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Grammar Analysis: Daniel 9:24–27

The 70 Weeks Prophecy — Gabriel's explanation continuing the vision of Daniel 8

Text

Hebrew (BHS):

v. 24 שָׁבֻעִ֨ים שִׁבְעִ֜ים נֶחְתַּ֥ךְ עַֽל־עַמְּךָ֣׀ וְעַל־עִ֣יר קָדְשֶׁ֗ךָ לְכַלֵּ֨א הַפֶּ֜שַׁע וּלְהָתֵ֤ם חַטָּאת֙ וּלְכַפֵּ֣ר עָוֹ֔ן וּלְהָבִ֖יא צֶ֣דֶק עֹֽלָמִ֑ים וְלַחְתֹּם֙ חָזֹ֣ון וְנָבִ֔יא וְלִמְשֹׁ֖חַ קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִֽׁים׃

v. 25 וְתֵדַ֨ע וְתַשְׂכֵּ֜ל מִן־מֹצָ֣א דָבָ֗ר לְהָשִׁיב֙ וְלִבְנֹ֤ות יְרֽוּשָׁלִַ֨ם֙ עַד־מָשִׁ֣יחַ נָגִ֔יד שָׁבֻעִ֖ים שִׁבְעָ֑ה וְשָׁבֻעִ֞ים שִׁשִּׁ֣ים וּשְׁנַ֗יִם תָּשׁוּב֙ וְנִבְנְתָה֙ רְחֹ֣וב וְחָר֔וּץ וּבְצֹ֖וק הָעִתִּֽים׃

v. 26 וְאַחֲרֵ֤י הַשָּׁבֻעִים֙ שִׁשִּׁ֣ים וּשְׁנַ֔יִם יִכָּרֵ֥ת מָשִׁ֖יחַ וְאֵ֣ין לֹ֑ו וְהָעִ֨יר וְהַקֹּ֜דֶשׁ יַ֠שְׁחִית עַ֣ם נָגִ֤יד הַבָּא֙ וְקִצֹּ֣ו בַשֶּׁ֔טֶף וְעַד֙ קֵ֣ץ מִלְחָמָ֔ה נֶחֱרֶ֖צֶת שֹׁמֵמֹֽות׃

v. 27 וְהִגְבִּ֥יר בְּרִ֛ית לָרַבִּ֖ים שָׁב֣וּעַ אֶחָ֑ד וַחֲצִ֨י הַשָּׁב֜וּעַ יַשְׁבִּ֣ית׀ זֶ֣בַח וּמִנְחָ֗ה וְעַ֨ל כְּנַ֤ף שִׁקּוּצִים֙ מְשֹׁמֵ֔ם וְעַד־כָּלָה֙ וְנֶ֣חֱרָצָ֔ה תִּתַּ֖ךְ עַל־שֹׁמֵֽם׃ פ

KJV:

24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

25 Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Word-by-Word Parsing

Daniel 9:24

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 שָׁבֻעִים שׁבוע Noun.mp.Abs week(s) / sevened-periods
2 שִׁבְעִים שׁבע Noun.mp.Abs seventy
3 נֶחְתַּךְ חתך Verb.Niphal.Perf.3ms is-decreed / is-cut-off
4 עַל על Prep upon
5 עַמְּךָ עם Noun.ms.Abs+2ms thy people
6 וְעַל ו + על Conj + Prep and upon
7 עִיר עיר Noun.fs.Cst city-of
8 קָדְשֶׁךָ קדשׁ Noun.ms.Abs+2ms thy holiness
9 לְכַלֵּא כלה Verb.Piel.InfCon + לְ to bring-to-an-end
10 הַפֶּשַׁע פשׁע Art + Noun.ms.Abs the rebellion/transgression
11 וּלְהָתֵם תמם Verb.Hiphil.InfCon + לְ to seal-up / complete (K ולחתם, Q ולהתם)
12 חַטָּאת חטאת Noun.fs.Abs sin(s)
13 וּלְכַפֵּר כפר Verb.Piel.InfCon + לְ to atone-for
14 עָוֹן עון Noun.ms.Abs iniquity
15 וּלְהָבִיא בוא Verb.Hiphil.InfCon + לְ to bring-in
16 צֶדֶק צדק Noun.ms.Cst righteousness-of
17 עֹלָמִים עולם Noun.mp.Abs ages / everlasting
18 וְלַחְתֹּם חתם Verb.Qal.InfCon + לְ to seal-up
19 חָזוֹן חזון Noun.ms.Abs vision
20 וְנָבִיא נביא Noun.ms.Abs (and) prophet
21 וְלִמְשֹׁחַ משׁח Verb.Qal.InfCon + לְ to anoint
22 קֹדֶשׁ קדשׁ Noun.ms.Cst holy-of
23 קָדָשִׁים קדשׁ Noun.mp.Abs holies

