Daniel Notes - Chapter 11

I. Verse 1-2 "Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. 2 And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia."

1. Vs. 1: This is a continuation of the vision which begins in the previous chapter. The messenger relates what he has been doing, and then says he will reveal the vision.

2. Vs. 2: There are to be three more kings in the Persian Empire, then a fourth that would be richer than the others. Since this was given in the time of Cyrus, we should count forward in time from his reign. The next three Persian kings in succession after Cyrus were Cambyses, Smerdis and Darius I Hystaspis. See The History Of Herodotus, Book 3:61 and Book 3:66-68, Between The Testaments, pp. 23, 27 and 39 and The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 203.

3. Vs. 2: The fourth king was the next king in succession, Xerxes, known also as Ahasuerus. See Esth. 1:1ff and Esth. 4:6. Esth. 1:4 mentions his great wealth. Also see The History Of Herodotus, Book 7:27 where attendants of Xerxes speak of a man as the wealthiest man they know, excepting king Xerxes. This too indicates his wealth was the greatest in the world at that time.

4. Vs. 2: The prophecy stipulates this king would use his great wealth to build a force against Greece. Xerxes did this very thing, gathering forces from 46 nations to stage an invasion of Greece. See Between The Testaments, p. 40, The Penguin Encyclopedia Of Ancient Civilizations, p. 151 and The History Of Herodotus, Book 7:17-21. Various sources calculate his force totaled near 5 million, counting soldiers and support personnel. (See Barnes’ Notes On Daniel, Volume II, p. 209.) This is an enormous force by any standard. Note there were many other kings in the Persian Empire after Xerxes, but this vision only concerns itself with those leading up to Xerxes. From here forward the vision concerns itself with the Greek Empire.

II. Verse 3-4 "And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those."

1. Vs. 3: But, Persia’s invasion of Greece under Xerxes eventually failed. This ultimately helped pave the way for the rise of the Greek Empire and the fall of Persia. So, even though there were other kings to follow in the Persian Empire, it seems natural the messenger would now turn his focus to the Greeks. This mighty king is Alexander the Great. He finally defeated the Persians and conquered the known world within about twelve years. See I Maccabees 1:1-7, The Penguin Encyclopedia Of Ancient Civilizations, pp. 231-232 and Between The Testaments, pp. 67, 70.

2. Vs. 4: Alexander died at the age of 33, leaving his kingdom in a power struggle. He had no son who was proper heir to the throne, so his kingdom was divided among his top generals. It is reported he had an illegitimate son, but not one who was proper heir to the throne. It took about twenty one years for the dust to settle and resolve who was in control of what. Antigonus had control of Asia Minor early on and drove Selucus I Nicator out of Babylon. Cassander had Macedon, Ptolemy I Soter had Egypt and Lysimachus had Thrace. When Selucus fled to Egypt for refuge, he served as a general under Ptolemy Soter, then joined forces with Ptolemy and Lysimachus and eventually overthrew Antigonus. This left Selucus with Syria and Babylon, Lysimachus with Thrace and parts of Asia Minor and Ptolemy with Egypt and Palestine. Thus the Greek Empire was divided four ways into Macedon, Thrace, Syria and Egypt. See Between The Testaments, pp. 71, 74, The Penguin Encyclopedia Of Ancient Civilizations, p. 155, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, pp. 132-135 and I Maccabees 1:8-9.

III. Verse 5-6 "And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times."

1. Vs. 5: From this point forward the messenger speaks a great deal about the king of the south and the king of the north. These should be identified by their position relative to Palestine. The king of the north is the Syrian or Seleucid portion of the Greek Empire. The king of the south is the Egyptian or Ptolemaic portion of the Greek Empire.

2. Vs. 5: The first king of the south is Ptolemy I Soter. The prince referred to is the afore mentioned Seleucus I Nicator who served as his general for a short time. Ptolemy was to be stronger than Seleucus and have the greater dominion. This was certainly the case since Ptolemy controlled Palestine and Phoenicia. See Between The Testaments, pp. 71, 74 and The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 136.

3. Vs. 5-6: Ptolemy I Soter and Selucus I Nicator had problems over the division of Palestine. Selucus thought it should be his, but Ptolemy would not acquiesce. This resulted in some friction between the two powers. The Seleucids and Ptolemies attempted to remedy the conflict by Bernice, daughter of Ptolemy II marrying the Seleucid king, Antiochus II Theos. The agreement wound up hurting both parties concerned. Antiochus II divorced his first wife Laodice to make the marriage with Bernice possible. Laodice eventually killed Bernice, Bernice’s child by Antiochus and even Antiochus. The result of this was that Selucus II Callinicus, son of Antiochus by Laodice, took the throne. These events set off what is sometimes called the Laodicean wars. See Between The Testaments, p. 75, Josephus Antiquities 12:4, 1 and The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 136.

