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Daniel Chapter
Eleven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 11
In
this chapter the angel makes good his promise to Daniel, that he would show him
what was written in the Scripture of truth, concerning the monarchies of the
earth, and what would befall his people the Jews in the latter days; and after
he had observed that he had strengthened and confirmed Darius the Mede, who was
the first king of the then present flourishing monarchy, Daniel 11:1, he
foretells the number of the kings of Persia, and particularly describes the
fourth, Daniel 11:2
predicts the rise of the Grecian monarchy under Alexander the great, and the
disposition of it after his death, Daniel 11:3 and
then proceeds to give an account of the two principal kingdoms of that
monarchy, into which it was divided, the Seleucidae and Lagidae; and of their
kings, the king of Egypt, and the king of Syria, under the names of the king of
the south, and the king of the north, and of their power and agreement, Daniel 11:5 and
then of their various wars between themselves and others, and the success of
them, Daniel 11:7, and
particularly of Antiochus, his character and manner of coming to the kingdom,
and of his wars with the king of Egypt, and the issue of them, Daniel 11:21 and of
his persecution of the Jews, and the distress he should bring on them, and the
use it should be of to the godly among them, Daniel 11:30, and
then his antitype, antichrist, is described; the western antichrist, his
character and actions, Daniel 11:36 then
the eastern, his power, wealth and riches, hail and rain, Daniel 11:40.
Daniel 11:1 “Also in the
first year of Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and
strengthen him.)
YLT 1`And I, in the first year
of Darius the Mede, my standing [is] for a strengthener, and for a stronghold
to him;
Also I, in the first year of Darius the Mede,.... These
words more properly belong to the preceding chapter, and should have concluded
that, and the "eleventh" chapter should have begun in the next verse;
and they are not the words of Daniel, as Jerom and others; but of the angel
telling Daniel, not only what he had been lately doing, and would do in the
court of Persia for his people; but what he had done in the beginning of that
monarchy, the very first year that Darius the Mede became king of Babylon, and
head of the whole monarchy; see Daniel 5:30, the
Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "in the first year of
Cyrus"; which was the same time; for Darius and Cyrus reigned together.
Even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him; not Michael
your Prince, as Jarchi; for he being no other than the Son of God, an uncreated
Angel, needed not the help and assistance of a created one, nor could receive
any strength and confirmation from such an one; unless this is to be understood,
not with respect to Michael himself abstractly considered, but as in relation
to the people of the Jews, on whose side Michael was; and so this angel took
part with him and them, and as his minister served them both, in defending
them, and taking care of their affairs at this time; so Jacchiades paraphrases
it, to confirm and strengthen Israel: but it seems rather to design Darius, and
the sense to be, that this angel strengthened Darius and Cyrus in their good
intentions to let the people of Israel go free and give them full liberty and
encouragement to go into their own land, and rebuild their city and temple;
about which some doubts and hesitations might arise in their minds, and
objections be made by some of their nobles and courtiers to it, being moved and
influenced by an evil spirit, the adversary of this good angel; but he attended
them so closely, and so strongly suggested to them what they should do in this
case, that he carried his point on behalf of the Jews; for this respects not so
much the destruction of the Chaldean monarchy, and the establishing the Persian
monarchy on the ruins of it, and settling Darius on the throne, and
strengthening his kingdom and interest, as the confirmation of him and Cyrus in
their designs in favour of the Jews. The Syriac version is, "from the
first year of Darius the Mede, he rose up to help me, and assist me"; as
if the angel was still speaking of Michael, who came to his help against the
prince of Persia, and was the only one that held with him, and had done so from
the beginning of the Persian empire; but the Hebrew text will not admit of such
a translation.
Daniel 11:2 2 And
now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia,
and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength,
through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
YLT 2and, now, truth I declare
to thee, Lo, yet three kings are standing for Persia, and the fourth doth
become far richer than all, and according to his strength by his riches he
stirreth up the whole, with the kingdom of Javan.
And now will I show thee the truth,.... And nothing but the
truth; what will most certainly come to pass, and may be depended on, even what
is written in the book of God's decrees, "the Scripture of truth",
and which would appear in Providence in later times; and this he proposed to
deliver to him, not in figurative, dark, and obscure expressions, but clearly
and plainly, in language easy to be understood:
behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; which were
Cyrus, who reigned alone after the death of Darius the Mede, his uncle;
Cambyses, the son of Cyrus; and Darius Hystaspes. There was another between
Cambyses and Darius, called Smerdis the magician, who reigned but seven months,
and being an impostor is left out, as he is in Ptolemy's canon; not that these
were all the kings of Persia after Darius the Mede; for, according to the above
canon, there reigned six more after them; but because these kings had a
connection with the Jews, and under them their affairs had different turns and
changes, respecting their restoration and settlement, and the building of their
city and temple; as also because these kings "stood", and the
monarchy under them was strong and flourishing, whereas afterwards it began to
decline; and chiefly it is for the sake of the fourth king that these are
observed, who laid the foundation of the destruction of the Persian monarchy by
the Grecians.
And the fourth shall be far richer than they all: this is
Xerxes, who exceeded his predecessors in wealth and riches; enjoying what they
by their conquests, or otherwise, had amassed together, to which he greatly
added; Cyrus had collected a vast deal of riches from various nations,
especially from Babylon: God gave him "the treasures of darkness, and
hidden riches of secret places", Isaiah 14:3,
Cambyses increased the store by his victories, and the plunder of temples
wherever he came; out of the flames of which were saved three hundred talents
of gold, and 2300 talents of silver, which he carried away, together with the
famous circle of gold that encompassed the tomb of King OzymandiasF4See
the Universal History, vol. 5. p. 194. : and Darius, the father of Xerxes, laid
heavy taxes upon the people, and hoarded up his money; hence he was called by
the Persians καπηλοςF5Herodot.
l. 3. sive Thalia, c. 89. , the huckster or hoarder: and Xerxes came into it
all, and so became richer than them all; of whom Justin saysF6E
Trogo, l. 2. c. 10. .
"si
regem species; divitias, non ducem laudes: quarum tanta copia in regno ejus
fuit, ut cum flumina multitudine consumerentur, opes tamen regiae superessent.'
And by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all
against the realm of Grecia; through his vast riches, which are the
sinews of war, he collected a prodigious army out of all provinces, which he
raised to make war against the Grecians; being moved to it by Mardonius, a
relation of his, who was very ambitious of being at the head of a large armyF7Diodor.
Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 11. par. 2. p. 3. Ed. Rhodoman. ; three years were spent
in preparing for this expedition, and forces were gathered out of all parts of
the then known habitable world; out of all the west, under Hamilcar, general of
the Carthaginians, with whom he made a league; and out of all the east, under
his own command: his army, according to JustinF8E Trogo, l. 2. c.
10. , consisted of 700,000 of his own, and 300,000 auxiliaries; Diodorus
SiculusF9Ut supra, ( Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 11.) par. 2. p.
2. makes it much less, to be about 300,000 men; but Dr. PrideauxF11Connexion,
&c. part 1. B. 4. p. 233, 234. , from Herodotus and others, computes, that
putting all his forces together by sea and land, by the time he came to the
straits of Thermopylae the number of them were 2,641,610 men; and Grotius, from
the same writer reckons them 5,283,000, to which others add two hundred and
twentyF12See the Universal History, vol. 5. p. 233. with these he
marched into Greece, where, after having done much mischief, he was shamefully
defeated and obliged to retire, and was murdered by Artabanus the captain of
his guards. The words may be renderedF13יעיר
הכל את מלכות
יון "excitabit universos, nempe regnum"
Graciae, Michaelis. , "he shall stir up all, even the realm of
Grecia"; by the preparation he made, and the vast army he brought into the
field, he raised all the cities and states of Greece to combine together to
withstand him; and this step of his is what irritated the Grecians, and put
them upon later attempts to avenge themselves on the Persians for this attack upon
them; and which they never desisted from, till they had ruined the Persian
empire, which they did under Alexander; and so he, in his letter to Darius,
saysF14Apud Arrian. Exped. Alexand. l. 2. ,
"your
ancestors entered into Macedonia, and the other parts of Greece, and did us
damage, when they had received no affront from us as the cause of it; and now
I, created general of the Grecians, provoked by you, and desirous of avenging
the injury done by the Persians, have passed over into Asia.'
