Page 290 - Daniel

for any intercalated month. Then if every other one of these years shall
be made longer by one month, that the seasons may be caused to come
round at the due time of the year, the intercalated months will be in
number five-and-thirty besides the seventy years; and of these months
the days will be one thousand and fifty.” 81

In this passage Solon reports that seventy years will extend for 25,200
days. But this is true only if one assumes each year is 360 days in length.

Whether these words were actually spoken by Solon or placed into his
mouth by Herodotus, they reflect the common understanding of a
“normal” year being composed of twelve months, each of which has
thirty days. Solon then addressed the reality that additional months must
be added at regular intervals to harmonize the lunar calendar with the
solar calendar—“that the seasons may be caused to come round at the
due time.” But each of these additional months is assumed to have thirty

days, so that thirty-five additional intercalated months resulted in 1,050
additional days.

HARMONIZING OTHER BIBLICAL REFERENCES

It seems reasonable to assume Daniel, and all subsequent readers,

would have understood the time element in this prophecy to be referring
to 490 “normal” years containing twelve 30-day months. But is there any
support for such an interpretation in other prophetic passages? The
books of Daniel and Revelation seem to provide that support.

In Daniel 7:25 the prophet announced that a little horn, referring to a
future evil leader, would exert his authority “for a time, times, and half a
time.” The best understanding of the passage is that it is referring to a
82
time period three and a half years in length. This same period of time
is repeated in Daniel 12:7. The “time of trouble” (12:1) described there

will continue until “the shattering of the power of the holy people comes
to an end.” Daniel then added two additional time elements. First, the
temple sacrifices will again be taken away for a period of “1,290 days”
(12:11). Second, the persecuted saint “who waits and arrives at the
1,335 days” will be blessed (v. 12). These dates are examined in more

detail later, but the point to note here is that both time periods are
somehow related to the “time, times, and half a time.” They only make