Daniel 9:25

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 וְתֵדַע ידע Verb.Qal.Impf.2ms and thou shalt know
2 וְתַשְׂכֵּל שׂכל Verb.Hiphil.Impf.2ms and thou shalt understand
3 מִן מן Prep from
4 מֹצָא מוצא Noun.ms.Cst going-forth-of
5 דָבָר דבר Noun.ms.Abs word / decree
6 לְהָשִׁיב שׁוב Verb.Hiphil.InfCon + לְ to restore
7 וְלִבְנוֹת בנה Verb.Qal.InfCon + לְ and to build
8 יְרוּשָׁלִַם ירושׁלם PropN Jerusalem
9 עַד עד Prep until
10 מָשִׁיחַ משׁיח Noun.ms.Abs Anointed (Messiah)
11 נָגִיד נגיד Noun.ms.Abs prince / leader
12 שָׁבֻעִים שׁבוע Noun.mp.Abs weeks
13 שִׁבְעָה שׁבע Noun.fs.Abs seven
14 וְשָׁבֻעִים שׁבוע Noun.mp.Abs and weeks
15 שִׁשִּׁים שׁשׁ Noun.mp.Abs sixty
16 וּשְׁנַיִם שׁנים Noun.d.Abs and two
17 תָּשׁוּב שׁוב Verb.Qal.Impf.3fs it shall return (= be rebuilt)
18 וְנִבְנְתָה בנה Verb.Niphal.Perf.3fs (waw-consec.) and shall-be-built
19 רְחוֹב רחב Noun.fs.Abs open-place / plaza
20 וְחָרוּץ חרוץ Noun.ms.Abs moat / cut-out trench
21 וּבְצוֹק צוק Noun.ms.Cst and in distress-of
22 הָעִתִּים עת Art + Noun.mp.Abs the times

Daniel 9:26

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 וְאַחֲרֵי אחר Conj + Noun.mp.Cst and after
2 הַשָּׁבֻעִים שׁבוע Art + Noun.mp.Abs the weeks
3 שִׁשִּׁים שׁשׁ Noun.mp.Abs sixty
4 וּשְׁנַיִם שׁנים Noun.d.Abs and two
5 יִכָּרֵת כרת Verb.Niphal.Impf.3ms shall-be-cut-off
6 מָשִׁיחַ משׁיח Noun.ms.Abs Anointed (Messiah)
7 וְאֵין אין Conj + particle-of-nonexistence.Cst and there-is-nothing
8 לוֹ ל Prep+3ms to/for him
9 וְהָעִיר עיר Conj + Art + Noun.fs.Abs and the city
10 וְהַקֹּדֶשׁ קדשׁ Conj + Art + Noun.ms.Abs and the sanctuary
11 יַשְׁחִית שׁחת Verb.Hiphil.Impf.3ms shall-destroy
12 עַם עם Noun.ms.Cst people-of
13 נָגִיד נגיד Noun.ms.Abs a prince
14 הַבָּא בוא Art + Verb.Qal.Ptcp.ms the-one-coming
15 וְקִצּוֹ קץ Conj + Noun.ms.Abs+3ms and his end
16 בַשֶּׁטֶף שׁטף Prep + Art + Noun.ms.Abs in the flood
17 וְעַד עד Conj + Prep and unto
18 קֵץ קץ Noun.ms.Cst end-of
19 מִלְחָמָה מלחמה Noun.fs.Abs war
20 נֶחֱרֶצֶת חרץ Verb.Niphal.Ptcp.fs being-decreed / determined
21 שֹׁמֵמוֹת שׁמם Verb.Qal.Ptcp.fp desolations