And
it is for the sake of this, the destruction of the Persian empire by Alexander,
that this expedition of Xerxes is here hinted at; and to pave the way for the
account of Alexander and his successors, in the following part of this
prophecy.
Daniel 11:3 3 Then
a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according
to his will.
YLT 3And a mighty king hath
stood, and he hath ruled a great dominion, and hath done according to his will;
And a mighty king shall stand up,.... Not in Persia, but
in Greece; Alexander the great, who rose up a hundred years after the above
expedition of Xerxes, and "stood" and flourished, and conquered all
he attacked, none being able to resist him; and is rightly called a
"mighty king", a very powerful one: this is the notable horn in the
he goat, which being exasperated by the ram, the Persians, and their invasion
of Greece, pushed at them, and destroyed them, Daniel 8:5, that
shall rule with great dominion; not in Greece only but in the whole world, at
least as he thought, and really did over a very great part of it; for, as
Jerome says, having conquered the Illyrians, Thracians, Greece, and Thebes, he
passed into Asia; and, having put to flight the generals of Darius, he took the
city of Sardis, and afterwards India.
And do according to his will; not only in his own
army, sacrificing his best friends at his pleasure; but with his enemies,
conquering whom he would, none being able to withstand him; all things
succeeded to his wish; whatever he attempted he performed. His historianF15Curtius,
l. 10. c. 5. says of him,
"that
it must be owned he owed much to virtue, but more to fortune, which alone of
all mortals he had in his power;'
since,
by the benefit of it, he seemed to do with nations whatever he pleased; he was
sovereign in all things, and set himself to be worshipped as a deity.
Daniel 11:4 4 And
when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four
winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with
which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides
these.
YLT 4and according to his
standing is his kingdom broken, and divided to the four winds of the heavens,
and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion that he ruled, for his
kingdom is plucked up -- and for others apart from these.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken,.... When
Alexander was risen up to his highest pitch of grandeur, was sole monarch of
the world, in the height of his ambition, in the prime of his days, he was cut
off by death; his kingdom remained no more one, but became many, was seized by
different persons, his generals, and so broke to pieces:
and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; which seem to
have respect to the four horns or kings, which came up in his place, Daniel 8:8, and among
whom his kingdom was parted; Ptolemy reigned in Egypt to the south; Antigonus
in Asia to the north; Seleucus in Babylon and Syria to the east; and Cassander
in Macedonia to the west:
and not to his posterity; for though he had two
sons, one by Barsine, whose name was Hercules, who was living at his death; and
another by Roxane, born after his death, whose name was Alexander; yet they
were both destroyed by Cassander, or his means, that he might enjoy MacedoniaF16Diodor.
Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 19. p. 739. & l. 20. p. 761. :
nor according to his dominion which he ruled; their
dominion was not so large and powerful as Alexander's was, being divided into
several parts; see Daniel 8:22, for
his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those; either besides
his posterity, who had no share in it, and so, with respect to his family, was
like a tree plucked up by the roots, and, as to their concern in it, withered
away at once; or, besides the four governors before mentioned, there were
others that had, at least for a while, some lesser shares in the kingdom, as
Eumenes, Philotas, Leonnatus, and others; but, at length, all were reduced to
the kings of Egypt and Syria, the Lagidae and Seleucidae, which the following
part of the prophecy chiefly concerns; and, besides these, for the Romans also,
to whom this kingdom came.
Daniel 11:5 5 “Also
the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes;
and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be
a great dominion.
YLT 5`And a king of the south --
even of his princes -- doth become strong, and doth prevail against him, and
hath ruled; a great dominion [is] his dominion.
And the king of the south shall be strong,.... That is,
the king of Egypt, which lay south to Syria, as Syria lay north to Egypt; and
therefore the king of the one is called the king of the south, and the other
the king of the north, throughout this prophecy; and by the king of the south,
or Egypt, is here meant Ptolemy Lagus, one of Alexander's generals, who had
Egypt for his share; and a very powerful king he was; for he reigned over
Egypt, Lybia, Cyrene, Ethiopia, Arabia, Phoenicia, Coelesyria, Cyprus, and
several isles in the Aegean sea, and many cities in Greece:
and one of his princes; not of Ptolemy king of
Egypt, but of Alexander the great; and this is Seleucus Nicator, afterwards
called king of the north, having Syria for his part, which lay to the north of
Egypt, as before observed:
and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; that is, be a
greater and more powerful prince than Ptolemy king of Egypt:
his dominion shall be a great dominion; even greater
than the others; for he reigned over Macedonia, Greece, Thrace, Asia, Syria,
Babylonia, Media, and all the eastern countries as far as India; even from
Taurus to the river Indus, and so likewise from Taurus to the Aegean sea: these
two are only mentioned, who shared the Persian monarchy, because the Jews were
only affected by them, for the sake of whom this prophecy is delivered.
Daniel 11:6 6 And
at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the
king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but
she shall not retain the power of her authority,[a] and
neither he nor his authority[b] shall
stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who
begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times.
YLT 6`And at the end of years
they do join themselves together, and a daughter of the king of the south doth
come in unto the king of the north to do upright things; and she doth not
retain the power of the arm; and he doth not stand, nor his arm; and she is
given up, she, and those bringing her in, and her child, and he who is
strengthening her in [these] times.
And in the end of years they shall join themselves together,.... The two
kings of Egypt and Syria; not the two former kings, but their successors: the
king of Egypt was Ptolemy Philadelphus, the second king of Egypt, the son of
Ptolemy Lagus; this is the king of Egypt who collected such a vast number of
books into his library at Alexandria, and got the law of Moses translated into
Greek: the king of Syria was Antiochus, surnamed Theos; this name was first
given him by the Milesians, upon his delivering them from the tyranny of
Timarchus governor of Caria; he was the third king of Syria; Seleucus Nicator
the first, Antiochus Soter the second, and this the third: there had been very
great wars between these kings for many years; and now, being weary of them,
they entered into confederacies and alliances with each other, and which were
designed to be strengthened by a marriage next mentioned; this is thought to be
about seventy years after the death of Alexander:F17See the
Universal History, vol. 9. p. 384. .
for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the
north to make an agreement; this was Bernice, daughter of Ptolemy
Philadelphus king of Egypt, who carried her to Pelusium, and from thence sailed
with her to Seleucia in Syria; where he met with Antiochus king of Syria, to
whom he gave her in marriage, with a vast dowry of gold and silver; hence she
was called φερνοφορος;
and the marriage was celebrated with great solemnityF18Ibid. p. 196.
& Jerom. in loc. : and this was "to make agreement", or "to
make things right or straight"F19לעשות
מישרים "ad faciendum reetitudines",
Pagninus, Michaelis; "ut faciat rectitudines", Montanus;
"recta", Calvin. ; that were wrong and crooked before; to put an end
to wars and discords; to make peace and cultivate friendship; to strengthen
alliances, and confirm each other in their kingdoms:
but she shall not retain the power of the arm; unite the two
kingdoms, and secure the peace of them, which was the thing in view; nor retain
her interest in her husband, nor her power at court; for, as soon as her father
was dead, Antiochus dismissed Bernice from his bed, and took Laodice his former
wife again, by whom he had had two sons, Seleucus Callinicus, and Antiochus
HieraxF20Universal History, vol. 9, p. 196,197. :
neither shall he stand, nor his arm; neither Antiochus; for
Laodice, knowing that by the late treaty the crown was settled upon the
children of Bernice, who already had a son by him, and sensible of his
fickleness, and fearing he might divorce her again, and take to Bernice, got
him poisoned by his servants: nor Bernice his queen, called "his
arm"; who fleeing to Daphne for shelter, on hearing what was done, was
there slain; or it may be his son he had by her, so it follows:
but she shall be given up; into the hands of
Seleucus Callinicus, the son of Laodice; whom she placed on the throne after
the death of his father; and who sent to Daphne to slay Bernice, which was
accordingly doneF21Ibid. :
and they that brought her; into Syria; that
attended her from Egypt at her marriage, and continued with her in the court of
Syria, and fled with her to Daphne:
and he that begat her: or, "whom she
brought forth"; as in the margin; her little son, who was murdered at the
same time with her; for her father died before:
and he that strengthened her in these times; either her
husband, or her father, who were both dead before, and so stood not, and could
not help her; unless this is to be understood of her brother, and the cities of
the lesser Asia, who, hearing of her distress at Daphne, set out for her
relief, but came too late; she and her son were both slain firstF23Justin,
l. 27. c. 1. .
