Decree to Rebuild Jerusalem, Year
Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.
The context of the discussion is Gabriel’s message from God to Daniel. The question is, what year was the decree to rebuild Jerusalem?
Nehemiah 2:1a In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king…
When was the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes?
Before getting into the study, I would like to point out there are differing thoughts as to the year of the decree. Was the year 445 or 444 BC? There is excellent scholarship for both years. Encouraging all to look into the matter for themselves. There is and will be disagreement and that is okay. People are making a good faith effort to understand the mind of an infinite God. We are finite humanity in a broken and fallen state.
Full disclosure, this author is in the 444 BC camp. Some would say I have a confirmation bias. My answer would be yes. This date makes sense to me for many reasons. It fits in what we understand of time.
…in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes…
Smith’s Bible Dictionary, John Walvoord’s Every Prophecy of the Bible, and many others indicate Artaxerxes Longimanus reign of power was initiated in 464 BC.
464 BC – 20 years = 444 BC
The Gregorian calendar we use today would not come into existence until 1582 AD. And this adds to the confusion. This prophecy was revealed in 539 BC. Scholars and experts are using years dated by a Gregorian system.
Jews recognized kings and their reign according to regnal years.
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin regnum meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a third year of rule, and so on, but not a zeroth year of rule. -Wikipedia
Many Biblical and secular historians and scholars believe Artaxerxes reign started in December 465 BC. That would mean the first regnal year of power would have been from December 465 BC to December 464 BC. The majority of the first year of Artaxerxes reign would have taken place in 464 BC.
Twenty years later would result in a time range of December 445 to December 444. We know the month is Nisan which equates to the spring months of March or April. Nisan 1/March/April 444 falls in this time frame.
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Looking at Daniel 9:25, God’s clock is started with the issue to rebuild Jerusalem. A time period is defined to the coming of a “prince“. We know that “prince” to be Jesus Christ. The verse states the following.
…there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks…
Per a Jewish calendar, time would be calculated in the following manner.
seven weeks or (7 X 7) + sixty-two weeks or (62 X 7) = 483 years.
483 years X 360 days = 173,880 days.
See the link below for calculating “sets of weeks“.
With a starting point of Nisan 1, 444 BC, a decree from Artaxerxes was made to rebuild Jerusalem.
Take your pick. 69 weeks, 483 years, or 173,880 days later, the math calculation results in the spring or Nisan of 33 AD.
(Nisan 1, 444 BC) + (69 weeks/483 years/173,880 days) = Passover 33 AD
33 AD is the year Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and presented Himself. Jesus demonstrated Himself as the spotless sacrificial lamb under inspection. Christ was the sacrificed Lamb of God of Passover. He was buried as the symbol for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, resurrected as the First Fruits.
Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
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