Daniel 9:27

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 וְהִגְבִּיר גבר Verb.Hiphil.Perf.3ms (waw-consec.) and he shall-cause-to-prevail / confirm
2 בְּרִית ברית Noun.fs.Abs covenant
3 לָרַבִּים רב Prep + Art + Adj.mp.Abs with the many
4 שָׁבוּעַ שׁבוע Noun.ms.Abs week
5 אֶחָד אחד Noun.s.Abs one
6 וַחֲצִי חצי Conj + Noun.ms.Cst and half-of
7 הַשָּׁבוּעַ שׁבוע Art + Noun.ms.Abs the week
8 יַשְׁבִּית שׁבת Verb.Hiphil.Impf.3ms he shall cause-to-cease
9 זֶבַח זבח Noun.ms.Abs sacrifice
10 וּמִנְחָה מנחה Conj + Noun.fs.Abs and oblation
11 וְעַל על Conj + Prep and upon
12 כְּנַף כנף Noun.fs.Cst wing-of
13 שִׁקּוּצִים שׁקוץ Noun.mp.Abs abominations
14 מְשֹׁמֵם שׁמם Verb.Piel.Ptcp.ms desolator / one-making-desolate
15 וְעַד עד Conj + Prep and until
16 כָּלָה כלה Noun.fs.Abs completion / end
17 וְנֶחֱרָצָה חרץ Conj + Verb.Niphal.Ptcp.fs and-what-is-decreed
18 תִּתַּךְ נתך Verb.Qal.Impf.3fs shall-be-poured
19 עַל על Prep upon
20 שֹׁמֵם שׁמם Verb.Qal.Ptcp.ms desolator / desolate-one

Key Grammatical Features

1. נֶחְתַּךְ (nechtak) — Niphal Perfect 3ms of חתך (v. 24)

  • Form: Niphal stem, perfect aspect, 3rd masculine singular. The root חתך occurs only here in the entire Hebrew Bible (BLB count = 1; BDB/Gesenius: Daniel 9:24 sole occurrence). The verb is a true hapax legomenon in the canonical OT.
  • Lexical semantics: Strong's H2852 — châthak, "a primitive root; properly, to cut off, i.e. (figuratively) to decree: — determine" (BDB). The basic Qal sense is concrete severance ("cut off, divide"); the Niphal here is passive — "is/has-been cut off." The figurative sense "decreed/determined" follows naturally from the image of a fixed portion having been cut off (cf. English "allotted, apportioned, decreed"). Later Mishnaic Hebrew and Aramaic attest חתך in exactly this "determine/decree" sense, confirming the semantic bridge.
  • Aspect: The Hebrew perfect here functions as a stative/resultative ("is determined"), not a past-tense narrative. Gabriel is speaking from the vantage point of a settled divine decision: the seventy-week allotment has been cut off and stands decreed. KJV "are determined" captures this well.
  • Subject agreement: 3ms perfect agrees with the plural-form noun שָׁבֻעִים as a single collective block ("the seventy weeks, [as a unit,] has-been-cut-off"). This is standard with collective-numerical subjects; cf. GKC §145k, Joüon-Muraoka §150c.
  • Lexical resonance with Dan 8: The cutting verb links conceptually, but not lexically, to Daniel 8. Dan 8:14 speaks of 2,300 evening-mornings; here a seventy-week segment is cut off from that larger temporal frame. The word חָתַךְ was deliberately chosen — a unique, otherwise-unused verb — to mark this as a singular, foundational act of measuring-off. See word-studies/H2852-chathak.md.
  • Grammar reference: hebrew/stem-niphal.md — Niphal as passive.