Daniel 11:7 7 But
from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come
with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them
and prevail.
YLT 7`And [one] hath stood up
from a branch of her roots, [in] his station, and he cometh in unto the bulwark,
yea, he cometh into a stronghold of the king of the south, and hath wrought
against them, and hath done mightily;
But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate,.... Or,
"out of a branch of her roots a shoot thereof shall stand or rise up"F24כנו "plantatio ejus", V. L. ; by "her
roots" are meant her ancestors, particularly Ptolemy Lagus; by "a
branch" from thence, Ptolemy Philadelphus her father; and by the
"shoot" out of that, or its plantation, as the Vulgate Latin version,
is designed her brother, Ptolemy Euergetes; who succeeded her father in the
kingdom, and stood firm in it; "upon his basis"F25"Super
basi sua", Pagninus, Gejerus. , as some render it:
which shall come with an army; or, "to an
army"F26אל החיל
"ad exercitum", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Michaelis. as soon as
he heard of his sister's case, he put himself at the head of an army, and
marched to her relief; but coming too late, he, and the forces of the lesser
Asia, which came for the same purpose, joining him, resolved to revenge the
death of his sister and her son, went with his army into Syria, as next
foretold:
and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north; the king of
Syria, Seleucus Callinicus: Ptolemy entered into Syria itself, as PolybiusF1Hist.
l. 5. says, into the fortified cities of it, and took them, the singular being
put for the plural; unless Seleucia itself is particularly designed, which
Ptolemy seized, and put a garrison of Egyptians in it, which held it twenty
seven yearsF2See Prideaux, Connexion, part 2. B. 2. p. 100. :
and shall deal against them; besiege and take them at
his pleasure; the king of Syria not being able to stand against him and defend
them:
and shall prevail; over the king of Syria, and conquer great
part of his dominions, as he did: he took Syria and Cilicia, and the superior
parts beyond Euphrates, and almost all Asia, as Jerome relates; and had it not
been for a sedition in his own kingdom, which called him home, he had made
himself master of the whole kingdom of Seleucus, as JustinF3Ut
supra. (Justin, l. 27. c. 1.) says.
Daniel 11:8 8 And
he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes[c] and
their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more
years than the king of the North.
YLT 8and also their gods, with
their princes, with their desirable vessels of silver and gold, into captivity
he bringeth [into] Egypt; and he doth stand more years than the king of the
north.
And shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their
princes,.... Jerom relates, from the historians he conversed with, that
Ptolemy carried captive with him into Egypt two thousand five hundred images;
among which were many of the idols which Cambyses, when he conquered Egypt,
carried from thence; and Ptolemy replacing them in their proper temples, gained
him the affection of his people the Egyptians, who were much addicted to idolatry;
hence they gave him the name of Euergetes, that is, "the benefactor":
and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; the same
writer reports, that he brought with him out of Syria, and the places he
conquered, forty thousand talents of silver, and precious vessels; vessels of
gold and silver, a prodigious number:
and he shall continue more years than the king of the north; according to
the canon of Ptolemy, this king of Egypt reigned twenty five years; and, as Dr.
PrideauxF4Connexion, part 2. B. 2. p. 81. observes, outlived
Seleucus king of Syria four years.
Daniel 11:9 9 “Also
the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the
South, but shall return to his own land.
YLT 9`And the king of the south
hath come into the kingdom, and turned back unto his own land;
So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom,.... Into his
own kingdom, the kingdom of Egypt; or into the kingdom of Syria, the kingdom of
Seleucus, and conquer great part of it, and ravage and spoil it:
and shall return into his own land; the land of Egypt; he
shall go and come with ease, and as he pleases, none to hinder him; and come
back with a great spoil, as before related: Cocceius renders it, and something
"shall come in the kingdom of the king of the south, and he shall return
to his own land"; and thinks this refers to the sedition raised there,
before mentioned, which obliged him to return sooner than he intended. The
Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "and he shall enter into the kingdom
of the king of the south, and he shall return to his own land": that is,
Seleucus should attempt to enter into the kingdom of Ptolemy king of Egypt, in
revenge of his having entered into his country and spoiled it; but shall be
obliged to return to his own land without any success: and so JustinF5Ut
supra, (Justin, l. 27.) c. 2. says, that he fitted out a great fleet, which was
destroyed by a violent storm; and after this he raised a great army to recover
his dominion, but was defeated by Ptolemy, and fled in great terror and
trembling to Antioch; and this suits well with what follows.
Daniel 11:10 10 However
his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one
shall certainly come and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return to
his fortress and stir up strife.
YLT 10and his sons stir
themselves up, and have gathered a multitude of great forces, and he hath
certainly come in, and overflowed, and passed through, and he turneth back, and
they stir themselves up unto his stronghold.
But his sons shall be stirred up,.... Not of the king of
the south, or Egypt, but of the king of the north, or Syria; the sons of
Seleucus Callinicus, who died, as JustinF6Ibid. (Justin, l. 27.) c.
3. says, by a fall from his horse; these were Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus,
who was afterwards called the great: these being irritated and provoked by what
Ptolemy Euergetes had done in revenge of his sister, taking part of their
father's kingdom from him, and carrying off so rich a booty, joined together,
and exerted themselves to recover their dominions from him:
and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: or, "a
multitude of men, even large armies"F7המון
חילים רבים
"multitudinem, copias amplas", Junius & Tremellius. ; which they
put themselves at the head of, in order to make war with the king of Egypt:
and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; this is to be
understood of Antiochus; for Seleucus dying in the third year of his reign,
being slain in Phrygia, through the treachery of Nicator and Apaturius, as
Jerom relates; or, as others, poisoned; Antiochus succeeded him, and alone
headed the armies they had collected; and with which, like an inundation of
water, to which armies are sometimes compared, he attacked Seleucia, and took
it; and entered into Coelesyria, and overran it, being delivered into his hands
by the treachery of Theodotus, who governed there for Ptolemy, whom he had
offended: after this he came to Berytus, entered the province by a place which
the countrymen called "the face of God"; and which Grotius, not
improbably, takes to be Phanuel: took the town of Botris, and set fire to
Trieres and Calamus, or Calene: he next invaded Palestine, and took several
places in it; went as far as Rabata Massane, or Rabatamana, a city in Arabia,
the same with Rabbathammon, which surrendered to himF8Vid. Polybium,
l. 5. p. 256,260,261,262. and Universal History, vol. 9. p. 216,218,219. :
then shall he return, and be stirred up even to his fortress: the spring
following he returned with a numerous army, and came to Raphia, a fortified
city in Egypt, which lay between that and Palestine; where, as StraboF9Geograph.
l. 16. p. 522. says, Ptolemy the fourth (i.e. Philopator) fought with Antiochus
the great.
Daniel 11:11 11 “And
the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him,
with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the
multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.
YLT 11And the king of the south
doth become embittered, and hath gone forth and fought with him, with the king
of the north, and hath caused a great multitude to stand, and the multitude
hath been given into his hand,
And the king of the south shall be moved with choler,.... This is
Ptolemy Philopator, who succeeded Ptolemy Euergetes in the kingdom of Egypt; so
called ironically, because of his murder of his father and mother, as JustinF11E
Trogo, l. 29. c. 1. relates; the same, though naturally sluggish and slothful,
was provoked and exasperated at the proceedings of Antiochus, retaking
Coelesyria, invading Palestine, and coming up to the borders of his kingdom:
and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the
north: he assembled an army, and marched with them, from the interior
part of his kingdom, to the border of it, to Raphia, a city between Rhinocorura
and Gaza; where he met with Antiochus, and a battle was fought, as before
observed:
and he shall set forth a great multitude; this is true
of both kings, their armies were very large; that of Ptolemy king of Egypt
consisted, according to PolybiusF12L. 5. p. 266. , of seventy
thousand foot, five thousand horse, and seventy three elephants and that of
Antiochus king of Syria consisted of sixty two (some say seventy two) thousand
foot, six thousand horse, and a hundred and two elephants: the former army,
that of the king of Egypt, seems rather designed, if the preceding clause is
consulted; though the latter, that of Antiochus, best agrees with what follows:
but the multitude shall be given into his hand: that is, the
multitude of the army of Antiochus should be delivered into the hands of
Ptolemy Philopator, and so it was; for Antiochus lost ten thousand footmen, and
three hundred horsemen; four thousand footmen were taken, three elephants
slain, and two wounded, which afterwards died, and most of the rest were takenF13Polybius,
l. 5. p. 269. : this victory is ascribed to Arsinoe, the sister and wife of
Ptolemy, who ran about the army with her hair dishevelled, and by entreaties
and promises greatly encouraged the soldiers to fight; of which see third
Maccabees chapter one and with which PolybiusF14Ibid. p. 268.
agrees.
