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seventy years.” 8.2.85 Accordingly, in the second year of Darius the completion of the seventy-year period has been shown to have been finished, so that it is entirely necessary for us to begin the seventy weeks from the sixty-sixth Olympiad and from the second year of Darius, in which the work of the building is completed. 8.2.86 From this point, then, if you should count the following times, you would find, up to Herod himself and Augustus monarch of the Romans, in whose time the birth of our Savior appeared in the world, the four hundred and eighty-three years, which are the seven and sixty-two weeks, defined according to the prophecy of Daniel. 8.2.87 For from the sixty-sixth Olympiad to the one hundred and eighty-seventh there are one hundred and twenty-one Olympiads in between, four hundred and eighty-four years, since an Olympiad comprises four years, at which time Augustus, king of the Romans, holding the fifteenth year of his reign, rules Egypt and the rest of the world, under whom Herod, the first foreigner, is entrusted with the kingdom of the Jews, and our Savior and Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, is born, the times of his birth coinciding with the same and with the completion of the seven and sixty-two weeks in Daniel. After these, which are divided and widely separated, after all the many intervening prophecies, of the one remaining week, all the remaining things spoken through the midst of the oracle's prophecy are fulfilled, which also have this form: “After the seven weeks and the sixty-two weeks anointing shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in it; and he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the coming leader, and they shall be cut off in a flood; and until the end of a war determined by desolations.” 8.2.88 And these things received a clear fulfillment in the time of Augustus himself and Herod, in whom we say the aforementioned seven weeks are summed up. For in due course and order the anointing according to the high priesthood having lasted until the times of Herod and Augustus, and the succession of the ancient high priests having been terminated with Alexander, the father of Hyrcanus, Herod, having killed Hyrcanus, is said no longer to have entrusted the ministry to the successors from the fathers, but to certain obscure and unknown men. 8.2.89 And the oracle, anticipating this, decreed it, saying: “And after the seven weeks and the sixty-two weeks anointing shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in it.” 8.2.90 Which the other interpreters have also clearly rendered, Aquila saying: “And after the seven weeks and sixty-two weeks an anointed one shall be destroyed, and is not for him,” and Symmachus: “And after the seven weeks and sixty-two weeks a christ shall be cut off, and shall not be for him.” Whence it seems most probable to me that “Christ the leader” is the one indicated according to our rendering. 8.2.91 Therefore after the completion of the said weeks, it says, “a christ shall be destroyed.” And who is this but “the leader” and the one who ruled the nation by succession from the priestly line? For this one remained as long as the weeks were not yet fulfilled; but when these came to an end, in accordance with the prophecy, “he was cut off,” the one who ruled the nation by succession of lineage. And this was Hyrcanus, whom Herod himself killed, and usurped the kingdom over the nation which in no way belonged to him, and he himself, a foreigner, was the first to rule. 8.2.92 Not only then was Hyrcanus, being a “christ” and the last of the ancient high priests, “cut off,” but also the succession descending from of old from the ancient high priests, and the anointing according to the law itself, no longer occurring according to judgment but irregularly and confusedly, not according to the things legislated by Moses; and all things happened at once, in accordance with the prophecy that said: “Anointing shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in it.” 8.2.93 A credible witness of these things is one from among them