2. שָׁבֻעִים שִׁבְעִים (shabu'im shib'im) — "Seventy Sevens" (v. 24)

  • Form: Two Noun.mp.Abs forms in juxtaposition: שָׁבֻעִים ("sevened-periods, weeks") + שִׁבְעִים ("seventy"). Both derive from the root שבע ("seven"). The numeral שִׁבְעִים is the plural of "seven" used adjectivally for "seventy"; שָׁבֻעִים is the masculine plural of שָׁבוּעַ — etymologically a passive participle of the denominative verb "seven" (Strong's H7620), meaning "sevened [unit], heptad, week."
  • Noun שָׁבוּעַ: Occurs 20× in the OT (BLB). Three senses attested: (a) a literal 7-day week (Gen 29:27-28 "fulfill her week"; Deut 16:9-10, 16 Feast of Weeks; Jer 5:24); (b) a 7-year sabbatical cycle by implication (Lev 25 contextual framework); (c) a heptad/seven-unit with referent supplied by context. In Daniel 9:24-27 (7×) and Dan 10:2-3 שָׁבֻעִים יָמִים, "weeks of days," is explicitly contrasted with the plain שָׁבֻעִים of ch. 9 — a reader's signal that the ch. 9 שָׁבֻעִים are not weeks-of-days. The "sevened" root sense is intentionally open-ended; context, not the word, fixes the time unit.
  • Masculine plural in -ים: The form שָׁבֻעִים (not feminine שָׁבֻעוֹת as in Exod 34:22 Feast of Weeks) appears chiefly in Dan 9 and Dan 10, and is sometimes taken by commentators as a deliberate variant marking the technical apocalyptic usage.
  • Word order: Placing the object/subject (שָׁבֻעִים שִׁבְעִים) before the verb (נֶחְתַּךְ) is marked fronting — emphasis/topicalization. The "seventy weeks" is the headline of the announcement.
  • Connection to Dan 8:14 day-year framework: Daniel 8 closes with the 2,300 evening-mornings sanctuary timetable, and 8:26-27 leaves Daniel appalled and "none understood" — setting the narrative trigger for Daniel's prayer (9:1-19) and Gabriel's return (9:21-23). Gabriel's words הָבֵן בַּמַּרְאֶה ("understand the vision," 9:23) reach back deliberately to the unexplained מַרְאֶה of 8:16, 26-27. See hebrew/day-year-formula.md for the hermeneutical framework that converts prophetic "day" units into years (Num 14:34; Ezek 4:6); on that reading שָׁבֻעִים שִׁבְעִים = 70 × 7 = 490 prophetic days = 490 years.
  • Word study: word-studies/WG-weeks.md.

3. Six Telic Infinitive Construct Clauses (v. 24)

The purpose-clause chain in v. 24 contains six coordinated לְ + infinitive construct forms — the grammatical backbone of the verse's theological content:

# Form Stem Root Gloss
1 לְכַלֵּא Piel כלה "to finish / put-an-end-to [the transgression]"
2 וּלְהָתֵם Hiphil תמם (Kethib ולחתם חתם "to seal," Qere ולהתם תמם "to complete") "to seal up / make an end of [sins]"
3 וּלְכַפֵּר Piel כפר "to atone for [iniquity]"
4 וּלְהָבִיא Hiphil בוא "to bring in [everlasting righteousness]"
5 וְלַחְתֹּם Qal חתם "to seal [vision and prophet]"
6 וְלִמְשֹׁחַ Qal משׁח "to anoint [holy-of-holies]"
  • Function: Infinitive construct with prefixed לְ expresses purpose/result ("in order to…") and/or epexegetical expansion of the main verb. Here all six depend on נֶחְתַּךְ and define what the cutting-off of the seventy weeks is for — the telic goal of the allotment.
  • Pairing pattern: 3 + 3 structure — the first three deal with the negative removal of sin (rebellion, sin, iniquity) using the OT's three standard terms for sin (פֶּשַׁע, חַטָּאת, עָוֹן), paralleling Exod 34:7; the last three deal with positive installations (everlasting righteousness, sealing of vision-and-prophet, anointing of Holy-of-Holies).
  • Kethib/Qere at #2: BHS writes ולחתם (Kethib, "to seal") but the Masoretes mark the Qere as ולהתם (from תמם, "to complete"). The parser returns the Qere reading (Hiphil of תמם). Both readings end up in the sealing/completing semantic field; commentators split, but both ancient traditions agree the object is sin.
  • Grammar reference: see also hebrew/stem-niphal.md for Niphal antecedent; no dedicated infinitive-construct entry exists yet in the library (candidate for future creation).

