Question about the Hebrew in Daniel 9:24

tranquil said:

Hi,
I would like to ask a question to the Hebrew literate posters here.

Traditionally, Dan 9:24's שָׁבֻעִ֨ים שִׁבְעִ֜ים is understood to be translated as '70 weeks', and people take this to mean '70 times 7 years'/ 490 years.

I'm not here looking to dispute this translation, but I am curious if שָׁבֻעִ֨ים שִׁבְעִ֜ים could be potentially translated as '77 years'.

Any insight into this would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Click to expand...

No potential really. Shavuim Shivim translates as 70 (Shivim) Weeks (Shavuim) seventy weeks, which equals seventy x 7 = 490. Seventy sevens, seventy weeks with a week being 7 days. 77 would be שבעים ושבע which reads Seventy and seven. The hebrew specifically reads seventy weeks.

Now, what is of note is why the text uses the masculine form of weeks instead of Shavuot (female form), and why the use of the kibutz instead of a vav. שבועות vs שבעים There is where the sweetness is in that verse.

tranquil said:

What would '77 days' look like in Hebrew?

Click to expand...

77 would be שבעים ושבע which reads Seventy and seven. And to be literal, it would read shivim vesheva yomim Seventy and seven days. שבעים ושבע יומים

tranquil said:

Also, could you explain the implication of the masculine form of weeks in it?

Click to expand...

Daniel chapter 9 uses the Hebrew word (שבעים ~ Shavuim) to represents a period of time multiplied by seven. For various reasons this word is translated as “weeks” and means a multiple of seven years rather than a multiple of seven days.

There is a similar use in the verse, “You shall count~ שבע שבתת השנים) seven Shabbats of years), seven years seven times… forty-nine years.” Leviticus 25:8

A Shabbat is a period of seven days and shares the same Hebrew root for the word (שבועה~Shavuah) that means “week”. Normally the plural of week would be (שבעות ~ Shavuot) in Daniel it uses the masculine “ים” ending for ( שבעים~ Shavuim) similar to (years ~ שנים) This indicates that (שבעים~ Shavuim) is referring to a multiple of seven years.

Therefore in Daniel chapter 9, each week is a period of seven years. Most Christian eschatological views line up with this Hebraic understanding of the text.

Note that the irregular masculine plural form of the phrase in question, without pointing, (shabuim shabuim), is literally seventy seventy, which may be understood as seventy seventies, in other words seventy generations, (Psalm 90:10, Henok 10:12, Luke 3:23-37, (also Matthew 22:13 quotes from Henok 10:4).

The phrase has multiple meanings: weeks of hours, (the sacred calendar day as fulfilled in the Ministry of Meshiah, (primarily in the Gospel of John)), and perhaps also weeks of fulls days, and probably also weeks of years, and the seventy seventies which are seventy generations and which amount of 4,900 years, (70*70=4900, the ten weeks prophecy also found in Sefer Henok).