Daniel 11:12 12 When
he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast
down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.
YLT 12and he hath carried away
the multitude, his heart is high, and he hath caused myriads to fall, and he
doth not become strong.
That
is, when Ptolemy king of Egypt had defeated the large army of Antiochus, killed
great numbers of them, and taken many:
his heart shall be lifted up; with pride, through the
victory he obtained; and so he gave himself up to sensuality and luxury, judging
himself now safe and secure in the possession of his kingdom: or, this may
refer to his insolence, when he entered into Judea, went to Jerusalem, and
forced his way into the holiest of all to offer sacrifice upon his victory; of
which see third Maccabees chapter one:
and he shall cast down many ten thousands; or "many
thousands", as the Vulgate Latin version; or rather "ten
thousand"F13רבאות "decem
millia", Pagninus, Montanus, so Ben Melech. , either of the Jews, when he
went into their country; or of the army of Antiochus the king of the north, as
Jacchiades: and it may be rendered, "though he shall cast down many
thousands"F14והפיל "etiamsi
dejiciet", Gejerus; "quamvis prostraverit", Michaelis. ; that
is, cast them down to the earth, slay them, as he did, even ten thousand of
them, the number here mentioned:
yet he shall not be strengthened by it; for Antiochus
escaped out of his hands, nor did he pursue his victory, and take all the
advantages of it, as he might have done; for, as the historianF15Justin,
l. 30. c. 1. says, had he added valour to his fortune, he might have spoiled
Antiochus of his kingdom; but, content with the recovery of the cities he lost,
made peace, and greedily took the advantage of ease, and rolled himself in
luxury, uncleanness, and intemperance.
Daniel 11:13 13 For
the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the
former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and
much equipment.
YLT 13`And the king of the north
hath turned back, and hath caused a multitude to stand, greater than the first,
and at the end of the times a second time he doth certainly come in with a
great force, and with much substance;
For the king of the north shall return,.... As
Antiochus king of Syria did, upon the death of Ptolemy Philopator, who was
succeeded by his son Ptolemy Epiphanes, a minor of five years of age: Antiochus
took the advantage of this minority, and entered into a league with Philip king
of Macedon, to divide the kingdom of Egypt between them; and marched an army
into Coelesyria and Palestine, and made himself master of those countries:
and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; bring a
larger army into the field than he had done before, which Jerom says he brought
out of the upper parts of Babylon; some say it consisted of three hundred
thousand footmen, besides horsemen and elephants:
and shall certainly come (after certain years) with a great army,
and with much riches; with all manner of provisions to supply his numerous army, and
all proper accommodations for it; money to pay his soldiers, and beasts of
burden to carry their baggage from place to place: this was about fourteen
years after the former battle, as Dr. PrideauxF16Connexion, par. 2.
B. 2. p. 140. observes; and, according to Bishop Usher's annals, thirteen
years.
Daniel
11:14 14 “Now
in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, violent
men[d] of your
people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall
fall.
YLT 14and in those times many do
stand up against the king of the south, and sons of the destroyers of thy
people do lift themselves up to establish the vision -- and they have stumbled.
And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of
the south,.... The king of Egypt, Ptolemy Epiphanes being a minor; and
while he was such, Antiochus king of Syria, and Philip king of Macedon, joined
in alliance together, as before observed, to seize upon his kingdom, and divide
it between them; and accordingly Antiochus began the war in Coelesyria and
Phoenicia, and Philip went against Egypt and Samos, or Caria, according to PolybiusF17Hist.
l. 3. in initio. . Agathocles and Agathoclea, favourites of the former king of
Egypt, laid a scheme of taking the regency into their hands during the minority
of the young king; and these, being persons of dissolute lives, were hated by
the Egyptians, which caused insurrections and seditions among themselves; and
Scopas, a principal general in the army of the king of Egypt, formed a design
of taking the government to himself:
also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish
the vision: this is directed to the Prophet Daniel, and respects
the Jews his countrymen, at least some of them, refractory persons that broke
through all laws of God and men; seditious men, disturbers of the public peace,
and who lived upon the spoil and plunder of others; these either took the
advantage of the disturbances in Egypt, and went thither, and plundered what
they could, in a bold and audacious manner, and so helped to fulfil this
prophecy; or during the troubles in their own land, through the kings of Egypt
and Syria, took the opportunity of committing thefts and robberies in a very
daring manner, whereby they brought upon them those evils threatened in the law
to such persons; and particularly when the Egyptians prevailed, they sided with
them against Antiochus, especially such who apostatized from their religion to
please the king of Egypt; but were afterwards punished by Antiochus, as it
follows:
but they shall fall: be cut off and
destroyed, as those apostates that were of Ptolemy's party were by Antiochus,
when he invaded Judea, and became master of Jerusalem; see third Maccabees
chapter one. Some understand this of the apostate Jews, who fled with Onias the
high priest to Egypt, and were there honourably received by Ptolemy, and
obtained leave to build a temple there, under pretence of fulfilling the vision
or prophecy in Isaiah 19:19, which
continued many years to the times of the Romans, by whom it was destroyed; but
this does not agree with the reign of this king of Egypt; for it was in the
times of Ptolemy Philometor that this affair happened, as JosephusF18Antiqu.
l. 13. c. 3. sect. 1. relates. Sir Isaac Newton interprets it of the SamaritansF19Vid.
Joseph. Antiqu. l. 12. c. 4. sect. 1. .
Daniel 11:15 15 So
the king of the North shall come and build a siege mound, and take a fortified
city; and the forces[e] of the
South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have
no strength to resist.
YLT 15`And the king of the north
cometh in, and poureth out a mount, and hath captured fenced cities; and the
arms of the south do not stand, nor the people of his choice, yea, there is no
power to stand.
So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take
the most fenced cities,.... That is, Antiochus the great, king of Syria, should come
into Coelesyria and Phoenicia, which was the part of the kingdom of Egypt he
was to have by the league with Philip king of Macedon; and this is a prophecy
of his expedition into those parts, and the success of it. Scopas, a general of
Ptolemy, being sent by him into Coelesyria, had took many of the cities of it,
and the land of Judea; but Antiochus, coming into those parts with his army,
beat Scopas at the fountains of Jordan, and destroyed great part of his forces,
and retook the cities of Coelesyria that Scopas had made himself master of, and
subdued Samaria; upon which the Jews voluntarily submitted to him, and received
him into their city, as JosephusF20Antiqu. l. 12. c. 3. sect. 3.
relates; and PolybiusF21Histor. l. 16. apud Joseph. ib. , as quoted
by him, says, that Scopas being conquered by Antiochus, he took Batanea,
Samaria, Abila, and Godara, and that the Jews in a little time surrendered to
him; and so Livy saysF23Hist. l. 33. , that Antiochus reduced all
the cities that Ptolemy had in Coelesyria into subjection to him; and these are
the most fenced cities pointed at in this prophecy, against which the king of
Syria cast up mounts, in order to take them; or placed battering engines before
them, as the word also signifies, as Kimchi observesF24Sepher
Shorash. rad. סלל. , by which stones were cast into
the besieged cities:
and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen
people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand; all the
forces of the king of Egypt mustered together would not be able to withstand
the power of Antiochus, who would, as he did, carry all before him; not their
most powerful armies, nor most courageous generals, nor valiant soldiers, the
choicest of them, nor any auxiliaries called in to their assistance; for when
Scopas was beaten by Antiochus at Jordan, he fled to Sidon with ten thousand
soldiers, where he was shut up in a close siege; and though Ptolemy sent his
famous and choicest commanders to his relief, Eropus, Menocles, and Damoxenus,
as Jerome relates; yet they were not able to raise the siege, but by famine
were forced to surrender; and he and his men were dismissed naked.
