Daniel 9:23

“At the beginning of thy supplications, etc.] As soon as ever he began to pray. This circumstance shows how ready the Lord is to hear the prayers of his people; and yet it was not owing to the prayers of the prophet, and to any intrinsic virtue or merit in them that the Lord did what he afterwards declares should be done; and, besides, more is revealed and promised than Daniel asked for: the commandment came forth; either the order from the Lord to the angel, dispatching him on this errand to the prophet, to acquaint him with his mind and will; or the proclamation of Cyrus, to let the people of the Jews go free, and go up to Jerusalem to build their city and temple, published that morning,…”

“At the beginning of thy supplications, &c.--The promulgation of the divine decree was made in heaven to the angels as soon as Daniel began to pray. came forth--from the divine throne; so Dan 9:22. thou art greatly beloved--literally, "a man of desires" (compare Eze 23:6, Eze 23:12); the object of God's delight. As the apocalyptic prophet of the New Testament was "the disciple whom Jesus loved," so the apocalyptic prophet of the Old Testament was "greatly beloved" of God. the vision--the further revelation as to Messiah in connection with Jeremiah's prophecy of seventy years of the captivity. The charge to "understand" is the same as in Mat 24:15, where Rome primarily, and Antichrist…”

“At the beginning of thy supplications - We are not informed at what time Daniel began to pray, but as remarked above, it is most natural to suppose that he devoted the day to prayer, and had commenced these solemn acts of devotion in the morning. The commandment came forth - Margin, “word.” That is, the word of God. This evidently means, in heaven; and the idea is, that as soon as he began to pray a command was issued from God to Gabriel that he should visit Daniel, and convey to him the important message respecting future events. It is fair to conclude that he had at once left heaven in obedience to the order, and on this high embassage, and that he had passed over the amazing distance…”

“9:23 a command was given (literally a word went forth): This command might have been God’s decree to end the Exile and return his people to Jerusalem and Judea, or it might have been the command to explain the future to Daniel (9:24-27). • you are very precious to God: Also in 10:11, 19. • It is unclear what your vision refers to: It could be the restoration of Jerusalem and God’s people that Daniel read about in Jeremiah and envisioned in his prayer (9:2-20), or one of the earlier visions (e.g., ch 8; cp. 8:27).”

“the beginning: Dan 10:12 commandment: Heb. word for: Dan 10:11, Dan 10:19; Luk 1:28 greatly beloved: Heb. a man of desires, Sol 7:10; Eze 24:16, Eze 26:12 \*marg. understand: Mat 24:15 Daniel 9:24”