IV. Verse 7-9 "But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: 8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. 9 So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land."

1. Vs. 7: An offspring of Bernice’s roots would come for revenge. This would be her brother, Ptolemy III Eurgetes. He came to power and attacked Syria, then led by Seleucus II Callinicus. See The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 136.

2. Vs. 8-9: His attack brought great success, allowing him to plunder Syria and take much wealth back home. From that point forward, Ptolemy III Eurgetes enjoyed peace in his kingdom and had no trouble with the Seleucids. See Between The Testaments, p. 75.

V. Verse 10-12 "But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. 11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. 12 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it."

1. Vs. 10: Whereas Seleucus II failed, his offspring, Seleucus III and Seleucus IV would successfully make war.

2. Vs. 10: Antiochus III, the next Seleucid king, attacked Egypt and enjoyed some success. See Between The Testaments, p. 77 and The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 136.

3. Vs. 11-12: In response to this, Ptolemy IV Philopater assembles a force and fights Antiochus III. Ptolemy wins the critical battle at Raphia and kills many thousands of Syrian soldiers. However, his success would be short lived. See The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 137, III Maccabees 1:1-5, The Penguin Encyclopedia Of Ancient Civilizations, p. 48 and Between The Testaments, p. 78.

VI. Verse 13-17 "For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. 14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. 15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. 16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. 17 He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him."

1. Vs. 13: Antiochus III returned home and built a force larger than his first, determined to beat Egypt.

2. Vs. 14: Many joined with Antiochus in the fight against the Ptolemies, including some Jews (robbers of thy people). This wound up being their undoing as the Ptolemies had been fairly good to the Jews, whereas the Seleucids, whom they helped gain control of Palestine, would mistreat them severely. See Between The Testaments, p. 78 and The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 137.

3. Vs. 15-16: Antiochus III The Great took key cities such as Sidon and took key cities in Palestine (glorious land, compare Ezek. 20:6, 15 and Jer. 3:19). See Between The Testaments, p. 78, Josephus Antiquities 12:3, 3 and Plutarch’s Lives, Flamininus, p. 306.

4. Vs. 17: Antiochus III then tried to strengthen his homeland and placate the Jews to reinforce his hold on power.

5. Vs. 17: He gave his daughter, Cleopatra to Ptolemy V, hoping she would subvert Egypt and give him control. She did not remain faithful to her father. See Josephus Antiquities 12:4, 1.

VII. Verse 18-20 "After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. 20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle."

1. Vs. 18: After the marriage of his daughter to Ptolemy V, Antiochus III turned his attention to coast lands of Asia Minor and Thrace. See The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 137.

2. Vs. 18-19: A prince (a Roman general) would defeat Antiochus III and stop his advance. This was Cornelius Scipio who defeated Antiochus III at Magnesia, charged him a great tax and took his son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, captive to Rome, pending full payment of the tax. Antiochus also suffered defeat at Thermopylae at the hands of Acililus Glabrio. Antiochus returned home in disgrace where he remained until his death. See Plutarch’s Lives, Aemilius Paul, p. 216, Plutarch’s Lives, Marcus Cato, pp. 282-283, Plutarch’s Lives, Flamininus, p. 309 and Between The Testaments, p. 79. Tacitus makes mention of a Lucius Scipio defeating Antiochus at Magnesia in Tacitus, The Annals, Book 3:62. This appears to be a different Scipio than the above mentioned Cornelius, but is likely another Roman who fought Antiochus III at the same battle predicted here.

3. Vs. 20: Seleucus IV Philopater came to power after this. He raised taxes, especially seeking to collect a special fee from the Jews. His reign was short. He died, not in battle or by an act of anger. Rather he was killed by an aid, Heliodorus, as a political expediency. See II Maccabees 3:1-40.

VIII. Verse 21-24 "And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time."

1. Vs. 21: The next king was the notorious Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He was an extraordinarily vile person, called by the Jews "Epimanes" which means "mad man". See I Maccabees 1:10. His nephew Demetrius was true heir to the crown, but Antiochus, returning from Rome, usurped the throne while Demetrius was at Rome. See Between The Testaments, p. 79 and Barnes’ Notes On Daniel, Volume II, pp. 227-231.

