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.
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Chapter 1. The Role of a Canonical Approach
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Literary Approaches to Daniel 9:24–27
1.3. Daniel 9:24–27 in Light of Qumran
1.4. Cultic Motifs as an Interpretive Method for Reading Daniel 9:24–27
1.5. Canonical-Intertextual and Inner-Biblical Readings of Daniel 9:24–27
Chapter 2. A Canonical Approach
2.1. Canonics: The Historical Reconstruction of Canon
2.2. A Non-Material Unity of Canon
2.3. Features of a Canonical Approach
2.4. Conclusion
Chapter 3. The "Law and the Prophets" in Daniel 9:3–19
3.1. Daniel 9:2—The Beginning of a Framework
3.2. Daniel 9:3–19
3.3. Daniel the "Servant" and the Outpouring of a Tradition
3.4. The Seams Between the Torah-Prophets and Daniel 9:3–19
3.5. The Deuteronomistic Editor as Main Interlocutor?
3.6. Conclusion to 9:3–19 and Transition in 9:20–23
Chapter 4. Daniel 9:24–27
4.1. The Seventy Sevens
4.2. Daniel 9:24–25: Introduction to the Kingdom Pattern
4.3. Daniel 9:26–27: The Conclusion to the Kingdom Pattern
4.4. Conclusion
Chapter 5. Ambiguity and Space
5.1. The Biblical Theological Dimension of Daniel 9:24–27
5.2. Daniel 9:24–27 in the Olivet Discourse
5.3. Daniel 9:24–27 and the Character of Two-Testament Scripture
