Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 8:14
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
14. unto me ] Sept. Theod. Pesh. unto him, which is adopted by most moderns, and is probably right.
unto two thousand and three hundred evenings, mornings ] i.e. successive evenings and mornings: cf. Dan 8:26 ‘the vision of the evenings and the mornings.’ The expression is peculiar; but it seems to have been suggested by the fact that the burnt-offering ( Dan 8:11 ; Dan 8:13) was offered morning and evening daily (Exo 29:38-42); the meaning consequently is that this offering would cease for 2300 times, i.e. during 1150 days (so most commentators). In Dan 7:25 (where see the note), Dan 12:7, the period of persecution is to last 31/2 years, i.e. (if the year be reckoned at 360 days) 1260 days, or, if account be taken of the varying possibilities of the Calendar in use in the 2nd century b.c. [327] , 1274 or 1309 days; and, according to 1Ma 1:54 ; 1Ma 4:52-53 , the interval which actually elapsed between the erection of the heathen altar upon the altar of burnt-offering, on the 15th of Chisleu, b.c. 168, and the dedication of the new altar on the 25th of Chisleu, b.c. 165, was 3 years and 10 days (i.e. 1090, 1102 3, or 1132 3 days). The period assigned here is some months less than 31/2 years; it is not however identified with the entire period of the persecution, but only with that part of it during which the daily sacrifice was interrupted and the Temple desecrated. It seems therefore (cf. Dan 12:11) that 15 Chisleu b.c. 168 must be the terminus a quo, the end of the period assigned not agreeing precisely with the event. Cornill’s supposition (pp. 22 26) that the edict of Antiochus (1 Macc. 1:44 6) is the terminus a quo, in spite of the very ingenious argument by which he seeks to shew that this edict might have been issued just 1150 days before 25 Chisleu, b.c. 165, hardly does justice to the terms of Dan 8:13 (which lay stress on the cessation of the daily sacrifice as the beginning of the period referred to); cf. Bevan, p. 128 f.
[327] Cornill, Die Siebzig Jahrwochen Daniels (1889), p. 22.
By some commentators the expression ‘evening, morning’ has been understood as equivalent to day (cf. Gen 1:5 b, 8 b, &c.); and the 2300 days have been reckoned either from the time when Menelaus, in 171, purchased for himself the high-priesthood from Antiochus (see on Dan 9:26) to the dedication of the Temple in Dec. 165, or from the profanation of the Temple in Dec. 168 to the great victory of Judas over Nicanor at Adasa, near Beth-horon ( 1Ma 7:43-50 ) on Adar 13, b.c. 162 (cf. Hvernick, Pusey, p. 219). But either of these periods seems to embrace much which is not legitimately included in the terms of the question in Dan 8:13. And as against the second period suggested, the reference to an event some two years after the death of Antiochus is not probable.
then shall the sanctuary be justified ] i.e. have justice done to it, be shewn not to have deserved desecration. “The justification of the sanctuary is the vindication of its cause, for as long as it is polluted it lies under condemnation” (Bevan).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he said unto me – Instead of answering the one who made the inquiry, the answer is made to Daniel, doubtless that he might make a record of it, or communicate it to others. If it had been made to the inquirer, the answer would have remained with him, and could have been of no use to the world. For the encouragement, however, of the Hebrew people, when their sanctuary and city would be thus desolate, and in order to furnish an instance of the clear fulfillment of a prediction, it was important that it should be recorded, and hence, it was made to Daniel.
Unto two thousand and three hundred days – Margin, evening, morning. So the Hebrew, ereb boqer. So the Latin Vulgate, ad vesperam et mane. And so Theodotion – heos hesperas kai proi – to the evening and morning. The language here is evidently what was derived from Gen. i., or which was common among the Hebrews, to speak of the evening and the morning as constituting a day. There can be no doubt, however, that a day is intended by this, for this is the fair and obvious interpretation. The Greeks were accustomed to denote the period of a day in the same manner by the word nuchthemeron (see 2Co 11:25), in order more emphatically to designate one complete day. See Prof. Stuarts Hints on Prophecy, pp. 99, 100. The time then specified by this would be six years and a hundred and ten days.
Much difficulty has been felt by expositors in reconciling this statement with the other designations of time in the book of Daniel, supposed to refer to the same event, and with the account furnished by Josephus in regard to the period which elapsed during which the sanctuary was desolate, and the daily sacrifice suspended. The other designations of time which have been supposed to refer to the same event in Daniel, are Dan 7:25, where the time mentioned is three years and a half, or twelve hundred and sixty days; and Dan 12:7, where the same time is mentioned, a time, times, and an half, or three years and an half, or, as before, twelve hundred and sixty days; and Dan 12:11, where the period mentioned is a thousand two hundred and ninety days; and Dan 12:12, where the time mentioned is a thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. The time mentioned by Josephus is three years exactly from the time when their Divine worship was fallen off, and was reduced to a profane and common use, until the time when the lamps were lighted again, and the worship restored, for he says that the one event happened precisely three years after the other, on the same day of the month – Ant. b. xii. ch. vii. Section 6. In his Jewish Wars, however, b. i. ch. i. Section 1, he says that Antiochus spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and six months. Now, in order to explain the passage before us, and to reconcile the accounts, or to show that there is no contradiction between them, the following remarks may be made:
(1) We may lay out of view the passage in Dan 7:25. See the note at that passage. If the reasoning there be sound, then that passage had no reference to Antiochus, and though, according to Josephus, there is a remarkable coincidence between the time mentioned there and the time during which the daily sacrifice was suspended, yet that does not demonstrate that the reference there is to Antiochus.
