Reason #6:
"What do evangelical Christians do with the prophecy of the 70 weeks? Don’t they have to employ the year/day principle to convert the weeks to years? The answer is that they attempt to get off the hook by saying that the expression ‘70 weeks’ really means ‘seventy sevens’ or even ‘70 weeks of years’. In this way they get rid of the year/day principle.
Let us look at a few facts about the word translated ‘week’ here in Daniel 9.
Is it true that the Hebrew word shabuwa should be translated ‘sevens’ or ‘weeks of years’? This word is used a total of 19 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and in every single instance it refers to a literal week of seven literal days (Genesis 29:27; 29:28; Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 12:5; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:9 (used twice); 16:10; 16:16; II Chronicles 8:13; Jeremiah 5:24; Daniel 9:24; 9:25(used twice); 9:26; 9:27 (used twice); Daniel 10:2; Daniel 10:3).
Evangelicals frequently use Daniel 10:2-3 as an argument for translating the word shabuwa as ‘weeks of years’. They point out that in these verses the word ‘weeks’ is qualified by the word ‘days’, in other words, ‘weeks of days’. They then imply that if these are weeks (with the qualifier ‘days’), then the other weeks (without the qualifier ‘days’) must mean ‘weeks of years’.
For example, the New International Version translates the word week with ‘seven’ or ‘sevens’ in Daniel 9:24-27 but then translates the very same word as ‘weeks’ in Daniel 10:2,3. The only problem with such an explanation is that it ignores the meaning of the Hebrew idiom ‘weeks of days’. When the word ‘week’ in Hebrew is qualified by the word ‘days’, it simply means ‘full weeks’. Notice the following examples: In Genesis 29:14; Numbers 11:20-21; Judges 19:2 the Hebrew literally reads, "month of days". Is there a month that does not consist of days? Furthermore, in Genesis 41:1; Leviticus 25:29; II Samuel 13:23; 14:28 the Hebrew literally reads ‘years of days’ but the translators have recognized that this means ‘full years’.
The fundamental reason why futurist and preterist scholars refuse to translate shabuwa in Daniel 9 as ‘weeks’ is because they would then have to admit, in order to be consistent, that the year/day principle must be applied to other prophetic time periods as well. Furthermore, if they applied the year/day principle to the 70 weeks, they would have to apply it to the 2300 days (of which the 70 weeks constitute the first part) and this would force them to admit that prophecy was fulfilled in 1844!! This would then make them Seventh-day Adventists!! Have mercy!!
Incidentally, the Septuagint translates the Hebrew shabuwa with the Greek word hebdomas. This word is consistently translated ‘week’." SecretsUnsealed
"What do evangelical Christians do with the prophecy of the 70 weeks? Don’t they have to employ the year/day principle to convert the weeks to years? The answer is that they attempt to get off the hook by saying that the expression ‘70 weeks’ really means ‘seventy sevens’ or even ‘70 weeks of years’. In this way they get rid of the year/day principle.
Let us look at a few facts about the word translated ‘week’ here in Daniel 9.
Is it true that the Hebrew word shabuwa should be translated ‘sevens’ or ‘weeks of years’? This word is used a total of 19 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and in every single instance it refers to a literal week of seven literal days (Genesis 29:27; 29:28; Exodus 34:22; Leviticus 12:5; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:9 (used twice); 16:10; 16:16; II Chronicles 8:13; Jeremiah 5:24; Daniel 9:24; 9:25(used twice); 9:26; 9:27 (used twice); Daniel 10:2; Daniel 10:3).
Evangelicals frequently use Daniel 10:2-3 as an argument for translating the word shabuwa as ‘weeks of years’. They point out that in these verses the word ‘weeks’ is qualified by the word ‘days’, in other words, ‘weeks of days’. They then imply that if these are weeks (with the qualifier ‘days’), then the other weeks (without the qualifier ‘days’) must mean ‘weeks of years’.
For example, the New International Version translates the word week with ‘seven’ or ‘sevens’ in Daniel 9:24-27 but then translates the very same word as ‘weeks’ in Daniel 10:2,3. The only problem with such an explanation is that it ignores the meaning of the Hebrew idiom ‘weeks of days’. When the word ‘week’ in Hebrew is qualified by the word ‘days’, it simply means ‘full weeks’. Notice the following examples: In Genesis 29:14; Numbers 11:20-21; Judges 19:2 the Hebrew literally reads, "month of days". Is there a month that does not consist of days? Furthermore, in Genesis 41:1; Leviticus 25:29; II Samuel 13:23; 14:28 the Hebrew literally reads ‘years of days’ but the translators have recognized that this means ‘full years’.
The fundamental reason why futurist and preterist scholars refuse to translate shabuwa in Daniel 9 as ‘weeks’ is because they would then have to admit, in order to be consistent, that the year/day principle must be applied to other prophetic time periods as well. Furthermore, if they applied the year/day principle to the 70 weeks, they would have to apply it to the 2300 days (of which the 70 weeks constitute the first part) and this would force them to admit that prophecy was fulfilled in 1844!! This would then make them Seventh-day Adventists!! Have mercy!!
Incidentally, the Septuagint translates the Hebrew shabuwa with the Greek word hebdomas. This word is consistently translated ‘week’." SecretsUnsealed
Unto two thousand and three hundred days;
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Daniel 8:14