4. יִכָּרֵת מָשִׁיחַ — Niphal Imperfect 3ms of כרת (v. 26)

  • Form: יִכָּרֵת = Niphal imperfect 3ms from כָּרַת (Strong's H3772), "cut, cut off." Subject: מָשִׁיחַ, "Anointed One," unarticulated. KJV: "shall Messiah be cut off."
  • Niphal of כרת: The Niphal is the standard passive for this root and covers a lexicalized semantic range: (a) concrete severance (a limb, a branch); (b) violent death, especially judicial or covenantal (Gen 9:11; Lev 7:20-27 the karet penalty "cut off from his people"); (c) destruction/annihilation of a line or nation. In contexts involving persons, "cut off" almost always denotes violent death with covenantal/divine overtones. Word study: word-studies/H3772-karath.md.
  • Imperfect aspect: Future-referring from Gabriel's speaking vantage; punctiliar-event reading ("shall be cut off") is natural given a nominal agent + definite terminus (after the 62 weeks).
  • Lexical contrast with חָתַךְ (v. 24): Both roots mean "cut," but the passage uses them distinctively. נֶחְתַּךְ in v. 24 = cut off a portion of time (decree, allotment). יִכָּרֵת in v. 26 = cut off a person (violent death). The semantic echo is deliberate: the period that is cut-off (v. 24) reaches its climax in a person being cut-off (v. 26).
  • וְאֵין לֹו: Verbless/particle clause with אֵין + לְ + pronominal suffix — lit. "and there-is-nothing to-him." Syntactically economical; semantically contested. Options (all grammatically valid): "and [he shall have] nothing/no one," "and none [of his own remains] to-him," "but not for himself" (KJV's interpretive gloss). The brevity is itself a rhetorical feature.
  • Grammar reference: hebrew/stem-niphal.md.

5. חרץ Niphal Participles — the Determined Decree (vv. 26, 27)

  • Forms: נֶחֱרֶצֶת (v. 26, Niphal Participle fs Abs) and וְנֶחֱרָצָה (v. 27, Niphal Participle fs Abs) from the root חרץ (Strong's H2782).
  • Lexical semantics: charats — "properly, to point sharply, i.e. (literally) to wound; figuratively, to be alert, to decide: — bestir self, decide, decree, determine" (BDB). Occurs 12× in the OT. In Isa 10:22-23, 28:22, and Dan 9:26-27; 11:36 the root is used for a divinely decreed judgment/end. Word study: word-studies/H2782-charats.md.
  • Niphal Participle function: The Niphal participle is passive-stative — "[something] being/having-been decreed" — describing an abiding state of divinely fixed certainty. It functions as a quasi-substantive in v. 27 (וְנֶחֱרָצָה, "and that-which-is-decreed") and as a predicate adjective in v. 26 (שֹׁמֵמוֹת נֶחֱרֶצֶת, "desolations are decreed").
  • Three-verb "decree" architecture: The passage layers three distinct but semantically overlapping "decree/cut" roots — חתך (v. 24, unique), כרת (v. 26, the Messiah), חרץ (vv. 26, 27). Read context-neutrally as a grammatical observation: three different Hebrew roots for cutting/determining cluster in this single oracle, none of them a common Biblical-Hebrew verb for "decree." The more usual words for decree (צוה, אמר, גזר [Aram.], יעד) are absent. The rhetorical effect is a deliberate cutting-motif running through the entire passage.
  • Grammar reference: hebrew/stem-niphal.md.