(2) We may lay out of view, also, for the present, the passages in Dan 12:11-12. Those will be the subject of consideration hereafter, and for the present ought not to be allowed to embarrass us in ascertaining the meaning of the passage before us.
(3) On the assumption, however, that those passages refer to Antiochus, and that the accounts in Josephus above referred to are correct – though he mentions different times, and though different periods are referred to by Daniel, the variety may be accounted for by the supposition that separate epochs are referred to at the starting point in the calculation – the terminus a quo. The truth was, there were several decisive acts in the history of Antiochus that led to the ultimate desolation of Jerusalem, and at one time a writer may have contemplated one, and at another time another. Thus, there was the act by which Jason, made high priest by Antiochus, was permitted to set up a gymnasium in Jerusalem after the manner of the pagan (Prideaux, iii. 216; 1 Macc. 1:11-15); the act by which he assaulted and took Jerusalem, entering the most holy place, stripping the temple of its treasures, defiling the temple, and offering a great sow on the altar of burnt-offerings (Prideaux, iii. 230, 231; 1 Macc. 1:20-28); the act, just two years after this, by which, having been defeated in his expedition to Egypt, he resolved to vent all his wrath on the Jews, and, on his return, sent Apollonius with a great army to ravage and destroy Jerusalem – when Apollonius, having plundered the city, set it on fire, demolished the houses, pulled down the walls, and with the ruins of the demolished city built a strong fortress on Mount Acra, which overlooked the temple, and from which he could attack all who went to the temple to worship (Prideaux, iii. 239, 240; 1 Macc. 1:29-40); and the act by which Antiochus solemnly forbade all burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and drink-offerings in the temple – (Prideaux, iii. 241, 242; 1 Macc. 1:44-51). Now, it is evident that one writing of these calamitous events, and mentioning how long they would continue, might at one time contemplate one of these events as the beginning, the terminus a quo, and at another time, another of these events might be in his eye. Each one of them was a strongly marked and decisive event, and each one might be contemplated as a period which, in an important sense, determined the destiny of the city, and put an end to the worship of God there.
(4) It seems probable that the time mentioned in the passage before us is designed to take in the whole series of disastrous events, from the first decisive act which led to the suspending of the daily sacrifice, or the termination of the worship of God there, to the time when the sanctuary was cleansed. That this is so would seem to be probable from the series of visions presented to Daniel in the chapter before us. The acts of the little horn representing Antiochus, as seen in vision, began with his attack on the pleasant land Dan 8:9, and the things which attracted the attention of Daniel were, that he waxed great, and made war on the host of heaven, and cast some of the host and of the stars to the ground Dan 8:10, and magnified himself against the prince of the host Dan 8:11 – acts which refer manifestly to his attack on the people of God, and the priests or ministers of religion, and on God him. self as the prince of the host – unless this phrase should be understood as referring rather to the high priest. We are then rather to look to the whole series of events as included within the two thousand and three hundred days, than the period in which literally the daily sacrifice was forbidden by a solemn statute. It was practically suspended, and the worship of God interrupted during all that time.
(5) The terminus ad quem – the conclusion of the period is marked and settled. This was the cleansing of the sanctuary. This took place, under Judas Maccabeus, Dec. 25, 165 b.c. – Prideaux, iii. 265-268. Now, reckoning back from this period, two thousand and three hundred days, we come to August 5, 171 b.c. The question is, whether there were in this year, and at about this time, any events in the series of sufficient importance to constitute a period from which to reckon; events answering to what Daniel saw as the commencement of the vision, when some of the host and the stars were cast down and stamped upon. Now, as a matter of fact, there commenced in the year 171 b.c. a series of aggressions upon the priesthood, and temple, and city of the Jews on the part of Antiochus, which terminated only with his death. Up to this year, the relations of Antiochus and the Jewish people were peaceful and cordial.
In the year 175 b.c. he granted to the Jewish people, who desired it, permission to erect a gymnasium in Jerusalem, as above stated. In the year 173 b.c. demand was made of Antiochus of the provinces of Ccelo-Syria and Palestine by the young Philometor of Egypt, who had just come to the throne, and by his mother – a demand which was the origin of the war between Antiochus and the king of Egypt, and the beginning of all the disturbances. – Prideaux, iii. 218. In the year 172 b.c., Antiochus bestowed the office of high priest on Menelaus, who was the brother of Jason the high priest. Jason had sent Menelaus to Antioch to pay the king his tribute-money, and while there Menelaus conceived the design of supplanting his brother, and by offering for it more than Jason had, he procured the appointment and returned to Jerusalem. – Prideaux, iii. 220-222. Up to this time all the intercourse of Antiochus with the Jews had been of a peaceful character, and nothing of a hostile nature had occurred.