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ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη». 8.2.85 κατὰ γοῦν τὸ δεύτερον ἔτος ∆αρείου ἡ συμπλήρωσις τῆς ἑβδομηκονταετηρίδος ἀποδέδεικται περαιωθεῖσα, ὥστε ἐξ ἅπαντος ἄρχεσθαι δεῖν ἡμᾶς τῶν ἑβδομήκοντα ἑβδομάδων ἀπὸ τῆς ἑξηκοστῆς καὶ ἕκτης Ὀλυμπιάδος καὶ ἀπὸ δευτέρου ἔτους ∆αρείου, ἐν ᾧ τὰ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς περαιοῦται. 8.2.86 ἐντεῦθεν γοῦν εἰ τοὺς ἑπομένους χρόνους ἀριθμήσειας, εὕροις ἂν ἐπ' αὐτὸν Ἡρώδην μόναρχόν τε Ῥωμαίων Αὔγουστον, καθ' οὓς ἡ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπέφανεν τῷ βίῳ γένεσις, τὰ τετρακόσια ὀγδοήκοντα τρία ἔτη, αἵ εἰσιν ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑξήκοντα δύο ἑβδομάδες, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ προφητείαν περιοριζόμενα. 8.2.87 ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἑξηκοστῆς καὶ ἕκτης Ὀλυμπιάδος ἐπὶ τὴν ἑκατοστὴν ὀγδοηκοστὴν ἑβδόμην γίνονται Ὀλυμπιάδες μεταξὺ ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι μία, ἔτη τετρακόσια ὀγδοήκοντα τέσσαρα, τετραετίαν τῆς Ὀλυμπιάδος ἐπεχούσης, καθ' ὃν καιρὸν Αὔγουστος Ῥωμαίων βασιλεύς, πεντεκαιδέκατον ἔτος τῆς βασιλείας ἐπέχων, Αἰγύπτου κρατεῖ καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς οἰκουμένης, ὑφ' οὗ πρῶτος ἀλλόφυλος Ἡρώδης τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐγχειρίζεται βασιλείαν, γεννᾶται δὲ ὁ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ συντρεχόντων τῶν χρόνων τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς συμπληρώσεως τῶν παρὰ τῷ ∆ανιὴλ ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑξήκοντα καὶ δύο ἑβδομάδων. Μεθ' ἃς διῃρημένης καὶ μακρὰν ἀπεσχοινισμένης, μετὰ πλεῖστα ὅσα τὰ μεταξὺ προφητευόμενα, τῆς λειπούσης μιᾶς ἑβδομάδος, τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα διὰ μέσου τῆς τοῦ χρησμοῦ προρρήσεως εἰρημένα ἐπιτελεῖται, ἃ καὶ αὐτὰ τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον· «μετὰ τὰς ἑβδομάδας τὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑξήκοντα δύο ἐξολοθρευθήσεται χρίσμα, καὶ κρίμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὸ ἅγιον διαφθερεῖ σὺν τῷ ἡγουμένῳ τῷ ἐρχομένῳ, καὶ ἐκκοπήσονται ἐν κατακλυσμῷ· καὶ ἕως τέλους πολέμου συντετμημένου ἀφανισμοῖς». 8.2.88 καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ἐναργῆ τὴν ἔκβασιν εἴληφεν κατ' αὐτὸν Αὔγουστον καὶ Ἡρώδην, εἰς οὓς τὰς προειρημένας ἑπτὰ ἑβδομάδας συγκεφαλαιοῦσθαί φαμεν. ὁδῷ γοῦν καὶ τάξει τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην χρίσματος μέχρι τῶν Ἡρώδου καὶ Αὐγούστου χρόνων διαρκέσαντος, τῆς τε διαδοχῆς τῶν πάλαι ἀρχιερέων ἐπὶ Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν Ὑρκανοῦ πατέρα περιγραφείσης, Ἡρώδης τὸν Ὑρκανὸν ἀνελὼν οὐκέτι τοῖς ἐκ πατέρων διαδόχοις ἐπι τρέψαι λέγεται τὴν λειτουργίαν, ἀλλά τισιν ἀσήμοις καὶ ἀφανέσιν ἀνθρώποις. 8.2.89 τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ χρησμὸς προλαβὼν ἐθέσπισεν, εἰπών· «καὶ μετὰ τὰς ἑβδομάδας τὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑξήκοντα δύο ἐξολοθρευθήσεται χρίσμα, καὶ κρίμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ». 8.2.90 ὅπερ σαφῶς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τεθείκασιν ἑρμηνευταί, ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας φήσας· «καὶ μετὰ τὰς ἑπτὰ ἑβδομάδας καὶ ἑξήκοντα δύο ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἠλειμμένος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ», ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος· «καὶ μετὰ τὰς ἑβδομάδας τὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑξήκοντα δύο ἐκκοπήσεται χριστός, καὶ οὐχ ὑπάρξει αὐτῷ». ὅθεν μάλιστα παρίστασθαί μοι δοκεῖ «χριστὸς ἡγούμενος» εἶναι ὁ κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀπόδοσιν δεδηλωμένος. 8.2.91 μετὰ γοῦν τὴν τῶν εἰρημένων ἑβδομάδων συμπλήρωσιν «ἐξολοθρευθήσεται χριστός» φησιν. τίς δὲ οὗτος ἢ «ὁ ἡγούμενος» καὶ ὁ κατὰ διαδοχὴν ἐξ ἱερατικοῦ γένους τοῦ ἔθνους προεστώς; διέμενεν γοῦν οὗτος εἰς ὅσον οὔπω τὰ τῶν ἑβδομάδων ἐπληροῦτο· ἐπειδὴ δὲ τέλος ἐλάμβανον αὗται, ἀκολούθως τῇ προφητείᾳ «ἐξεκόπη» ὁ ἐκ διαδοχῆς γένους τοῦ ἔθνους προεστώς. οὗτος δὲ ἦν Ὑρκανός, ὃν αὐτὸς Ἡρώδης ἀνελών, τὴν κατὰ τοῦ ἔθνους βασιλείαν μηδὲν αὐτῷ διαφέρουσαν ὑφαρπάζει, πρῶτός τε αὐτὸς ἀλλόφυλος ἡγεῖται. 8.2.92 οὐ μόνος δὲ ἄρα ὁ Ὑρκανός, «χριστὸς» ὢν καὶ τῶν πάλαι ἀρχιερέων ὕστατος, «ἐξεκόπη», ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ ἐκ προγόνων ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῶν πρόπαλαι ἀρχιερέων κατιοῦσα διαδοχή, αὐτό τε τὸ κατὰ νόμους χρίσμα, οὐκέτι κατὰ κρίσιν γινόμενον ἀτάκτως δὲ καὶ συγκεχυμένως, οὐ κατὰ τὰ παρὰ Μωσεῖ νενομοθετημένα· συνέτρεχεν δὲ ὁμοῦ πάντα, ἀκολούθως τῇ προφητείᾳ φησάσῃ· «ἐξολοθρευθήσεται χρίσμα, καὶ κρίμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ». 8.2.93 Μάρτυς ἀξιόχρεως τούτων ὁ ἐξ αὐτῶν