6. Bracketing Imperatives/Imperfects of v. 25 — וְתֵדַע וְתַשְׂכֵּל

  • Form: Pair of 2ms imperfects (Qal of ידע + Hiphil of שׂכל) opening v. 25 with waw prefixed. Can be read as (a) future indicatives ("and thou shalt know and shalt understand") or (b) cohortative/jussive-force imperatives ("so know, and understand!"). Given Gabriel's explicit declaration in 9:22-23 that he has come לְהַשְׂכִּילְךָ בִינָה ("to give thee skill-and-understanding") and הָבֵן בַּמַּרְאֶה ("understand the vision"), the imperatival force fits the discourse function: Gabriel is commanding comprehension.
  • Hiphil of שׂכל: Causative/factitive — "cause to be prudent, give insight, act with insight." The exact lexical pair ידע + שׂכל (Hiphil) appears in Dan 9:25 and Dan 11:33, 12:3, 10 — a Danielic signature collocation binding the end-time instruction motif (מַשְׂכִּילִים, "the wise/insightful ones") to the 70-weeks oracle.
  • Connection to Dan 8: Gabriel's task in Dan 8:16 was הָבֵן … אֶת־הַמַּרְאֶה ("make this one understand the vision"), but 8:27 records Daniel's failure: וְאֵין מֵבִין ("and none understood"). Daniel 9:22-25 is the narrative resumption: the same angel, the same verb of understanding, explicitly re-applied to the unfinished vision. Grammatically this is a cross-chapter resumption chain, executed lexically (שׂכל + בין + מַרְאֶה) rather than by explicit discourse markers.

7. Construct-Chain and Numeric Apposition Structures

  • v. 25 מֹצָא דָבָר: Construct chain ("going-forth of a word/decree"). מֹצָא = Hiphil-form verbal noun of יצא ("cause to go out"), in Cst state — the head term; דָבָר = absolute, the semantic complement. The terminus a quo of the prophetic clock.
  • v. 25 מָשִׁיחַ נָגִיד: Two absolute-state masculine singulars in apposition — not a construct chain (since both are unarticulated absolutes). Syntactically either (a) title + apposition "Anointed [One], [a] Prince/Leader," or (b) double noun-phrase title ("Anointed Prince"). Same construction type as the similar Dan 8 title formulae.
  • v. 25 שָׁבֻעִים שִׁבְעָה / שָׁבֻעִים שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם: Noun + cardinal number in apposition — standard BH quantification where the number follows the counted noun. Masculine plural שָׁבֻעִים is here modified by a feminine absolute numeral שִׁבְעָה ("seven") — a well-known gender-disagreement pattern in BH counting (the so-called "reverse gender" rule for cardinals 3-10, Joüon §100d, GKC §97a-c). The 7 + 62 + 1 division (total = 70) is grammatically a simple numeric partition of the already-announced 70 of v. 24. See also hebrew/day-year-formula.md.
  • v. 26 עַם נָגִיד הַבָּא: Ambiguous construct chain — "people of a prince, the one-coming." Parsing options depend on whether the articular participle הַבָּא modifies עַם or נָגִיד. Grammatically the definite article's position favors נָגִיד as the head (the article on the participle signals the participle modifies the nearer definite-ish noun in construct; however עַם-constructions are exceptional). The interpretation "the people of the coming prince" (prince = subject of action) and "the coming people of the prince" (people = subject of action) both parse. The article placement is the disputed datum.
  • v. 27 כְּנַף שִׁקּוּצִים: Construct chain "wing of abominations." שִׁקּוּצִים is the standard OT plural for detestable/idolatrous objects (Deut 29:17; 1 Kgs 11:5-7; 2 Kgs 23:13, 24; Jer 4:1, 7:30; Ezek 5:11). The "wing" image is much disputed (pinnacle of temple? sweep of abominations? side/extremity?). Grammatically this is straightforward Cst-Abs noun pair with no marking resolving the metaphor.