In 171 b.c. began the series of events which finally resulted in the invasion and destruction of the city, and in the cessation of the public worship of God. Menelaus, having procured the high priesthood, refused to pay the tribute-money which he had promised for it, and was summoned to Antioch. Antioclius being then absent, Menelaus took advantage of his absence, and having, by means of Lysimachus, whom he had left at Jerusalem, procured the vessels out of the temple, He sold them at Tyre, and thus raised money to pay the king. In the meantime, Onias III, the lawful high priest, who had fled to Antioch, sternly rebuked Menelaus for his sacrilege, and soon after, at the instigation of Menelaus, was allured from his retreat at Daphne, where he had sought an asylum, and was murdered by Andronicus, the vicegerent of Antiochus. At the same time, the Jews in Jerusalem, highly indignant at the profanation by Menelaus, and the sacrilege in robbing the temple, rose in rebellion against Lysimachus and the Syrian forces who defended him, and both cut off this sacrilegious robber (Prideaux), and the guards by whom he was surrounded.
This assault on the officer of Antiochus, and rebellion against him, was the commencement of the hostilities which resulted in the ruin of the city, and the closing of the worship of God. – Prideaux, iii. 224-226; Stuarts Hints on Prophecy, p. 102. Here commenced a series of aggressions upon the priesthood, and the temple, and the city of the Jews, which, with occasional interruption, continued to the death of Antiochus, and which led to all that was done in profaning the temple, and in suspending the public worship of God, and it is doubtless to this time that the prophet here refers. This is the natural period in describing the series of events which were so disastrous to the Jewish people; this is the period at which one who should now describe them as history, would begin. It may not, indeed, be practicable to make out the precise number of days, for the exact dates are not preserved in history, but the calculation brings it into the year 171 b.c., the year which is necessary to be supposed in order that the two thousand and three hundred days should be completed. Compare Lengerke, in loc., p. 388. Various attempts have been made to determine the exact number of the days by historic records. Bertholdt, whom Lengerke follows, determines it in this manner. He regards the time referred to as that from the command to set up pagan altars to the victory over Nicanor, and the solemn celebration of that victory, as referred to in 1 Macc. 7:48, 49. According to this reckoning, the time is as follows: The command to set up idol altars was issued in the year 145, on the 15th of the month Kisleu. There remained of that year, after the command was given –
| Half of the month Kisleu | 15 days |
| The month Thebet | 30 days |
| The month Shebath | 29 days |
| The month Adar | 30 days |
| The year 146 | 354 days |
| The year 147 | 354 days |
| The year 148 | 354 days |
| The year 149 | 354 days |
| The year 150 | 354 days |
| The year 15l to the 13th day of the month Adar, when the victory over Nicanor was achieved | 337 days |
| Two intercalary months during this time, according to the Jewish reckoning | 60 days |
| Total of | 2,271 days. |
This would leave but twenty-nine days of the 2300 to be accounted for, and this would be required to go from the place of the battle – between Beth-Horon and Adasa (1 Macc. 7:39, 40) to Jerusalem, and to make arrangements to celebrate the victory. See Bertholdt, pp. 501-503. The reckoning here is from the time of founding the kingdom of the Seleucidae, or the era of the Seleucidae.
Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed – Margin, justified. the Hebrew word ( tsadaq) means, to be right or straight, and then to be just or righteous; then to vindicate or justify. In the form used here (Niphal), it means to be declared just; to be justified or vindicated, and, as applied to the temple or sanctuary, to be vindicated from violence or injury; that is, to be cleansed. See Gesenius, Lexicon There is undoubtedly reference here to the act of Judas Maccabeus, in solemnly purifying the temple, and repairing it, and re-dedicating it, after the pollutions brought upon it by Antiochus. For a description of this, see Prideauxs Connexions, iii. 265-269. Judas designated a priesthood again to serve in the temple; pulled down the altars which the pagan had erected; bore out all the defiled stones into an unclean place; built a new altar in place of the old altar of burnt-offerings which they had defiled; hallowed the courts; made a new altar of incense, table of showbread, golden candlestick, etc., and solemnly re-consecrated the whole to the service of God. This act occurred on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month (Kisleu), and the solemnity continued for eight days. This is the festival which is called the feast of dedication in the New Testament Joh 10:22, and which our Saviour honored with his presence. See 1 Macc. 4:41-58; 2 Macc. 10:1-7; Josephus, Ant. b. xii. ch. vii. Section 6, 7.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. Unto two thousand and three hundred days] Though literally it be two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings. Yet I think the prophetic day should be understood here, as in other parts of this prophet, and must signify so many years. If we date these years from the vision of the he-goat, (Alexander’s invading Asia,) this was A.M. 3670, B.C. 334; and two thousand three hundred years from that time will reach to A.D. 1966, or one hundred and forty-one years from the present A.D. 1825. This will bring it near to the time mentioned Da 7:25, where see the note.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He said unto me, i.e. that angel unnamed. Why did he speak to Daniel, and not to the angel that asked him? Because Daniel, and the church to which he related and was to communicate the answer, was most concerned in it, and the angel that asked the question did it upon their account. Unto two thousand and three hundred days: this seems to many learned men a very difficult place, i.e. where to begin and where to end these days.
