Messianic · Gabriel brings understanding
Daniel 9:20-23
Daniel · ~538 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;”
King James Version · the opening — all 4 verses are below
Gabriel comes swiftly in answer to Daniel's prayer to unveil the seventy weeks — the prophecy pointing to the Messiah.
Read the whole passage — all 4 verses (KJV)
9:20And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
9:21Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
9:22And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
9:23At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
Fulfillment References
Daniel 9:24-27 Luke 1:19 Daniel 8:16 Daniel 10:11
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalGabriel, who later announced the conception of Jesus (Luke 1:19, 26-31), here unveils the timetable pointing to the one God's coming in flesh.
JewishGabriel as the interpreting angel; the seventy weeks that follow are read variously, often of the Second Temple period and its destruction.
CatholicThe angelic revelation introducing the seventy-weeks prophecy of the Messiah, fulfilled in Christ.
ProtestantGabriel's answer frames the seventy-weeks Messianic prophecy; the swift answer to prayer is often noted devotionally.
OrthodoxThe same Gabriel who later announces Christ's birth (Luke 1) brings understanding of the Messianic timetable.
DispensationalSets up the seventy-weeks prophecy central to the dispensational timeline, including the final 'week' of tribulation.
AcademicGabriel, named here and in ch.8, is among the earliest named angels in the Hebrew Bible; critical scholars read the seventy-weeks reflection within the 2nd-century reinterpretation of Jeremiah.
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Audio narration (listen to this prophecy read aloud), cross-references, Hebrew/Greek, Dead Sea Scrolls notes, a prophetic timeline, network maps, study tools and multi-tradition analysis in the interactive explorer.