Daniel 11:16 16 But
he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall
stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his
power.[f]
YLT 16And he who is coming unto
him doth according to his will, and there is none standing before him; and he
standeth in the desirable land, and [it is] wholly in his hand.
But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will,
and none shall stand before him,.... Antiochus the great, who came against
Ptolemy king of Egypt, would do in those parts where he came as he pleased;
take cities, and dispose of them at his pleasure; the army of the king of Egypt
not being able to oppose him, and stop his conquests in Coelesyria and
Phoenicia; nor should they hinder his entrance into Judea:
and he shall stand in the glorious land; Judea, so
called, not only because of its fertility, but chiefly because of the worship
of God in it; here Antiochus stood as a victorious conqueror; the Jews readily
submitting to him, and received him into their city, and assisted him in
reducing the castle where Scopas had placed a garrison of soldiers:
which by his hand shall be consumed; by his numerous army,
and the foraging of his soldiers, eating up and destroying the fruits of the
earth wherever they came; otherwise the land of Judea, and the inhabitants of
it, were not consumed and destroyed by him at this time; but rather brought
into more flourishing circumstances, having many favours and privileges
bestowed on them by him, on account of the respect they showed him; for, on his
coming to Jerusalem, the priests and elders went out to meet him, and gladly
received him and his army, and furnished him with horses and elephants, and
helped him in reducing the garrison Scopas had leftF25Josephus, ut
supra. (Antiqu. l. 12. c. 3. sect. 3.) , as before observed: hence some render
the words, "which by his hand was perfected"F26וכלה בידו "et perficietur
per eum", Grotius. ; restored to perfect peace and prosperity, which had
been for some years harassed and distressed by the Egyptians and Syrians, in
their turns being masters of it; the elders, priests, and Levites, he freed
from tribute, gave them leave to live according to their own laws, granted them
cattle and other things for sacrifice, and wood for the repairing and
perfecting of their temple. The letters he wrote on this account are to be seen
in JosephusF1Josephus, ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 12. c. 3. sect. 3.) .
Daniel 11:17 17 “He
shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright
ones[g] with him;
thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it;
but she shall not stand with him, or be for him.
YLT 17And he setteth his face to
go in with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he
hath wrought, and the daughter of women he giveth to him, to corrupt her; and
she doth not stand, nor is for him.
He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole
kingdom,.... Antiochus, having conquered Coelesyria, Phoenicia, and
Judea, should set his face towards the land of Egypt, having a greedy desire
after it, and bend his mind and forces that way; form a design of invading it,
and for that purpose determine to bring all the forces he could master together
throughout his dominions. So JustinF2E Trogo, I. 31. c. 1. says,
that upon the death of Ptolemy Philopator, Antiochus king of Syria determined
to seize on Egypt. The Vulgate Latin version is, "that he might come to
lay hold on his whole kingdom"; to seize the whole kingdom of the king of
Egypt:
and upright ones with him: meaning, as many think,
the Jews, so called to distinguish them from the Heathens, and even from those
Jews who had took on the side of Ptolemy, and had changed their religion; but
these persevered in it, which Antiochus approved of; and had now a great
opinion of them, and had bestowed many favours upon them, as before observed;
wherefore he might take some of them, and they might choose to go with him on
this expedition, and especially to assist in his intended agreement with the
king of Egypt, and the marriage of his daughter to him; in bringing about which
they were to have a concern, as being reckoned men of probity and uprightness:
or rather the sense is, according to the Vulgate Latin version,
and he shall do right things; in show and appearance:
or "he shall make agreement", or peace, as Aben Ezra; enter into
covenants of alliance and marriage, upon seeming just conditions, with a great
show of sincerity and uprightness:
thus shall he do; in the following manner: or, "and he
shall do"F3ועשה "et
faciet", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Gejerus; "efficietque",
Junius & Tremellius. ; that is, succeed in his proposals:
and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her; this was the
stratagem he used; finding he could not obtain the kingdom of Egypt by force of
arms, for fear of the Romans, who were the guardians of the king of Egypt, he
proposed to give his daughter Cleopatra to him in marriage, a beautiful virgin;
and therefore called the "daughter of women"; or rather because she
was as yet under the care of the women she was first committed to, as GussetiusF4Ebr.
Comment. p. 540. observes; and so he did marry her, and gave for her dowry
Coelesyria, Samaria, Judea, and PhoeniciaF5Joseph. Antiqu. l. 12. c.
4. sect. 1. : this was done at RaphiaF6Liv. Hist. l. 35. c. 13. p.
597. , a fortified city of Egypt, where the famous battle had been fought
between him and Ptolemy Philopator; see Daniel 11:10 and if
the former clause is rendered, as I think it may, "he shall also set his
face to enter into the fortress of the whole kingdom"; this is the place
intended, where he was desirous of going to meet the king of Egypt, and execute
this scheme of his; which, though done under a plausible pretence of peace, and
of putting ahead to their quarrels, was with a view to get his kingdom into his
hands; "corrupting" his daughter to betray the counsels of her
husband; or to put him to death by poison, or otherwise, that he might seize
the kingdom on her behalf; or it may be rendered, to "corrupt" or
"destroy it"F7להשחיתה "ad
corrumpendum illam", Montanus, Gejerus. , the kingdom; he married his
daughter to the king of Egypt with this view, to obtain the kingdom from him:
but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him; being
married, she forgot her own people, and her father's house, and cleaved to her
husband; took his part, and not her father's, yea, took part with her husband
against her father; for ambassadors were sent out of Egypt by both her husband
and herself, congratulating the Romans on the victory Acilius gained over
Antiochus her father, and that he had drove him out of Greece, exhorting them
to carry their army into AsiaF8Liv. ibid. l. 37. c. 3. p. 633. ; and
thus he was disappointed of his design in this marriage: and this may be the
meaning of the expression here; for it may be rendered, "it shall not
stand"F9לא תעמוד
"et non succedet hoc", Grotius ; his counsel shall not stand, his
scheme shall not take place, but fall to the ground, and come to nothing:
and it shall not be for him; the kingdom shall not be
his, he shall never possess it, as he did not.
Daniel 11:18 18 After
this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler
shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed,
he shall turn back on him.
YLT 18`And he turneth back his
face to the isles, and hath captured many; and a prince hath caused his
reproach of himself to cease; without his reproach he turneth [it] back to him.
After this he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall take
many,.... Finding himself disappointed in his design on the kingdom of
Egypt, he turned his face, and steered his course another way, and with a large
fleet sailed into the Aegean sea; and, as Jerom relates, took Rhodes, Samos, Colophon,
and Phocea, and many other islands; and also several cities of Greece and Asia,
which lay on the sea coasts; it being usual with the Jews to call such maritime
places islands:
but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered
by him to cease; the reproach that Antiochus cast upon the Romans, by seizing on
their provinces, taking their cities, doing injuries to their allies, and
treating their ambassadors with contempt: this the Romans wiped off by taking
up arms against him, and gaining victories over him both by sea and land. The
"prince" here may design the Romans in general, who, on their own
behalf, or for their own honour, sent out armies and fleets against him, to put
a stop to his insults over them; or some particular leader and commander of
theirs, not a king, but a general or admiral, as Marcus Acilius, who beat him
at the straits of Thermopylae; also Livius Salinator, who got the victory over
his fleet about Phocea, where he sunk ten of his ships, and took thirteen;
likewise Aemilius Regillus, who got the better of his fleet at Myonnesus, near
Ephesus; and especially Lucius Scipio, who, in a land fight, beat him at Mount
Siphylus, with an army of thirty thousand against seventy thousand, killed
fifty thousand footmen of Antiochus's army, and four thousand horsemen, and
took fourteen hundred prisoners, with fifteen elephants and their commandersF11See
Liv. Hist. l. 36. & 37. , and so drove him out of lesser Asia:
without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him; without any
reproach to the Roman general; the reproach which Antiochus cast upon the Roman
nation was turned upon his own head, by the many victories obtained over him by
sea and land, and especially by the last and total defeat of him; for no other
terms of peace could he obtain, but to pay all the expenses of the war, quit
all Asia on that side Taurus, and give hostages, and his own son was one, in
the Apocrypha:
"10
And there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of
Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the
hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.' (1 Maccabees 1:10)
Daniel 11:19 19 Then
he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall
stumble and fall, and not be found.