2. Vs. 22: This passage makes a general prediction of his military achievements against Egypt. He excelled his forebears, even Antiochus III The Great, in the degree of success he had against Egypt.

3. Vs. 22: It also predicts he would overthrow the prince of the covenant, that is, the high priest. This was fulfilled when Onias III was killed during the reign of Antiochus. By promising larger tribute to Antiochus, Jason, brother of Onias, succeeded in having himself appointed high priest. See Between The Testaments, p. 79 and II Maccabees 3:1-4:36.

4. Vs. 23-24: After making a truce with the Ptolemies, Antiochus will become strong by trickery. Though the Syrian people were small in number, he would reach great power with them. When Ptolemy Philometor ascended to the throne, Antiochus sent Apollonius to Egypt supposedly to congratulate the new king. In reality, this was to spy out the strength of the new ruler. This incident provides a good example of how Antiochus Epiphanes worked deceitfully. See Josephus Antiquities 12:5, 2 and II Maccabees 4:21.

IX. Verse 25-28 "And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. 26 Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. 27 And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. 28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land."

1. Vs. 25-26: This begins to specifically forecast the battles between Antiochus Epiphanes and the Ptolemies. Antiochus gathered his forces against Egypt for a major invasion. This first invasion was a great success for Antiochus as many of the Egyptian army were killed. See I Maccabees 1:16-19.

2. Vs. 26-27: Antiochus Epiphanes had taken possession of his Egyptian rival, Ptolemy Philometor. In the wake of this, the Egyptians made Ptolemy Physcon their king. Antiochus persuaded Ptolemy Philometor to aid him in an invasion of Egypt under the pretext of helping him retake the throne from Ptolemy Physcon. It appears the intent of Antiochus was to rule Egypt himself. Thus as they planned this together, each thought to advance their own cause, being deceitful with one another. While this did not bring the whole of Egypt under the control of Antiochus Epiphanes, he did take several key cities. See Barnes’ Notes On Daniel, Volume II, pp. 231-233 and I Maccabees 1:19.

3. Vs. 28: After this series of battles, he returned to his homeland by way of Palestine. Antiochus Epiphanes had used force to depose Jason from the position of high priest and in his place appointed Menelaus, a Benjamite, as priest. While Antiochus was in Egypt Jason attempted to reclaim his position as high priest. Having heard of this, Antiochus Epiphanes thought to punish the Jews. On this return from Egypt, Antiochus slaughtered many Jews and took many into slavery. Menelaus, the high priest, made the temple treasure available to Antiochus, so he went into the temple and took its treasures. See Between The Testaments, p. 80, Josephus Wars, 1:1, 2, Josephus Wars 6:10, 1, Josephus Antiquities 12:5, 3, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, pp. 140-141, I Maccabees 1:20-28 and II Maccabees 5:5-7, 11-21.

X. Verse 29-30 "At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant."

1. Vs. 29: Antiochus planned a second invasion of Egypt. This passage speaks of two other invasions, the "former" and the "latter". While there is some question as to whether Antiochus Epiphanes made a third invasion of Egypt (see notes on verse 40) we need not understand the term "later" here to speak of a third invasion following the one about to be described. The "former" and the "later" likely refers to two invasions before the one now under discussion. The former being the last campaign mounted by Antiochus III The Great against the Egyptians, which was successful to a degree, and the latter being the next one in historical succession, the one just mentioned being executed by Antiochus Epiphanes. Both of these campaigns produced a reasonable degree of success, but the one now being discussed ended in the humiliation of Antiochus Epiphanes.

2. Vs. 30a: The ships of Chittim would carry a force that would abate the intentions of Antiochus Epiphanes. The term translated "Chittim" denotes islanders of the Mediterranean. In this case it speaks of those from Cyprus, a Roman dominion. On this invasion of Egypt Antiochus had gotten as far as Alexandria and was near to subduing his rival, the Ptolemies. Ptolemy Physcon had appealed to the Romans for help. The Roman senate sent representatives to warn Antiochus Epiphanes to leave Egypt in peace or face a war with the Romans. Antiochus wanted to delay giving his decision but Popilius, the leader of the Roman ambassadors drew a circle around Antiochus in the sand and demanded an answer before Antiochus could leave the circle. Upon due reflection, Antiochus agreed to the Roman demands and left Egypt in humiliation. See Between The Testaments, p. 81, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 141 and Barnes’ Notes On Daniel, Volume II, p. 235.

XI. Verse 30-35 "For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. 31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed."