1. Some explain it thus: A year contains three hundred and sixty-five days; then two thousand three hundred make six years, three months, and eighteen days, reckoning in two days of the leap years gained from the supernumerary hours and minutes. Now this time begins at the first entrance of Antiochus into Judea, when he profaned the priesthood; and takes in also his second coming in, when he interdicted their worship, set up an idol in the temple, and interrupted the daily sacrifice.
2. Others count the two thousand three hundred days from the peoples revolt, which was procured by Menelaus, which began in the year 141 of the reign of the Seleucidae, 1Mac 1; but Antiochus did not act his impieties till the next year after, viz. 142, in the 6th month and the 6th day; from whence if we reckon to the 25th day of the 9th month of the year 148, there will fall out precisely six years, three months, and eighteen days.
3. Others reckon a little otherwise, from the beginning of Antiochuss profanations to his death; from 143 to 148, taking in both years to the number. For though Judas Maccabeus recovered the city and cleansed the temple in 148, yet Antiochus was not dead till 149, till when the work was not finished.
4. Others make it to, begin in the year of the Seleneidea 145, and to end anne 151, two years after Antiochuss death, for the abomination of desolation was set up in the month Chisleu, 1Ma 1:57, for not till two years after Antiochuss death was Nicanor overthrown with all his army. Thus Jacob Capell, and LEmpereur.
5. Others reckon not days, but sacrifices, (at two every day,) and restrain the time to fewer years, out of Maccabees. Josephus.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. unto meThe answer is toDaniel, not to the inquirer, for the latter had asked inDaniel’s name; as vice versa the saint or angel (Job 15:15;Psa 89:6; Psa 89:7)speaks of the vision granted to Daniel, as if it had been granted tohimself. For holy men are in Scripture represented as havingattendant angels, with whom they are in a way identified ininterests. If the conversation had been limited to the angels, itcould have been of no use to us. But God conveys it to propheticalmen, for our good, through the ministry of angels.
two thousand . . . threehundred daysliterally, “mornings and evenings,”specified in connection with the morning and eveningsacrifice. Compare Ge 1:5. Sixyears and a hundred ten days. This includes not only the three and ahalf years during which the daily sacrifice was forbidden byAntiochus [JOSEPHUS, Warsof the Jews, 1:1.1], but the whole series of events whereby itwas practically interrupted: beginning with the “little hornwaxing great toward the pleasant land,” and “casting downsome of the host” (Dan 8:9;Dan 8:10); namely, when in 171B.C., or the month Sivanin the year 142 of the era of the Seleucid, the sacrifices began tobe neglected, owing to the high priest Jason introducing at JerusalemGrecian customs and amusements, the palstra and gymnasium; endingwith the death of Antiochus, 165 B.C.,or the month Shebath, in the year 148 of the Seleucid era. Compare 1Maccabees 1:11-15; 2 Maccabees 4:9, c. The reason for the greaterminuteness of historical facts and dates, given in Daniel’sprophecies, than in those of the New Testament, is that Israel, nothaving yet the clear views which Christians have of immortality andthe heavenly inheritance, could only be directed to the earthlyfuture: for it was on earth the looked-for Messiah was to appear, andthe sum and subject of Old Testament prophecy was the kingdom ofGod upon earth. The minuteness of the revelation of Israel’searthly destiny was to compensate for the absence, in the OldTestament, of views of heavenly glory. Thus, in Da9:24-27, the times of Messiah are foretold to the very year in Da8:14 the times of Antiochus, even to the day; and in Da11:5-20 the Syro-Egyptian struggles in most minute detail.TREGELLES thinks thetwenty-three hundred “days” answer to the week of years (Da9:27), during which the destroying prince (Da9:26) makes a covenant, which he breaks in the midst of the week(namely, at the end of three and a half years). The seven yearsexceed the twenty-three hundred days by considerably more than a halfyear. This period of the seven years’ excess above the twenty-threehundred days may be allotted to the preparations needed for settingup the temple-worship, with Antichrist’s permission to the restoredJews, according to his “covenant” with them; and thetwenty-three hundred days may date from the actual setting up of theworship. But, says AUBERLEN,the more accurate to a day the dates as to Antiochus are given, theless should we say the 1290, or 1335 days (Dan 12:11;Dan 12:12) correspond to the halfweek (roughly), and the twenty-three hundred to the whole. The event,however, may, in the case of Antichrist, show a correspondencebetween the days here given and Da9:27, such as is not yet discernible. The term of twenty-threehundred days cannot refer twenty-three hundred years of the treadingdown of Christianity by Mohammedanism, as this would leave thegreater portion of the time yet future; whereas, Mohammedanism isfast waning. If the twenty-three hundred days mean years,dating from Alexander’s conquests, 334 B.C.to 323, we should arrive at about the close of the sixth thousandyears of the world, just as the 1260 years (Da7:25) from Justinian’s decree arrive at the same terminus. TheJews’ tradition represents the seventh thousand as the millennium.CUMMING remarks, 480 B.C.is the date of the waning of the Persian empire before Greece;deducting 480 from 2300, we have 1820; and in 1821, Turkey, thesuccessor of the Greek empire, began to wane, and Greece became aseparate kingdom. See on Da 12:11.