YLT 19And he turneth back his
face to the strongholds of his land, and hath stumbled and fallen, and is not
found.
Then he shall turn his face towards the fort of his own land,.... After his
defeat he fled with a few to Sardis, and from thence to Apamea, so Livy; and to
Susa, and to the further parts of his dominions, as Jerom; or rather he betook
himself to Antioch his capital city, called here "the fort of his own
land", where he was obliged to continue:
but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found; the expenses
of the war which Antiochus agreed to pay being reckoned at fifteen thousand
Euboean talents, five hundred talents were to be paid down; two thousand five
hundred at the ratification of the treaty by the senate of Rome; and the other
twelve thousand to be paid yearly, at a thousand talents each year: now, being
either in want of money, or through covetousness, he attempted to rob the
temple of Jupiter Elymaeus, and went by night thither with his army for that
purpose; but the thing being betrayed, the inhabitants got together, and slew
him, with all his soldiers, as JustinF12E Trogo, l. 32. c. 2.
relates. StraboF13Geograph. l. 16. p. 512. says, that Antiochus the
great endeavouring to rob the temple of Bel, the barbarians near to (Elymais)
rose of themselves, and slew him; and so never returned to Syria any more, but
died in the province of Elymais, being slain by the Persians there, as related,
and was never found more, or was buried; and this was the end of this great
man, of whom so many things are said in this prophecy, and others follow
concerning his successors. He died in the thirty seventh year of his reign, and
the fifty second of his ageF14See the Universal History, vol. 9. p.
270. .
Daniel 11:20 20 “There
shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom;
but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.
YLT 20`And stood up on his
station hath [one] causing an exactor to pass over the honour of the kingdom,
and in a few days he is destroyed, and not in anger, nor in battle.
Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory
of the kingdom,.... This was not Antiochus Epiphanes, as Theodoret, he is
designed in the next verse; nor Ptolemy Epiphanes; as Porphyry, for he did not
succeed Antiochus the great; nor Tryphon, tutor to Antiochus, as some Jewish
writers; but Seleucus Philopator, the eldest son of Antiochus the great; who
succeeded him, and was settled in his kingdom in his father's room, and stood
upon his basis; and might well be called a raiser of taxes, being not only a
covetous man, and a lover of money above all things; and therefore laid heavy
taxes on his subjects, to gratify his avarice; but was indeed obliged to it, to
raise the thousand talents yearly to pay the Romans, which his father had laid
himself under obligation to do; and this took up the whole life of this his
successor; for as there were twelve thousand talents to pay, a thousand each
year, and Seleucus reigned in all but twelve years at most, he did nothing but
raise taxes yearly to pay this tribute. It may be rendered, "then shall
stand upon his basis": or, "in his room", as the Vulgate Latin
version, in the room of Antiochus the great, "one that causes the exactors
to pass through the glory of the kingdom"F15ועמד
על כנו מעביר
נוגש הדר מלכות "stabit autem super basillius, qui transire
faciet exactorem per decus regni", Michaelis. ; that causes tax gatherers
to go through the kingdom, and collect the tax of the people, who are the glory
of the kingdom, especially the rich, the nobility, and gentry; or money, which
is the glory of a nation: or, "shall cause the exactors to pass over to
the glory of the kingdom"; that is, cause a tax gatherer to go over from
Syria to the glorious land, or the glorious part of his dominion, the land of
Judea; and so may have respect particularly to Heliodorus his treasurer, whom
he sent to Jerusalem to demand the treasure of money he heard was laid up in
the temple there; in the Apocrypha:
"Now
when Apollonius came to the king, and had shewed him of the money whereof he
was told, the king chose out Heliodorus his treasurer, and sent him with a
commandment to bring him the foresaid money.' (2 Maccabees 3:7)
but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor
in battle; or, within a few years, as Grotius and Prideaux render it;
"days" being often put for years. Seleucus reigned but twelve years
at most, which were but few in comparison of the long reign of his father,
which was a reign of thirty seven years; and he died not through the rage of
the populace, or through the sedition and rebellion of his subjects, nor in
war, with a foreign enemy; but through the treachery of Heliodorus his
treasurer, by whom he was poisoned, as is supposed; either for the sake of
Antiochus Epiphanes, who was at that very time returning from Rome, where he
had been an hostage ever since the defeat of his father, the money being now
paid, which was stipulated; or rather on his own account, having a design to
seize the kingdom for himself.
Daniel 11:21 21 And
in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of
royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
YLT 21`And stood up on his
station hath a despicable one, and they have not given unto him the honour of
the kingdom, and he hath come in quietly, and hath strengthened the kingdom by
flatteries.
And in his estate shall stand up a vile person,.... Upon his
basis or stand, in the same place where Seleucus Philopator stood, succeeded
Antiochus Epiphanes his brother, called "vile", being a very immoral
man, given to drunkenness, lasciviousness, uncleanness, and unnatural lusts,
and a violent persecutor of the church of God. The word signifies
"despicable"F16נבזה
"despectus", Pagninus, Montanus; "contemptus", Vatablus,
Piscator, Tigurine version. ; he was a vile person, and justly condemned for
his vices, and also for that mean and ignoble life he had lived at Rome, having
been an hostage there for eleven or twelve years; and though the other hostages
were changed at three years' end, yet he remained; which shows what little
account he was of even with his father; and was in no esteem with the people,
among whom, by his freaks and frolics, he made himself very ridiculous; by
rambling about streets with a servant or two; conversing with tradesmen about
their trades; drinking with strangers, and people of low life; revelling at
merry bouts with young people; putting on strange habits; throwing away his
money among the rabble, and stones at those that followed him; washing at
public baths among the common people; all which, and many others, are reportedF17See
Prideaux's Connexion, par. 2. B. 3. p. 153, 154, Out of Athenaeus, Diodorus,
&c. and the Universal History, vol. 9. p. 276, 277, 289, 290. of him by
historians; hence he was called by some Epimanes the madman; though he took to
himself the title of Epiphanes the "illustrious", the reverse of his
character. This is the little horn in Daniel 8:9 and who
was an eminent type of antichrist, with whom his character agrees, as well as
other things:
to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom; neither his
father, nor his brother, nor the peers and people of the land of the kingdom of
Syria; they never once thought of making him king; they neither chose him, nor
called him, nor crowned him:
but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by
flatteries; pretending to take it, not for himself, but for his nephew
Demetrius, the son of his brother Seleucus, now an hostage at Rome, in his
stead; so that the states opposed him not, but quietly admitted him, thinking
all was safe for the rightful heir and successor; and when he had got
possession for his nephew, he obtained it for himself by his flattering
speeches to the nobles, and his gifts among the citizens, and his great
pretensions to clemency and humanity; or these "flatteries" may refer
to the artifices he used to gain Eumenes king of Pergamus, and Attalus his
brother, to assist him against Heliodorus the usurper; and the promises of
friendship and assistance against the Romans he made to them, and by whose help
he came peaceably to the kingdom.
Daniel 11:22 22 With
the force[h] of a flood
they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of
the covenant.
YLT 22And the arms of the flood
are overflowed from before him, and are broken; and also the leader of the
covenant.
