"Daniel 9:25 So know and understand, that from the going out of a word to return and to build Yerushalayim until the Anointed Prince, shall be sevens—seven, and sevens—sixty and two.  They shall return back, and it shall have been built wide and fortified—even in the distress of the times" (DLT: torahtimes.org). 

word: דבר. The word  to rebuild the city was given by Artaxerxes I in his 20th year (Neh. 1:1, 2:1).  In Neh. 2:18 the commandment is referred to as the king's words:  דברי.  The response to this is "we shall rise up and we shall have built", בנינו, which parallels, build, בנות , in the above text. Then the word  is further mentioned when Sanballat questions it, "What is this word which you do?  You are revolting!" (Neh. 2:19).  (מה הדבר הזה).  The translations mistranslate the word in this question as "thing", which spoils the concordance with Daniel 9:25.  In Nehemiah 2:20, he says this back to Sanballat, "And I made to return to them word, and said to them, Elohai of the heavens—He advances us, and we His servants rise up and we shall have built.  And to you is no share—or justness and memorial of heritage in Yerushalayim."  Nehemiah throws back at them the very sentiment in his sadness that moved the king.  No doubt, it was then that they learned of the king's commandments.   

 

to return: להשיב. Nehemiah was a high Persian official who was put in charge by the king.  The king sent soldiers with him.  In the earlier part of the reign of the king, they had been building the city illegally during the administration of the High Priest Joiakim (Ezra 4:5-23; cf. Neh. 12:26), and the king had made them stop "until commandment shall be given by me" (Ezra 4:21).  Judah's enemies had overreacted and interpreted the king to mean that he would never seek the welfare of Judea (Ezra 4:23; Nehemiah 1:3).  They ignored the implication of his final words, "until commandment shall be given by me".  This must have happened just before the 20th year of the king, because Nehemiah hears about it as fresh news.  So the prophecy is really indicating a return to building the city, only this time, armed with the word of the king.

 

build Yerushalayim: Isaiah 44:28 says that Cyrus would give the order to rebuild Jerusalem.  Now Isaiah 45;4 says that Cyrus is a "surname", i.e. a family name.  Baumgartner's Lexicon says Cyrus is "elamitischer Thronname" (an Elamitic Throne Name), pg. 428.  It matters not whether any Persian king used the title in the normal course of business.  The Persian king had many titles and honors.  However, Josephus does use this title for Artaxerxes. "According to Josephus, Xerxes I's son was also called Cyrus, but took the throne name Artaxerxes (I, 465—424 BC)" (Dictionary of the ancient Near East, Piotr Bienkowski, Alan Ralph Millard, page 87; cf. Antiquities 11.6.1)

 

Anointed Prince: משיח נגיד.  There isn't a clearer indication of Messiah in the Torah and Prophets.

 

sevens: שבעים.  This is plainly the plural of the number seven:  שבע.  It can also be translated "sevenths" or a seventh part of something in an ordinal sense like the dual usage of אחד.  The cardinal number "seven" is so used in this sense in Deut. 15:9 in reference to the Sabbatical year:  שנת־השבע.  A seven has two basic meanings: 1) seven year period,  2) the sabbatical year itself.  Definition 1 can be broken into two parts 1a. a seven year period corresponding exactly to Israel's sabbatical cycle, 1b. any seven year period.

 

seven: שבעה.  The reign of Cyrus is fixed by Venus Astronomical Text 5047 in his 11th year to 454 BC.  This makes his 20th year 444 BC. Counting 7 years x 7, =49 years, and brings us to 396 BC with inclusive counting.  Ezra came to Jerusalem in 397 BC, and completed the reform ending the distress of the times in 396 BC, which was characterized by opposition by Judah's enemies.  However, the decree of Artaxerxes II was sufficient to put down all opposition.  After Ezra's reforms Judah enjoyed a long period of peace.   The seven sevens may also be counted by counting sabbatical years.  There were exactly seven in this period of time, which were BC 444, 437, 430, 423, 416, 409, and 402.

 

sixty and two: These begin immediately after the completion of Ezra's reform in 396 with the year 395 being the first Sabbatical year of the 62, or if we include the seven already past, then the 8th.  The total number of Sabbatical years from the rebuilding to Messiah is 69 (7+62).  These may also be counted as whole sabbatical period, provided we count inclusively.  The first Sabbatical period was BC 457—444.  The walls were built in 444, and by inclusive counting principles, like a part of a day being counted as a whole, the part of the sabbatical period is counted as a whole. (DLC: torahtimes.org)

 

composed: 4/22/09.

 

Daniel's Literal Translation and Commentary: (http://www.torahtimes.org/translation/dan0925.html)