cleansedliterally,”justified,” vindicated from profanation. Judas Maccabeuscelebrated the feast of dedication after the cleansing, on thetwenty-fifth of the ninth month, Kisleu (1 Maccabees 4:51-58; 2Maccabees 10:1-7; Joh 10:22).As to the antitypical dedication of the new temple, see Eze43:1-27, c. also Amo 9:11;Amo 9:12.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he said unto me,…. That is, “Palmoni”, the wonderful person, to whom the angel put the above question, gave the answer to it; not unto the angel that asked it, but unto Daniel that stood by; knowing that it was for his and his people’s sake the question was asked, and therefore gave the answer to him, as follows:
unto two thousand and three hundred days; or so many “mornings” and “evenings” h; which shows that not so many years, as Jacchiades, and others, are meant; but natural days, consisting of twenty four hours, and which make six years, three months, and eighteen days; and reckoning from the fifteenth day of the month Cisleu, in the year 145 of the Selucidae, in which Antiochus set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, in the Apocrypha:
“Now the five and twentieth day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol altar, which was upon the altar of God.” (1 Maccabees 1:59)
to the victory obtained over Nicanor by Judas, on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, Anno 151, are just 2300 days; which day the Jews kept as an annual feast, in commemoration of that victory; and from that time enjoyed peace and rest from war i: this way goes L’Empereur after Capellus; but others begin from the defection of the people from the pure religion by Menelaus, Anno 141; though Antiochus did not enter on his impieties till the following year; and, reckoning from the sixth day of the sixth month in that year, to the twenty fifth day of Cisleu in the year 148, when the Jews offered the daily sacrifice on the new altar of burnt offerings, in the Apocrypha:
“Now on the five and twentieth day of the ninth month, which is called the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose up betimes in the morning, 53 And offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt offerings, which they had made. ” (1 Maccabees 4:52)
were just six years, three months, and eighteen days: and so it follows,
and then shall the sanctuary be cleansed; as it was by Judas Maccabeus at the time above mentioned; when he purified the holy places, sanctified the courts, rebuilt the altar, renewed the vessels of the sanctuary, and put all in their proper places; in the Apocrypha:
“41 Then Judas appointed certain men to fight against those that were in the fortress, until he had cleansed the sanctuary. 42 So he chose priests of blameless conversation, such as had pleasure in the law: 43 Who cleansed the sanctuary, and bare out the defiled stones into an unclean place. 44 And when as they consulted what to do with the altar of burnt offerings, which was profaned; 45 They thought it best to pull it down, lest it should be a reproach to them, because the heathen had defiled it: wherefore they pulled it down, 46 And laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them. 47 Then they took whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar according to the former; 48 And made up the sanctuary, and the things that were within the temple, and hallowed the courts. 49 They made also new holy vessels, and into the temple they brought the candlestick, and the altar of burnt offerings, and of incense, and the table. 50 And upon the altar they burned incense, and the lamps that were upon the candlestick they lighted, that they might give light in the temple. 51 Furthermore they set the loaves upon the table, and spread out the veils, and finished all the works which they had begun to make.” (1 Maccabees 4)
Indeed, as Antiochus was a type of antichrist, and his persecution of that desolation made by antichrist in the church; these 2300 days may be considered as so many years, which will bring it down to the end of the sixth Millennium, or thereabout; when it may be hoped there will be a new face of things upon the sanctuary and church of God, and a cleansing of it from all corruption in doctrine, discipline, worship, and conversation.
