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A question for those with ability with Hebrew .. Daniel 9:26

DANIEL 9:26 And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

‎9:26  וְאַחֲרֵי הַשָּׁבֻעִים שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם יִכָּרֵת מָשִׁיחַ וְאֵין לוֹ וְהָעִיר וְהַקֹּדֶשׁ יַשְׁחִית עַם נָגִיד הַבָּא וְקִצּוֹ בַשֶּׁטֶף וְעַד קֵץ מִלְחָמָה נֶחֱרֶצֶת שֹׁמֵמֽוֹת׃

There is one word in this verse, - עַם - ʿam - from which the translators have used numerous English words

ʿam means people, nation, kindred, … but the translation uses the following “but not for Himself; And the people”

Essentially I have 2 related queries …

Can someone please explain how or what grounds the translators have added the (apparent?) ‘extra’?

  • and -

When considering the source, How (with Hebrew) do you decide where a ‘full stop’ (sentence ending) would be put?

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    I wrote a 4000 word essay on the "70 Weeks" prophecy. Here is what the verse is about. Words in brackets and Capitals are mine:- "Then (immediately) AFTER the SIXTY-TWO weeks (69 weeks of years in actuality) the MESSIAH will be cut off (CRUCIFIED) and have nothing, and the people (Roman Legions) of the prince who is to come (Roman general Titus, who after his princely duties, later became Emperor), will destroy the city and the sanctuary (Jerusalem and its temple). And its end will come with a flood (not literal); even to the end there will be war (66 AD-73 AD); desolations are determined."
    – Olde English
    Sep 23, 2021 at 0:29
  • @Olde English Thanks. Together with this feedback, and some re-checking, it’s clear there is variation to the interpretations this verse. I initially had difficulty understanding that section “but not for Himself;” - but it’s getting clearer. I clearly see that after 62 weeks that Messiah is cut of - but am also curious as to how hard many/most tie that into Jesus’s death, because most calculations (of the 62 week) fall short of that actual event. Although I accept thats another Q and then the debate over ‘dates’ now comes into the picture
    – Dave
    Sep 23, 2021 at 0:42
  • See my Q. and A. here:-hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/68388/… ...the math works perfectly, when starting from the right "decree" and when using the "360 day" year and we are of course talking 62 weeks + the previous 7 weeks (69 weeks in all, equaling 483 years of 360 days in length.
    – Olde English
    Sep 23, 2021 at 0:58
  • @Olde English We’ve read through your interpretation - well done, +1, but unfortunately I won’t at this stage accept it. I appreciate it comes down to ‘fine points’. Sir R Anderson’s calc’s come to 32AD, which matches the dates in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Melchizedek document), which has the crucifixion in 32AD. In fact those ‘scrolls’ cast a whole new light on the Jewish calendar as well. But I appreciate that ‘comments’ are not the place for discussion/debate. Besides, my understanding doesn’t need the crucifixion within the 69 weeks - but that’s yet another discussion :-)
    – Dave
    Sep 23, 2021 at 1:20
  • Check out our own @Hold To The Rod ..."You Tube" series of videos on "Year of Christ's death" for near irrefutable proof of a 33 AD death. Besides the math doesn't work for 32 AD, whereas it works perfectly for April 3rd of 33 AD, as I have proved.
    – Olde English
    Sep 23, 2021 at 1:39

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The Hebrew text has more than just "'am" for the expression in the question. Consider the interlinear for this verse.

Interlinear Hebrew/English for Daniel 9:26

So for the first question, the "extra" words are in the Hebrew.

As for the second question, again, there are those "extra" words in the text that intervene between "Messiah" and "people" that would make "cut off from his people" an impossible translation; but focus especially on the word "lōw" following the conjunction "wə·’ên" (Hebrew Strong's number 369). Although the Hebrew grammatical notes in the interlinear mark this word as a preposition, it also assigns it third-person masculine-singular context. This is where the reflexive application of the verb becomes clear. It is Messiah who is to be cut off, but not for himself. What follows places the word "people" in a separate context.

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  • Thanks - your page is reflecting a different Hebrew source to what I used? I need to look into this and see why. But I appreciate the ‘prompt’ to look further!
    – Dave
    Sep 22, 2021 at 2:47
  • (Follow up) FYI I have edited my second Q - After some ‘research’, I note there are some very different interpretations/translations for this verse. In particular over exactly what this Messiah would be cut off from. (I’m tempted to rephrase the whole Q - but will now let it stand - was too hasty in setting it!)
    – Dave
    Sep 22, 2021 at 3:46
  • The word "people" is in a separate context. Upvoted +1. People here is actually in reference to "Roman Legions" ... see above.
    – Olde English
    Sep 23, 2021 at 0:14

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