David,
1QS 9:11 refers to the time when "there shall come the Prophet and the
Messiahs of Aaron and Israel." The Messiah figure or figures we are
discussing are thus distinguished from the coming Prophet. J. Collons, _The
Scepter and the Star_ (1995) has a chapter devoted to the Messiahs of Aaron
and Israel (p. 74ff) that is fairly exhaustive in its use of secondary
literature and basically considers the title to refer to eschatological high
priestly and royal figures. My impression is that "of Aaron" and "of Israel"
has been _implicitly_ interpreted to refer to either descent (i.e. an Aaronic
and a lay figure) or scope of Messianic authority or mission (one over the
sons of Aaron, the other over all Israel), though I haven't seen the phrases
explicitly parsed out for meaning. There have been various theories on
phases in the 'Qumran community' in which they successively expected one or
two messiahs. Starky's theory proposed a belief in two Messiahs during the
Hasmonean period (ironically, at a time when you point out that the royal and
priestly functions were fulfilled in a single individual). I don't think
that the example of John Hyrkanus has been brought up, but my reading has not
been exhaustive.
On Daniel, there does appear to be a chronological scheme of 7 weeks, 62
weeks, and a final 1 week, much as you outline. Daniel 9:26 indicates that
the Messiah would be cut off at the start of the final week, and 9:27 says
the daily sacrifice would be halted with a desolating sacrilege in the midst
of the final week, i.e. 69 1/2 weeks through the 70 week period. This last
event would be the conversion of the Jewish temple to a cult of Dionysus (or
his Syrian counterpart) in December, 166 BCE (on Kislev 15, per 1 Macc. 1:54,
which mentions the Danielic sacrilege). Going back three and a half years
from that event, which provides the key chronological peg, the Messiah the
Prince will have been cut off in July 170 BCE, which is when Onias III was
assassinated in exile at Antioch (2 Macc. 4:34; on the date, see Jonathan
Goldstein's commentary on 2 Macc.). For this reason, it seems likely to me
that Onias III is the referent of Dan. 9:25-26. (The end of the 70th week,
BTW, calculates to summer 163 BCE, which is consistent with other indications
of Daniel's final composition.)
Best regards,
Russell Gmirkin
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