Daniel 9:1, commentary and pictures

In the first year of Darius the Mede, soon after Babylon fell and Medo-Persia became the ruling empire about 538 B.C., the seventy years of captivity were nearing their close. At that time Daniel was prayerfully studying Jeremiah's prophecies and learned from them that the desolation of Jerusalem was almost over and God's promise to bring the captives back was sure. The verse opens the account of his earnest prayer with fasting, confession and humiliation, which was heard, with ministering angels sent to give him communication from God in vision. The chapter is unmistakably connected with Daniel 8 and supplies the key to the starting point of the 2,300-year period of Daniel 8:14, establishing 457 B.C. as the proper time from which to reckon those prophetic periods. It gives the seventy-week time prophecy pointing to the first coming of Christ as part of the 2,300-day period, which also foretold the death of the Messiah that the first disciples did not recognize when they proclaimed the time fulfilled.

Historical Setting and Background

The first year of Darius the Mede dates what follows to soon after Babylon fell, when Medo-Persia had become the ruling empire. That year was about 538 B.C., when the seventy years of captivity were nearing their close. It was early in Medo-Persian rule after Babylon fell, and Daniel's prayer for his people belongs to that first year of Darius ruling over the Chaldeans.

Darius was the Median monarch who ruled Babylonia after Cyrus, his general, wrested it from Babylon. He reigned about two years after Babylon's fall, and during that time he appointed Daniel to high office. His reign was honored by God, with Gabriel sent to strengthen him. About two years after the fall he died and Cyrus succeeded him, and the beginning of Cyrus's reign marked the completion of seventy years since Nebuchadnezzar first took Hebrews from Judea to Babylon.

Daniel had been taken to Babylon with the first group of captives in the third year of Jehoiakim's reign, so he had lived through the early years of the exile. At this time he was prayerfully studying Jeremiah's prophecies, written more than sixty years before. From them he learned that the captivity was almost over. He knew God's promise to bring the captives back was sure, and he studied to understand the promised seventy years of Jerusalem's desolation.

Prayer and Faithfulness

The dating opens the account of earnest prayer marked by fasting and affliction of soul, with tears and confession and humiliation before God. That seeking was not in vain, for the prayer was heard and ministering angels came to give communication from God in vision. Though long in God's service and honored with His commendation, Daniel still came before Him as a sinner, humbly pleading for the people he loved.

In the first year of Darius ruling over the Chaldeans, Daniel turned from the king's business to communion with the King of kings as the source of his wisdom. He kept close to duty in prayer even under the decree in that reign that prayer to God would bring the lion's den, and his prayer was kept by the Lord before he was cast in. During that reign of Darius he was appointed to high office and delivered from the lions' den. These events show God preparing the hearts of the rulers to favor His repentant people as they sought Him and studied the prophecies of their deliverance.

Prophetic Connections and Fulfillment

Daniel 9 belongs to a chapter unmistakably connected with Daniel 8, supplying the key to the starting point of the 2,300-year period foretold in Daniel 8:14. The historical and chronological facts of the prophetic periods of Daniel 8 and 9 establish 457 B.C. as the proper time from which to begin reckoning those periods. The dating in the first year of Darius places Daniel's prayer after Babylon's fall, while the vision Gabriel recalls had been shown before Babylon fell and Belshazzar died. Gabriel then explains the seventy weeks, beginning with the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

The chapter gives the seventy-week time prophecy pointing to the first coming of Christ, forming part of the 2,300-day prophetic period. On that prophecy the first disciples based their proclamation that the time was fulfilled and the kingdom of God was at hand. The same prophecy foretells the death of the Messiah, which they did not recognize or perceive. They gave the right message at the right time and in delivering it fulfilled the will of God, yet acceptance of popular errors about the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy weeks blinded them to the foretold death. They misunderstood the kingdom expected at the period's end, and through misapprehension of their own message they suffered disappointment.

Daniel 9 stands among Daniel's prophecies in chapters 7-12 concerning mysteries of the ages to come. Daniel did not fully understand all that was revealed to him in those prophecies. Parts of the prophetic writings were sealed until the time of the end.