| “And
after the 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but no one for Him. And the
people of the coming Prince shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And
its end (shall be) with a flood. And until an end of war, desolations are
decreed (lit: that which is decreed, desolations). And He shall confirm
the covenant with the many (for) one week. And in the middle of the week, he
shall make cease sacrifice and offering. And upon a wing of abominations,
(is) that which desolates even until an utter end. And that which was
decreed shall pour out on that which desolates.”
Attention
will be focused on the highlighted portions of the translation of verse 26
& 27. Shea114
connects the first phrase, “until an end of war...”, with the
destruction of Jerusalem by translating the previous phrase: “at the end
of the war desolations are decreed”. This alters the intended meaning by
incorrectly translating the preposition, `ad, which means “unto” or “until”
as “at”. The two definite articles “the”, associated with “end”
and “war”, do not exist. The net effect of these linguistic alterations
imply a reference to the preceding action associated with the destruction of
Jerusalem. Such unjustified modifications and additions change the intended
meaning of text.
It
is suggested that a simple, unaltered literal translation is preferred. “Until
an end of war” refers to the continual conflict between religio-pagan
forces throughout history exalting against God. This conflict (war) is
described in each of the world-kingdom visions of Dn. 2 (verses 44-45), Dn.
7 (verses 21-22, 25-26), and Dn. 8 (verses 10-12, 24-25) and throughout
Daniel 11. The world conflict in 9:26 is alluded to after the full
destruction of Jerusalem “with a flood” in the preceding phrase. The
next phrase is not repetitious of the preceding one as implied by Shea’s
translation, but, with the correct translation, places the focus on the
overall context of the 2300-year vision at the time of end.
The
plural participle translated as “desolations” (shomemoth) in
9:26, which includes the destruction of Jerusalem, is in the context of the
conflict between the kingdoms of this world with God continuing until the
end of history, and is also directly related to the same participle (shomem)
in the singular state in 8:13. In Dn. 8:13 the singular participle, “causing
desolation”, is attributed to the compound subject representing the
singular activity of self-exaltation against God, namely “the daily” and
“the transgression” which desolates. This desolation also covers the
entire expanse of time of the 2300-year prophecy until the end of time.
Thus, the desolating activity of 9:26 is directly related with 8:13 in a
continual historical setting but with an end-time emphasis in the context of
the 2300-year prophecy.
In
verse 27, Shea adds the definite article “the” in the phrase “upon a
wing of abominations” which conveys the sense that the phrase alludes to
the previous activity associated with the Messiah in Jerusalem. He also
emends the text by adding the phrase “shall come”: “and upon the wing
of abominations shall come a desolator.” By these emendations Shea implies
that the abominations were to come first and the desolator was to follow
thereafter in terms of time.115
Furthermore, Shea proceeds again to redefine the meaning of the preposition
,`ad, in the next phrase from the correct meaning of “until an end” or
“unto an end” to the incorrect translation, “at the end”. This
creates a new thought pattern rather than continuing the thought pattern
associated with the “wing of abominations”. The thrust of Shea’s
emendations and arguments focuses entirely on the destruction of Jerusalem.
These emendations are linguistically unacceptable and lead to a false
understanding.
It
is suggested that literal simplicity has the advantage. “Upon a wing of
abominations (is) that which desolates even until an utter end”. This
phrase is parallel to the earlier phrase in verse 26 concerning “an end of
war” and is in the context of the “utter end” or “consummation” of
earth’s history. Unmistakable evidence for this view in verse 27 is
provided by the use of the word kalah which from lexical evidences
means “utter end”, “full end” or “destructions resolved especially
by God”.116 This is
also the sense
ascertained for every usage of kalah in the OT.117
For example, in Is. 28:22, God has determined a destruction upon the whole
earth; and in Jer. 30:11 God will “make a full end of all nations” (see
also Is. 10:23; Nah.1:8-9; Eze. 11:13, etc.).
The
desolator or “that which desolates” in v. 27 (singular participle shomem)
accompanies and does not follow the abominations upon a wing. These
abominations are wrought by the desolating force or activity and continue
throughout earth’s history. The desolating activity is identical to the
“the continual” and “the transgression” which desolates in 8:13.
The
final thought of verse 27 begins with the conjunction (waw): “and
that which was decreed shall pour out on that which desolates”. (The
Hebrew conjunction “waw” in the phrase, “even until an end”
is not a connecting but an intensifying conjunction emphasizing the duration
of the desolating activity.) This describes the final fate of the desolator
or desolating activity which was previously decreed in v. 26. This decree is
an allusion to the final decree on the horn or king in Dn. 8:25, “but he
shall be broken without hand”. The same final decree is repeated in Dn.
2:44-45 and Dn 7:11 & 26 (v. 26, “the judgement shall sit, and they
shall take away his rulership, to cut-off and destroy until the end”), and
finally in Dn. 11:45, the king of the north “shall come to his end and no
one will help him”.
9.2
Summary |