h “vespero matutina”, Castalio; “vespertina matutinaque tempora”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. i Joseph. Antiqu. l. 12. c. 10. sect. 5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The phrase, And he said to me, now follows. This ought to be referred not to the angel inquiring, but to the Wonderful One. Whence we, rather gather the great anxiety of the angel concerning the interpretation of the prophecy, not for his own sake, but for the common benefit of the pious. Respecting this Wonderful One, though I am persuaded he was the Son of God, yet whoever he was, he certainly does not reject the angel’s request. Why then does he address Daniel rather than the angel? Because the angel was not seeking his own benefit, but took up the cause of the whole Church, as we have Shawn how angels are occupied in our salvation. Thus also we see how the angel notices the Prophet’s astonishment, when he was almost dead, and had not thought of inquiring for himself, or at least did not dare to break forth at once; for he afterwards recovered himself, and was raised up by the angel’s hand, as we shall soon perceive. The Wonderful One said to me — that is, the incomprehensible or the mysterious one said to me — for two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary shall be justified Here the Hebrews are mutually at variance whether they ought to understand the number of years or of months; but it is surprising to perceive how grossly they are deluded in so plain a matter. The expression, to evening and morning, is not doubtful, since Christ, clearly means two thousand three hundred days; for what else can the phrase, morning and evening, signify? It cannot be used of either years or months. Evidently we ought to understand natural days here, consisting of twenty-four hours each. Those who receive it of years and months are wretchedly mistaken, and even ridiculous in their calculations. For some begin to calculate the, time from Samuel, they next descend to the reign of Saul, and next to that of David; and thus they foolishly trifle, through not understanding the intention of Christ, who wished his Church to be forewarned of the coming empires and slaughters, with the view of rendering the faithful invincible, however sorely they may be oppressed on all sides. Christ therefore wished to hold up a light to direct all the elect through the approaching darkness under the tyranny of Antiochus, and to assure them that in the very depths of it they would not be deserted by the favor of God. Hope would thus elevate their minds and all their senses unto the promised termination. To what purpose, then, do those interpreters speak of the reigns of Saul and David? We see this to be altogether foreign and adverse to the mind of Christ, and to the use of this prophecy. No less absurd is the guess of those who prate about months. Their refutation would occupy three or four hours, and would be a waste of time, utterly profitless. It is sufficient to gather this simple meaning from the words — Christ does not speak here of years or months, but of days. We must now seek the true interpretation of the passage from the whole context. We have shewn how impossible it is to explain this prophecy otherwise than by Antiochus: the event itself proves this to be its meaning. Blind indeed must be those who do not hold this principle — the small horn sprang from one of those remarkable and illustrious persons who came forth in place of one very large horn. Boys even know this by reading the accredited history of those times. As Christ here alluded to the tyranny of Antiochus, we must observe how his words accord with the facts. Christ numbers 2300 days for the pollution of the sanctuary, and this period comprehends six years and about four months. We know the Jews to have used lunar years as well as months. They afterwards used interealary periods, since twelve lunar months did not correspond with the sun’s course. The same custom prevailed among both Greeks and Romans. Julius Caesar first arranged for us the solar year, and supplied the defect by intercalary days, so that the months might accord with the sun’s course. But however that was, these days, as I have said, fill up six years and three months and a half. Now, if we compare the testimony of history, and especially of the book of Maccabees, with this prophecy, we shall find that miserable race oppressed for six years under the tyranny of Antiochus. The idol of Olympian Jove did not remain in the temple for six continuous years, but the commencement of the pollution occurred at the first attack, as if he would insult the very face of God. No wonder then if Daniel understood this vision of six years and about a third, because Antiochus then insulted the worship of God and the Law; and when he poured forth innocent blood promiscuously, no one dared openly to resist him. As, therefore, religion was then laid prostrate on the ground, until the cleansing of the temple, we see how very clearly the prophecy and the history agree, as far as this narrative is concerned. Again, it is clear the purifying of the temple could not have been at the end of the sixth current year, but in the month כסלו, keslu, answering to October or November, as leaned men prudently decide, it was profaned. For this month among the Jews begins sometimes in the middle of October, and sometimes at the end, according to the course of the moon; for we said the months and years were lunar. In the month Keslu the temple was polluted; in the month אדר Ader, about three months afterwards, near its close, the Maccabees purged it. (1Ma 4:36.) Thus the history confirms in every way what Daniel had predicted many ages previously — nay, nearly three hundred years before it came to pass. For this occurred a hundred and fifty years after the death of Alexander. Some time also had already elapsed, as there were eight or ten kings of Persia between the deaths of Cyrus and Darius. I do not remember any but the chief events just now, and it ought it to be sufficient for us to perceive how Daniel’s predictions were fulfilled in their own season, as historians clearly narrate. Without the slightest doubt, Christ predicted the profanation of the temple, and this would depress the spirits of the pious as if God had betrayed them, had abandoned all care of his temple, and had given up his election and his covenant entirely. Christ therefore wished to support the spirit of the faithful by this prediction, thereby informing them how fully they deserved these future evils, in consequence of their provoking God’s wrath; and yet their punishment should be temporary, because the very God who announced its approach promised at the same time a prosperous issue.
Respecting the phrase, the sanctuary shall be justified, some translate it — “Then the sanctuary shall be expiated;” but I prefer retaining the proper sense of the word. We know how usually the Hebrews use the word “justify” when they speak of rights. When their own rights are restored to those who have been deprived of them — when a slave has been blessed with his liberty — when he who has been unjustly oppressed obtains his cause, the Hebrews use this word “justified.” As God’s sanctuary was subject to infamy by’ the image of Olympian Jove being exhibited there, all respect for it had passed away; for we know how the glory of the temple sprang from the worship of God. As the temple had been defiled by so great disgrace, it was then justified, when God established his own sacrifices again, and restored his pure worship as prescribed by the Law. The sanctuary, therefore, shall be justified; that is, vindicated from that disgrace to which for a time it had been subject. It follows: —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(14) Unto two thousand and three hundred days.It is clear from the language that the period here spoken of terminates with the cleansing of the sanctuary, and that it begins with the transgression that led to the awful events that occurred in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. Judas Maccabeus took Jerusalem in the year B.C. 165, and kept the Feast of Dedication the same year, Antiochus being at the time in Armenia. The period apparently commences with the events mentioned in 2Ma. 4:32-39, which occurred about B.C. 171. The dates, however, not being recorded precisely, it is impossible to reckon with certainty whence the starting-point is to be dated. The phrase evening morning (see margin) is used to indicate a complete night and day, and 2,300 complete days of twenty-four hours make a period of six years 140 days. It has been observed that this period falls short of seven years (a week of years) by about two-thirds of a year. If, then, seven years is the number of years symbolical of Divine chastisements, the prophecy implies that the people shall not suffer persecution according to their full deserts, but for the elects sake those days shall be shortened. (See Note on Dan. 7:25.)
