The **ESV** and **RSV** base their translation of Daniel 9:25 on the **Masoretic** text or MT, particularly their use of accents to guide sentence division. The **Masoretes**, a group of Hebrew scholars, inserted an *athnach* (a disjunctive accent) between the time phrases "**seven weeks**" and "**sixty-two weeks**," around the ninth or tenth century AD. This change influenced modern English translations to read this passage with a break ([Spence-Jones, 1884]). 1. The **ESV** translation reads: >[!bible] Daniel 9:25, ESV >"Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks (**athnach**). Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time." > 2. The **RSV** translation follows a similar structure: >[!Bible] Daniel 9:25, RSV "Know therefore and understand that from the time that the word went out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time of an anointed prince, there shall be seven weeks; (**athnach**) and for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with streets and moat, but in a troubled time." > The ESV and RSV translators, along with scholars such as **Gleason Archer** and **Stephen McComiskey**, interpret the _’atnaḥ_ accent as signaling a significant break after “seven weeks,” indicating that the anointed prince (נָגִיד מָשִׁיחַ, _nāḡîḏ māšîaḥ_) appears **after seven weeks (forty-nine years)** from the decree to restore Jerusalem, rather than after the full sixty-nine weeks. ### The Issue with the Masoretic Athnach Placement **Dr. William Barrick** explains that the **athnach** accent functions as a major pause in Hebrew sentence structure, typically marking the logical mid-point of a verse, which in non-poetic books (like Daniel) can indicate a break in thought or a significant division in meaning ([Hebrew Accents](https://drbarrick.org/files/papers/other/HebrewAccentsrev.pdf)). However, scholars such as **Keil and Delitzsch** caution that the **athnach** does not necessarily indicate a full clause separation but often serves as a pause within a clause. Since the accent was introduced by the Masoretes centuries after the original Hebrew text, it reflects their interpretive decision rather than an authoritative or original division of the verse. Building on this, **William Wickes** noted problems with the common interpretation that the **athnach** in Daniel 9:25 justifies placing a period after "seven weeks" and beginning a new sentence with "then." In his 1887 treatise, Wickes observed that Masoretic accentuation often places major disjunctive marks such as the **athnach** where one would not normally expect a logical break. These musical pauses were introduced not strictly according to natural syntactical structure but to achieve clearer enunciation or emphasis. He cites numerous examples where the **athnach** placement contradicts expected logical divisions, including ([Ex 10:9](https://ref.ly/Exod%2010.9;nasb95?t=biblia), [Am 4:10](https://ref.ly/Amos%204.10;nasb95?t=biblia), [Ge 7:13](https://ref.ly/Gen%207.13;nasb95?t=biblia), [Ge 25:20](https://ref.ly/Gen%2025.20;nasb95?t=biblia), [Ex 35:23](https://ref.ly/Exod%2035.23;nasb95?t=biblia), [Nu 28:19](https://ref.ly/Num%2028.19;nasb95?t=biblia), [Isa 66:19](https://ref.ly/Isa%2066.19;nasb95?t=biblia), [Lev 16:2](https://ref.ly/Lev%2016.2;nasb95?t=biblia), [Isa 49:21](https://ref.ly/Isa%2049.21;nasb95?t=biblia), [Lev 21:22](https://ref.ly/Lev%2021.22;nasb95?t=biblia), [Eze 48:21](https://ref.ly/Ezek%2048.21;nasb95?t=biblia), [Am 1:3](https://ref.ly/Amos%201.3;nasb95?t=biblia)). The most relevant example he highlights is [Numbers 28:19](https://ref.ly/Num%2028.19;nasb95?t=biblia), where the **athnach** interrupts the list of offerings: > [Numbers 28:19 - NASB](https://bolls.life/NASB/4/28/) > "You shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls and one ram (**athnach**) and seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect." Scholars such as **Hengstenberg** and **Young** also argue that reading "seven weeks" and "sixty-two weeks" as two separate periods, where the sixty-two weeks describe a long building process of 434 years, does not fit historical facts or Daniel’s intended meaning. Instead, the **seven weeks** and **sixty-two weeks** in Daniel 9:25 should be understood as forming **one continuous period of time**, rather than two separate or overlapping phases ([Chronological Aspects of Daniel’s 70 Weeks](https://archive.org/details/chronologicalasp0000haro/page/114/mode/2up?q=%22seventy+weeks%22)). To clarify this, Wickes explains how the **athnach** functions in Hebrew Scripture. Typically, two closely related words or phrases (called appositions) are kept together by the accentuation, as seen in [Genesis 4:1](https://ref.ly/Gen%204.1;nasb95?t=biblia) and [Numbers 25:12](https://ref.ly/Num%2025.12;nasb95?t=biblia). However, the **athnach** can also be used as a major pause to separate appositions or closely linked words for emphasis or clarity, as in [Zechariah 3:8](https://ref.ly/Zech%203.8;nasb95?t=biblia), [Judges 3:28](https://ref.ly/Judg%203.28;nasb95?t=biblia), and [Leviticus 20:18](https://ref.ly/Lev%2020.18;nasb95?t=biblia). Similarly, the **athnach** often appears between nouns joined by “and,” for example in [Genesis 1:18](https://ref.ly/Gen%201.18;nasb95?t=biblia), [Genesis 18:27](https://ref.ly/Gen%2018.27;nasb95?t=biblia), [Genesis 50:10](https://ref.ly/Gen%2050.10;nasb95?t=biblia), [Exodus 3:8](https://ref.ly/Exod%203.8;nasb95?t=biblia), [Judges 7:20](https://ref.ly/Judg%207.20;nasb95?t=biblia), [Isaiah 1:13](https://ref.ly/Isa%201.13;nasb95?t=biblia), [Esther 4:1](https://ref.ly/Esth%204.1;nasb95?t=biblia), and [Ezekiel 40:5](https://ref.ly/Ezek%2040.5;nasb95?t=biblia). Moreover, the **athnach** can separate a noun from its descriptive phrase or relative clause, as shown in [Exodus 10:19](https://ref.ly/Exod%2010.19;nasb95?t=biblia), [Leviticus 20:18](https://ref.ly/Lev%2020.18;nasb95?t=biblia), [Isaiah 6:1](https://ref.ly/Isa%206.1;nasb95?t=biblia), [Deuteronomy 28:58](https://ref.ly/Deut%2028.58;nasb95?t=biblia), [Deuteronomy 9:6](https://ref.ly/Deut%209.6;nasb95?t=biblia), [Numbers 16:26](https://ref.ly/Num%2016.26;nasb95?t=biblia), [Deuteronomy 8:1](https://ref.ly/Deut%208.1;nasb95?t=biblia), [Jeremiah 44:3](https://ref.ly/Jer%2044.3;nasb95?t=biblia), [Genesis 3:24](https://ref.ly/Gen%203.24;nasb95?t=biblia), [Genesis 24:62](https://ref.ly/Gen%2024.62;nasb95?t=biblia), [1 Samuel 6:5](https://ref.ly/1Sam%206.5;nasb95?t=biblia), [Lamentations 2:3](https://ref.ly/Lam%202.3;nasb95?t=biblia), and [Zechariah 9:11](https://ref.ly/Zech%209.11;nasb95?t=biblia). In Daniel 9:25, the separation of “seven weeks” and “sixty-two weeks” by the **athnach** therefore signals that these two time periods are appositions—related but distinct units of time. The pause emphasizes the separation for clarity or significance but does not imply a long interruption or two unrelated periods. Instead, it helps readers understand the prophecy as describing one continuous, structured timeline.