And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before
him, and shall be broken,.... That is, by the help of the forces of Eumenes and Attalus,
which were like an inundation of water, the party that were on the side of
Heliodorus the usurper were bore down, crushed, and destroyed; and thereby
Antiochus had a peaceable settlement in the kingdom: or, "the arms of a
flood shall be overflowed from before him, and be broken"F18וזרעות השטף ישטפו
"et brachia inundationis inundabantur", Cocceius, Michaelis
"brachia inundantia", Piscator. ; either the arms of Heliodorus, the
forces he had got together; or the armies of the Egyptians, which, like an
overflowing flood, had used to run over Judea, Coelesyria, Phoenicia, and other
places, and carry all before them, now should be overflowed, and bore down
themselves; of which see more on Daniel 11:25,
yea, also the prince of the covenant; which some
understand of Judas Maccabaeus, as Jerome and Jacchiades; others more probably
of Onias the high priest, whom Antiochus deposed in the first year of his
reign, and sold the priesthood to Jason his younger brother for four hundred
and forty talents of silver; and who also promised to give him one hundred and
fifty more for a license to erect a place of exercise for the training up of
youth, according to the fashion of the Greeks; which Antiochus greedily
embraced, the public treasury being empty through the large tribute paid to the
Romans the last twelve years; in the Apocrypha:
"7
But after the death of Seleucus, when Antiochus, called Epiphanes, took the
kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias laboured underhand to be high priest, 8
Promising unto the king by intercession three hundred and threescore talents of
silver, and of another revenue eighty talents: 9 Beside this, he promised to
assign an hundred and fifty more, if he might have licence to set him up a
place for exercise, and for the training up of youth in the fashions of the
heathen, and to write them of Jerusalem by the name of Antiochians. 34
Wherefore Menelaus, taking Andronicus apart, prayed, him to get Onias into his
hands; who being persuaded thereunto, and coming to Onias in deceit, gave him
his right hand with oaths; and though he were suspected by him, yet persuaded
he him to come forth of the sanctuary: whom forthwith he shut up without regard
of justice. 35 For the which cause not only the Jews, but many also of other
nations, took great indignation, and were much grieved for the unjust murder of
the man.' (2 Maccabees 4)
Others
think Seleucus Philopator his brother is meant, which is not probable, his
death being before described; rather Demetrius his nephew, with whom he
covenanted to hold the kingdom for him, or through whom the covenant and peace
with the Romans was continued so long, he being an hostage at Rome; though
others are of opinion that Trypho, a peer of the realm of Egypt, is designed,
who was the principal person concerned in a covenant made between Antiochus and
Ptolemy Philometor king of Egypt; though it is more likely that Ptolemy himself
is the person intended.
Daniel 11:23 23 And
after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall
come up and become strong with a small number of people.
YLT 23And after they join
themselves unto him, he worketh deceit, and hath increased, and hath been
strong by a few of the nation.
And after the league made with him,.... The prince of the
covenant; either Demetrius his nephew, or Ptolemy Philometor king of Egypt,
with whom a league was made in the lifetime of Cleopatra, the sister of
Antiochus, and mother of Ptolemy:
he shall work deceitfully; either with the princes
and people of Syria, by good words and fair speeches, and by gifts and
presents, to get the kingdom for himself, though he had covenanted with his
nephew to hold it for him, and resign it to him at his return; and with the
Romans, and among his friends in the senate, he artfully worked to detain him
at Rome: or else with the king of Egypt, pretending great friendship to him,
and to take the care and tuition of him during his minority; and at his
coronation he sent one Apollonius to be present at it, and to congratulate him
upon it; in the Apocrypha:
"Now
when Apollonius the son of Menestheus was sent into Egypt for the coronation of
king Ptolemeus Philometor, Antiochus, understanding him not to be well affected
to his affairs, provided for his own safety: whereupon he came to Joppa, and
from thence to Jerusalem:' (2 Maccabees 4:21)
for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people; either he
went into the heart of Syria with a small number of men at first, and gathered
together a large army; or into Phoenicia with a handful of men, where he
ingratiated himself into the affections of the people by words and gifts, and
became strong; or he went up into Egypt accompanied only with a few, lest, the
Egyptians should be suspicious of him; but these it is said were valiant men,
whom he placed in the forts of Egypt, and so became master of it, which is an instance
of his deceitful working; and Sutorius, an ancient historian, as quoted by
Jerom, says that he subdued Egypt to himself with a very small number of
people.
Daniel 11:24 24 He
shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he
shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall
disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his
plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.
YLT 24Peaceably even into the
fertile places of the province He cometh, and he hath done that which his
fathers did not, nor his fathers' fathers; prey, and spoil, and substance, to
them he scattereth, and against fenced places he deviseth his devices, even for
a time.
He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the
province,.... Or, "into tranquillity, and the fattest places of the
province"F19בשלוה ובמשמני
"in quietem et in pinguia", Montanus; "in tranquillitatem et
opima", Cocceius; "in tranquillitatem et in pinguissima",
Michaelis. ; that is, into such places as were in great tranquillity, and men
thought themselves safe and secure, and had no suspicion of his designs upon
them, and which abounded in wealth and riches: these were either the principal
cities in the kingdom of Syria, which he visited in order to establish himself
in their good opinion of him; or the chief places of the province of Phoenicia,
where he endeavoured to make himself acceptable by his munificence; or it may
be the best parts of the kingdom of Egypt are meant, the richest of them, such
as Memphis, and the places about it; where, as Sutorius in Jerome says, he
went; and which places being fat, producing a large increase, and abounding in
wealth, invited him thither; and which wealth he took, and scattered among his
friends and soldiers, as in a following clause:
and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his
fathers' fathers; none of his ancestors, more near or more remote; not Antiochus
the great, nor Seleucus Ceraunus, nor Seleucus Callinicus, nor Antiochus Theos,
nor Antiochus Soter, nor Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the Syrian empire;
for, however greater these might be in power or riches, they were inferior to
him in success; though they all, or most of them, however, had their eye upon
Egypt, and would gladly have been masters of it; yet none of the kings of Syria
prevailed over it, as Antiochus did; and this may also refer to what follows:
he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches; which he took
from the places or rich cities he entered into; and these he plentifully and
liberally dispersed among his followers, his soldiers, "the small
people" he became strong with, Daniel 11:23,
whereby he gained their affections, and attached them to his interest; and in
this his liberality and munificence he is said to abound above all the kings
that were before him, in the Apocrypha:
"He
feared that he should not be able to bear the charges any longer, nor to have
such gifts to give so liberally as he did before: for he had abounded above the
kings that were before him.' (1 Maccabees 3:30)
and
the character JosephusF20Antiqu. l. 12. c. 7. sect. 2. gives of him
is, that he was a man of a large and liberal heart:
yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds; the
fortresses of Egypt; as he got into the fat and richest parts of it, and
distributed the wealth of them among his favourites and followers, which
answered a good purpose; so he had his eye upon the fortified places of the
kingdom, and contrived ways and means to get them into his possession, as
Pelusium, and other places; and how to keep them when he had got them, which he
did:
even for a time; till Ptolemy Philometor was at age, and
freed himself from him; or till the RomansF21Vid. Joseph. Antiqu. l.
19. c. 5. sect. 2. put a stop to his power.
Daniel 11:25 25 “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 devise plans
against him.
YLT 25`And he stirreth up his
power and his heart against the king of the south with a great force, and the
king of the south stirreth himself up to battle with a very great and mighty
force, and standeth not, for they devise devices against him,
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of
the south with a great army,.... That is, Antiochus shall arouse
himself, and exert his courage, and gather a large and powerful army, and set
out with them to fight with Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt; this is his
second expedition into Egypt, as is observed in the Apocrypha:
"About
the same time Antiochus prepared his second voyage into Egypt:' (2 Maccabees 5:1)
before
he went into Egypt more privately, with a few men, under a pretence of
friendship; but now more openly as an enemy, with a large army; so it is said
in the Apocrypha:
"17
Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and
elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy, 18 And made war against Ptolemee
king of Egypt: but Ptolemee was afraid of him, and fled; and many were wounded
to death.' (1 Maccabees 1)
and he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots,
and with elephants, and with horses, and with a great fleet; which account
exactly agrees with this prophecy, and serves to illustrate it:
and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a
very great and mighty army; this is Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt,
who, hearing of the preparations of Antiochus, and of his design to enter his
kingdom, gathered a large army together to give him battle:
but he shall not stand; the king of Egypt could
not stand against Antiochus; the two armies met between Mount Casius and
Pelusium, where they came, to a battle, and Antiochus got the victory: upon his
second victory over the forces of Ptolemy, he took Pelusium, and led his army
into the very heart of the kingdom, and had it in his power to have cut off all
the Egyptians, to a man; he made himself master of Memphis, and all the rest of
Egypt, except Alexandria, which held out against himF23See the
Universal History, vol. 9. p. 280,281. :
for they shall forecast devices against him; Antiochus,
and those that assisted him with their counsels, formed schemes against
Ptolemy, which succeeded: the loss of the battle was not owing to want of the
necessary preparations for it; or to an insufficient number of men; or to a
defect of military skill and courage; but to the treachery of his own courtiers
and commanders, particularly Eulaeus and Lennaeeus to whom the blame was laid,
and to the desertion of Ptolemy Macron; which is more clearly expressed in the
following verse.