Be cleansed.Literally, be placed in its proper state.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Days Literally, evenings-mornings; that is, successive evenings and mornings. Since it is a question of the suspension of the daily sacrifice the verse alludes, no doubt, to the evening oblation (Dan 9:21) and the morning oblation (note Dan 9:26; Exo 29:41). There have been libraries of discussion over the meaning and application of these words, but they most probably refer to the fact that there should be twenty-three hundred omissions of the daily sacrifices, covering a period of some eleven hundred and fifty days. This most naturally applies to the “three years and six months” during which time Josephus says Antiochus “put a stop to the daily offerings” (Wars, I, 1, i). There is no need to suppose that Josephus’s reckoning of three and a half years (twelve hundred and sixty days) is exact to the day. Daniel calculates one period of this temple defilement to be twelve hundred and ninety days (Dan 12:11) and another period to the complete triumph of righteousness thirteen hundred and thirty-five days (Dan 12:12); while here a certain section of this persecution is computed at twenty-three hundred evenings-mornings. This might possibly mean twenty-three hundred full days (Gen 1:5); but since there is no period of six and a half years known to us which would offer a natural explanation of the use of such a time reckoning, it is probably better to consider it as eleven hundred and fifty days, and explain it as above though there can be no doubt that the persecutions of Antiochus covered a period of six years and longer. We are as yet not sufficiently acquainted with the daily history of the Jews during this awful time of trouble to understand in all cases what these numbers mean. Indeed it may be possible that Dr. Terry is right in his suggestion that this difference of enumeration, referring to the same general period, was to enforce the truth that the “time, times, and dividing of a time” (Dan 7:25; Dan 12:7) could not be reckoned with mathematical accuracy. (Compare Act 1:7.) Since, however, these figures are not made up of the usual symbolic numbers of Scripture we prefer to accept them as referring to events well known then, although hidden from us.
Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed Or, “justified” (R.V., margin). “The justification of the sanctuary is the vindication of the cause; for so long as it is polluted it lies under condemnation.” Bevan.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Dan 8:14. Unto two thousand and three hundred days In the original, Unto two thousand and three hundred mornings and evenings; an evening and a morning being the Hebrew notation of time for a day. See Dan 8:26. Now these 2300 days can by no computation be accommodated to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes, even though the days be taken for natural days. The days, without doubt, are to be taken, agreeably to the style of Daniel in other places, not for natural, but for prophetic days or years; and as the question was asked, not only how long the daily sacrifices should be taken away, and the transgression of desolation continue, but also how long the vision should last; so the answer is to be understood: and these 2300 days denote the whole time from the beginning of the vision to the cleansing of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is not yet cleansed, and consequently these years are not expired. It is difficult to fix the precise time when the prophetic dates begin and end, till the prophesies are fulfilled: but it appears to me that the 2300 days should be computed from the vision of the he-goat, or Alexander’s invading Asia. Alexander invaded Asia in the year of the world 3670 (according to the common calculation, which may in some degree be erroneous), and before Christ 334. Two thousand and three hundred years from that time will draw towards the conclusion of the sixth millennium of the world. See Bishop Newton. But I shall speak more on this subject when we come to the Revelation.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Ver. 14. And he said unto me. ] Not to the angel, but to me, who should have proposed the question; the holy angel did it for me.
Unto two thousand and three hundred days.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
me. Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read “him”.
two thousand and three hundred days. See App-91, and note on Dan 8:26 below.
days = evenings and mornings, the times of the offering of the “continual” or daily sacrifice.
cleansed = vindicated or sanctified: in this form, occurs only here. Compare Dan 9:24; and see App-90.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Unto: Dan 7:25, Dan 12:7, Dan 12:11, Rev 11:2, Rev 11:3, Rev 12:14, Rev 13:5
two thousand: That is, 2,300 years, which reckoned from the time Alexander invaded Asia, bc 334, will be ad 1966.
days: Heb. evening, morning, Dan 8:26, Gen 1:5
then: Isa 1:27, Rom 11:26, Rom 11:27, Rev 11:15
cleansed: Heb. justified, Isa 45:25, Gal 3:8
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Dan 8:14. The answer was addressed to Daniel instead of the saint who had asked the question, because it had been asked in the hearing of the prophet who was to be the reporter of the scene. The number of days, 2300, Is nearly six and a half years. This includes the time the altar lay desecrated and idle, and also the period required for the war for the repossess.on of the holy institution. The war was conducted by Judas Maccabeus, a faithful and zealous Jew. The history of that war is too extensive to co.^y here, but the reader may see the information in Josephus, Antiquities, 12-7-1-6.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
8:14 And {z} he said unto me, Unto {a} two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
(z) Christ answered me for the comfort of the Church.