1. Vs. 30b: After this humiliation, Antiochus returned to Palestine and took his frustrations out on the Jews. He made league with Hellenists Jews and sought to obliterate the Hebrew culture and keep the Jews under his thumb. He sent his general, Appolonius, to occupy the city of Jerusalem. On the sabbath he attacked orthodox Jews, knowing they would not defend themselves. He also took many captives. See Between The Testaments, p. 81 and II Maccabees 5:24-26 and Josephus Antiquities 12:5, 4.

2. Vs. 30b-33: Soon after this he stopped the daily temple sacrifice and set up a statue of Jupiter in the temple. They sacrificed a pig on the alter and compelled Jews to participate in pagan rituals to honor Bacchus, a pagan deity. Jews were forbidden to practice circumcision or call themselves Jews. This was a wholesale attempt to circumvent God’s law and lead the Jews to live as Greeks. See Between The Testaments, p. 81, I Maccabees 1:29, 37-61, II Maccabees 6:1-11, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, p. 142 and Josephus Antiquities 12:5, 4.

3. Vs. 34-35: This ill treatment of orthodox Jews continued for some time. However, faithful Jews persisted in serving God and following his law. They had some help and some moments of relief, but many fell. See I Maccabees 2:1-69, 3:1-26, etc.

XII. Verse 36-39 "And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain."

1. Vs. 36: Many consider the matter from this point forward relating to Rome as king of the north. Premillennialists say from here on the king of the north is a future antichrist. There is no hint whatsoever from the context that the king of the north ceases to be the Syrians and becomes some other force. Some argue the events described hereafter cannot apply to Antiochus Epiphanes, but we will show this not the case. See Josephus Antiquities 12:5, 4-5.

2. Vs. 36-37: The vision describes the king of the north as being arrogant, being opposed to God, and exalting himself above pagan gods. This is certainly all consistent with the character of Antiochus Epiphanes.

3. Vs. 37: The vision says the king of the north would not regard the gods of his ancestors. This is true of Antiochus Epiphanes as he was not restrained by the religion of his home land. Having spent many years of his early life in Rome, he had as much regard for gods worshipped by Romans and Greeks as he had for any other. He worshipped whatever god suited him at the moment and thought nothing of dictating to others which god they served. Furthermore, the vision says he would not regard the desire of women. This likely indicates he would be hard hearted and indifferent towards the things desired by women, that is to say, he would be cruel to women and indifferent to their cries. This was certainly true of Antiochus Epiphanes, especially regarding the Jews as he more than once killed women and their infants and imposed upon them the cruelest tortures.

4. Vs. 38-39: The vision anticipates the king of the north would give honor to the god of forces. Again, this is consistent with what is known about Antiochus Epiphanes. There has been some speculation as to exactly which god may be had in mind here. Though there is some question as to which deity this may indicate, it is not at all unlikely Antiochus favored one such deity, and he certainly revered force and power above other methods and characteristics.

XIII. Verse 40-45 "And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."

1. Vs. 40-45: This speaks clearly of an invasion of Egypt by Antiochus Epiphanes. The question is whether this is a third invasion or an overview of his previous campaigns. Jerome claims there was an invasion of Egypt by Antiochus Epiphanes in his eleventh year. He claims Porphyry speaks of such an invasion. While this would be difficult to fit into the chronology of know events near the end of his life, we should not think it impossible that Antiochus Epiphanes went against Egypt one last time. The problem with this source is we have no complete copies of Porphyry’s works, only fragments. So, we cannot verify exactly what he says about the matter. Suffice to say that Jerome regarded it as a fact of history and this is possible, though not likely the case. See Barnes’ Notes On Daniel, Volume II, p. 246.

2. Vs. 40-45: It is much more likely this is an overview of earlier campaigns executed by Antiochus Epiphanes, and this is the view that we prefer. It is certainly true that Antiochus enjoyed victory in Egypt and in Palestine (glorious land) and the other nations mentioned here. His advances into Egypt were so far that Ethiopia and Libya were truly at his doorstep. It is certainly true that news of the burgeoning Roman Empire to his north and his war with Parthians to his east troubled him. See Between The Testaments, p. 92 and Tacitus, The Histories 5:8. Then to strengthen his hold on power he tormented the Jews, seeking to impose Hellenism on them. All these things Antiochus Epiphanes did, and prospered in his swell of power. But his demise came, and when it came he was beyond help. For accounts of his horrible death see I Maccabees 6:1-16, II Maccabees 9:1-28 and Josephus Antiquities 12:9, 1.