Structural Observations

Frontline Verbs Through vv. 24–27

Arranged in sequence, the finite-verb spine of the oracle:

Verse Verb Parsing Subject Action
24 נֶחְתַּךְ Niph. Perf 3ms שָׁבֻעִים שִׁבְעִים "is-decreed" (stative-resultative)
25 וְתֵדַע / וְתַשְׂכֵּל Qal/Hiph. Impf 2ms Daniel "know / understand"
25 תָּשׁוּב Qal Impf 3fs Jerusalem (implied) "shall return/be-rebuilt"
25 וְנִבְנְתָה Niph. Perf 3fs (waw-consec.) Jerusalem "and shall-be-built"
26 יִכָּרֵת Niph. Impf 3ms מָשִׁיחַ "shall-be-cut-off"
26 יַשְׁחִית Hiph. Impf 3ms עַם נָגִיד "shall destroy"
27 וְהִגְבִּיר Hiph. Perf 3ms (waw-consec.) 3ms antecedent (disputed: נָגִיד הַבָּא of v.26 or מָשִׁיחַ) "shall confirm / cause-to-prevail"
27 יַשְׁבִּית Hiph. Impf 3ms same 3ms "shall cause-to-cease"
27 תִּתַּךְ Qal Impf 3fs נֶחֱרָצָה ("what-is-decreed") "shall be-poured"

Note the pattern: the oracle opens with a stative-resultative perfect (settled divine decree), proceeds through imperfects and waw-consecutive perfects for future eventualities, and closes with another "pouring out of what-is-decreed" — grammatically bracketed by divine decree-language (נֶחְתַּךְ … נֶחֱרָצָה).

The Antecedent of the 3ms in v. 27

The verb וְהִגְבִּיר ("he shall confirm") has no explicit subject in v. 27. Grammatically the closest 3ms antecedents in v. 26 are:

  • מָשִׁיחַ ("[the] Anointed One," v. 26 subject of יִכָּרֵת)
  • נָגִיד הַבָּא ("the prince that shall come," v. 26 subject-phrase of יַשְׁחִית via its genitive-head עַם)

Both are 3ms nouns; Hebrew narrative syntax allows a 3ms verb to pick up either by proximity or by discourse-salience. The grammatical data does not resolve the ambiguity; the contextual/theological resolution is the classical interpretive crux of the passage. Context-neutrally: the ambiguity is real, morphologically unsignaled, and is not reducible to grammar alone.

Connection to Daniel 8

The grammar itself ties Daniel 9:24-27 back to Daniel 8 in three explicit ways:

  1. Lexical resumption of Gabriel's understanding-mission. Dan 8:16 הָבֵן … אֶת־הַמַּרְאֶה ("make him understand the vision"); 8:27 וְאֵין מֵבִין ("and none understood"); 9:22 לְהַשְׂכִּילְךָ בִינָה ("to make thee understand"); 9:23 הָבֵן בַּמַּרְאֶה ("understand the vision"); 9:25 וְתֵדַע וְתַשְׂכֵּל ("know and understand"). Same angel, same verbal roots (בין, שׂכל), same object (מַרְאֶה), spanning 19 verses of narrative.

  2. The "cutting" motif. Daniel 8:14 establishes a 2,300 evening-morning time-frame for sanctuary vindication. Daniel 9:24 uses a root (חתך) that nowhere else in the OT appears, with a figurative sense of cutting a portion off — i.e., allotting a shorter piece out of a larger whole. The grammatical datum (a unique hapax verb used specifically for a time-allotment) is compatible with the interpretive reading that the 70 weeks are a sub-portion carved out of the 2,300 of Dan 8:14.

  3. Day-year hermeneutic. Both Daniel 8:14 (2,300 evening-mornings → 2,300 years on the day-year reading) and Daniel 9:24-27 (70 × 7 "sevened" units → 490 years on the day-year reading) are candidates for the day-for-year formula (Num 14:34; Ezek 4:6). See hebrew/day-year-formula.md for the context-neutral grammar of the formula and its hermeneutical portability to apocalyptic time-prophecies.

The grammatical link is firm; interpretive conclusions built on the link belong in passage-level studies, not in this reference entry.

Cross-References

Grammar Library

  • hebrew/stem-niphal.md — Niphal passive stem (used 6× across vv. 24-27: נֶחְתַּךְ, וְנִבְנְתָה, יִכָּרֵת, נֶחֱרֶצֶת, וְנֶחֱרָצָה, plus consec. forms)
  • hebrew/day-year-formula.md — day-for-year conversion, yôm laššānâ; context-neutral hermeneutics applied to Dan 9:24-27

Word Studies