(a) That is, until so many natural days have passed, which make six years, and three and a half months: for the temple was profaned this long under Antiochus.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Another angel replied, but he replied to Daniel. The answer was primarily for his comfort and for the comfort of his people, the Jews. The angel said that the desecration would last 2,300 evenings and mornings. Many commentators take this as meaning 2,300 days (i.e., six years, four months, and 20 days) since the Jews described a 24-hour day as evening and morning (Gen 1:5-31). [Note: E.g., Walvoord, p. 190; Feinberg, p. 107; Whitcomb, p. 113; Campbell, p. 96; Young, p. 174; Leupold, p. 357; Goldingay, p. 213; and Ironside, p. 152.] Others believe it means a total of 2,300 evenings and mornings (1,150 of each), namely, 1,150 24-hour days (i.e., three years, two months, and 10 days). In this case, "2,300 evenings and mornings" may mean: 2,300 evening and morning sacrifices. This period then may describe the duration of the period when Antiochus did his worst to the temple and the Jews (167-164 B.C.). [Note: Archer, "Daniel," p. 103; Pentecost, p. 1358; Baldwin, p. 158; G. C. Aalders, Daniel, p. 165; Dyer, in The Old . . ., p. 715; and Culver, "Daniel," p. 792.] I think 2,300 days are in view-the former view. The Jews followed a calendar that consisted of 30 days each month. This, of course, results in a year of 360 days, which is five and one quarter days short of a lunar year. They made up the remaining days every few years by inserting another month. [Note: See The New Bible Dictionary, 1962 ed., s.v. "Calendar," by F. F. Bruce.]
Some interpreters view the 2,300 as a symbolic number. The problems with this approach are essentially two. First, the other similar numbers in Daniel appear to be literal. Second, arriving at the symbolic meaning of this number is extremely difficult and boils down to guessing. Other interpreters have tried to explain these days as years, but the connection with evenings and mornings probably limits them to days. [Note: See Keil, pp. 302-308.] Seventh-Day Adventists take the days as years and believe that Jesus did not enter the holiest in heaven until A.D. 1844, 2,300 years after Cyrus issued his decree to rebuild the temple. [Note: See Ironside, pp. 152-53.] Perhaps the figure is in days, rather than in months or years, to give the impression of a long, hard duration.
The temple would be restored after 2,300 days.
"Innumerable explanations have been attempted to make the twenty-three hundred days coincide with the history of Antiochus Epiphanes." [Note: Walvoord, Daniel . . ., p. 189.]
One way to locate the fulfillment is to identify the end of the 2,300 days, and then work back. But did the angel mean that this period would end with the restoration of the holy place, or that the restoration of the holy place would follow sometime after the end of the 2,300 days? The text does not provide the answer, but the first Hanukkah in December of 164 B.C. may be the re-consecration that the angel predicted. Alternatively, the full restoration of all the sacrifices, and the religious independence of the Jews that came a few months later, may be in view. In either case, the year of restoration was probably 164 B.C., or shortly after that.
One literal view is that the 2,300 days ended with Antiochus’ death in November-December of 164 B.C. [Note: Ibid., p. 190; Keil, p. 304; Wood, A Commentary . . ., p. 219.] However, the text seems to identify the 2,300 days specifically with the desecration of the temple and the persecution of the Jews. As far as we know, Antiochus did not take over six years to do those things. Antiochus began his reign in 175 B.C., and in 169 B.C. he first entered the temple. Some who hold this view identify the beginning of this period as Antiochus’ initial entrance into Jerusalem in 170 B.C. Others identify it with the murder of the Jewish high priest Onias III in 171 B.C. However, there was no abridgement of temple service at those early dates. Antiochus looted the temple in 170 B.C., but the abolition of the sacrifices did not begin until 167 B.C. 1Ma 6:8-13 records Antiochus’ comments, just before his death, about failing to destroy the Jews.
Walvoord considered 2,300 "obviously a round number." [Note: Walvoord, Daniel . . ., p. 190.] But other scholars have questioned why this is so obvious.
Regardless of how one solves the 2,300 evenings and mornings problem, there is general agreement among the scholars that Antiochus fulfilled this prophecy. I believe the 2,300 days was a period of persecution during his domination of the Jews, perhaps 167-164 B.C.
"A persecutor of the Jews in Russia asked a Jew what he thought the outcome would be if the wave of persecutions continued. The Jew answered, ’The result will be a feast! Pharaoh tried to destroy the Jews, but the result was the Passover. Haman attempted to destroy the Jews, but the result was the Feast of Purim. Antiochus Epiphanes tried to destroy the Jews, but the result was the Feast of Dedication.’" [Note: Campbell, p. 96.]