israel and Judah against the Most High.  This was the subject of Daniel's prayer in the preceding part of the chapter.  It means that this time period is determined for Israel and Judah to repent of their transgression.  As long as this has not happened, the prophecy is not complete.

 

to seal up sins : לחתם.  According to what is written, this is how the text reads.   It must have the sense of "stop up" like putting a seal on a jar.  In other words, sin will be sealed up.   Since the Devil is the first cause of sin in this Creation, it seems to refer to the bottomless pit or abyss in Revelation 20:3, where Satan is cast and sealed up.

 

to wipe away iniquity : ולכפר.  The the contextual use of the verb kippur clearly includes the sense of cleansing or expiation.   The idea of "wipe away" unifies all the contexts and brings linguistic concordance to the sense of the word.  "On account of Akkadian b) to wipe off, to expiate has been suggested as original meaning of כפר." (pg. 452, Baumgartner).  Two things are to be considered, a. wiping out the penalty, and b. wiping out the contamination of sin itself, i.e. cleansing.   No doubt, both ideas are being taught by the text here.  For after 69 sevens, Messiah wipes away the penalty for the faithful, and at the end of the 70th seven he wipes away sin from Israel (cf. Zech. 3:9).  So once again, we see that this criteria too indicates that the prophecy is not yet complete.

 

to bring in everlasting righteousness : ולהביא צדק עלמים.  Perhaps we should take it a bit more literally, "and to bring in righteousness of the Ages".  It is clear from the other goals of the prophecy that this points to absolute perfection for Israel—a total circumcision of the heart, and the writing of the Torah on the hearts of all Israel.  For this reason, none of the historicist (preterist) positions on this prophecy are valid.  The seventy sevens have not run to completion yet.

 

to seal up the vision and the prophet :  the meaning of these words probably includes several things.  First, the complete understanding of Daniel 9 for all Israel is shut up until the end of days (Daniel 12:4).  This is a general statement concerning Israel.  It does not mean that faithful and diligent believers cannot find it out.  Second, to "seal" means to attest or approve.  When the time comes, all Israel will approve of the prophecy and God's wisdom in giving it.

 

to anoint the holy of holies : ולמשח קדש קדשים.   Daniel's prayer included a petition concerning the Temple, "and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate" (Daniel 9:17).   It is possible for this to have multiple reference, to the second temple, to the coming third temple, and to Ezekiel's temple.   The primary and literal sense that will fit all details, however, is the anointing implied in Daniel 8:14, which takes place toward the end of the 70th Sabbatical year after Messiah defeats the man of lawlessness. (DLC: torahtimes.org)

 

updated: 4/23/09.

 

Daniel's Literal Translation and Commentary: (http://www.torahtimes.org/translation/dan0924.html)