Daniel 11:26 26 Yes,
those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army
shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain.
YLT 26and those eating his
portion of food destroy him, and his force overfloweth, and fallen have many
wounded.
Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him,.... Those of
his own household, his familiar friends, his courtiers and counsellors, and the
generals of his army; his destruction, or the loss of the battle, was owing
either to the bad counsels they gave him, or to their desertion of him, being
corrupted by Antiochus:
and his army shall overflow: that is, the army of
Antiochus, like a mighty inundation of water, which carries all before it,
should overflow, or bear down and destroy, the army of Ptolemy, and overrun all
Egypt, as it did, as before related; no more resistance being to be made to it
than to a rapid flood of water:
and many shall fall down slain: of the army of the king
of Egypt. The account given of this affair in the Apocrypha:
"18
And made war against Ptolemee king of Egypt: but Ptolemee was afraid of him,
and fled; and many were wounded to death. 19 Thus they got the strong cities in
the land of Egypt and he took the spoils thereof.' (1
Maccabees 1)
Josephus
saysF24Antiqu. l. 12. c. 5, sect. 2. , that Antiochus,
"being
with a great army at Pelusium, and circumventing Ptolemy Philometor by fraud,
seized on Egypt; and being in the parts near to Memphis, and taking it, he
hastened to Alexandria to besiege it, and got Ptolemy, reigning there, into his
hands.'
Daniel 11:27 27 Both
these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at
the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be
at the appointed time.
YLT 27`And both of the kings'
hearts [are] to do evil, and at one table they speak lies, and it doth not
prosper, for yet the end [is] at a time appointed.
And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief,.... Antiochus
Epiphanes, king of Syria, and Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt, the latter
being now in the hands of the former; whether he was taken by him, or
voluntarily came to him, is not certain; but though they seemed to carry it
very friendly to one another, yet at the same time they were contriving in
their minds to do as much mischief to each other as they could:
and they shall speak lies at one table: at an
entertainment at Memphis, where they met to eat food together, which shows
great familiarity; or at the council table, where they pretended to consult
each other's good, and to secure the peace of both kingdoms, but imposed on
each other with lies. Antiochus pretended a great respect for Ptolemy, and that
he had nothing more at heart than to take care of his affairs, and defend him
against his brother Euergetes, whom the Alexandrians had set up for king; when
his design was no other than to seize the kingdom of Egypt for himself: on the
other hand, Ptolemy seemed greatly satisfied with his uncle's protection, and
to place great confidence in him; when his view was to disappoint his scheme,
and come to an agreement with his brother; neither of them meant what they
said:
but it shall not prosper; the consultations they
held, the schemes they laid, succeeded not; the peace made between them did not
last:
for yet the end shall be at the time appointed; by the Lord,
by whom all events are predetermined; whose counsel shall stand,
notwithstanding all the devices in the hearts of men, and of kings themselves:
the end of this peace between these two kings, and the end of the wars between
them, yea, the end of the two kingdoms, when they should cease, and come into
other hands; all was fixed to a time appointed of God, and should surely come
to pass, as he had decreed.
Daniel 11:28 28 While
returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved
against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own
land.
YLT 28And he turneth back [to]
his land with great substance, and his heart [is] against the holy covenant,
and he hath wrought, and turned back to his land.
Then shall he return into his land with great riches,.... That is,
Antiochus, with the spoils of Egypt, and the gifts and presents he had received
there; so the author of the first book of Maccabees says,
"20
And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred
forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great
multitude, 21And entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden
altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof,' (1 Maccabees 1)
that
is, of the era of the Selucidae, and the fifth or sixth year of his reign:
and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; not the
covenant he had made with Ptolemy, which was a fraudulent one; but the covenant
between God and the Jews; whereby they became a distinct and peculiar people,
having a religion, laws, and ordinances, different from all others; for which reason
they were hated by other nations, and particularly by Antiochus; and his heart
was the more enraged against them at this time, for the following reason; a
false rumour being spread in Judea that Antiochus was dead, Jason took the
opportunity to recover the office of high priest from his brother Menelaus;
and, with a thousand men, took the city of Jerusalem, drove his brother into
the castle, and slew many he took for his enemies. Antiochus, hearing of this,
concluded the whole nation of the Jews had revolted from him; and therefore
took Judea in his way from Egypt, in order to suppress this rebellion; in the
Apocrypha:
"5
Now when there was gone forth a false rumour, as though Antiochus had been
dead, Jason took at the least a thousand men, and suddenly made an assault upon
the city; and they that were upon the walls being put back, and the city at
length taken, Menelaus fled into the castle: 6 But Jason slew his own citizens
without mercy, not considering that to get the day of them of his own nation would
be a most unhappy day for him; but thinking they had been his enemies, and not
his countrymen, whom he conquered. 11Now when this that was done came to the
king's ear, he thought that Judea had revolted: whereupon removing out of Egypt
in a furious mind, he took the city by force of arms,' (2
Maccabees 5)
and he shall do exploits; in Jerusalem, very
wicked ones indeed! he ordered his soldiers to slay all they met, without
mercy, old and young, women and children, virgins and young men; and in three days'
time eighty thousand were slain, forty thousand bound, and no less sold: he
went into the temple, and took all the vessels in it, and all the gold and
silver, and hidden treasures of it, to the value of a thousand and eight
hundred talents, in the Apocrypha:
"12And
commanded his men of war not to spare such as they met, and to slay such as
went up upon the houses. 13Thus there was killing of young and old, making away
of men, women, and children, slaying of virgins and infants. 14And there were
destroyed within the space of three whole days fourscore thousand, whereof
forty thousand were slain in the conflict; and no fewer sold than slain. 15 Yet
was he not content with this, but presumed to go into the most holy temple of
all the world; Menelaus, that traitor to the laws, and to his own country,
being his guide: 16 And taking the holy vessels with polluted hands, and with
profane hands pulling down the things that were dedicated by other kings to the
augmentation and glory and honour of the place, he gave them away. 21So when
Antiochus had carried out of the temple a thousand and eight hundred talents,
he departed in all haste unto Antiochia, weening in his pride to make the land
navigable, and the sea passable by foot: such was the haughtiness of his mind.'
(2 Maccabees 5)
"23He
took also the silver and the gold, and the precious vessels: also he took the
hidden treasures which he found. 24And when he had taken all away, he went into
his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly. 25
Therefore there was a great mourning in Israel, in every place where they
were;' (1 Maccabees 1)
and return to his own land; having done these
exploits, he made what haste he could to Antioch, with the spoils of Egypt, and
the plunder of the temple at Jerusalem, in the Apocrypha:
"And
when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great
massacre, and spoken very proudly.' (1 Maccabees 1:24)
"So
when Antiochus had carried out of the temple a thousand and eight hundred
talents, he departed in all haste unto Antiochia, weening in his pride to make
the land navigable, and the sea passable by foot: such was the haughtiness of
his mind.' (2 Maccabees 5:21)
Daniel 11:29 29 “At
the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be
like the former or the latter.
YLT 29At the appointed time he
turneth back, and hath come against the south, and it is not as the former, and
as the latter.
At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south,.... At the
time appointed of God, he should return from Syria again to Egypt; which was
his third expedition thither, and was occasioned by the Alexandrians setting up
the brother of Ptolemy Philometor for king; wherefore he hastened to Egypt with
a large army, under a pretence of restoring the deposed king; but in reality to
seize the kingdom for himselfF25See the Universal History, vol. 9.
p. 282,409. :
but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter; this
expedition should not succeed so well as the two former, as it did not; he
could not carry his point, neither subdue Egypt, nor get any of the two
brothers into his hands, as he had done before; the reason of which follows:
Daniel 11:30 30 For
ships from Cyprus[i] shall come
against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy
covenant, and do damage.
“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy
covenant.
YLT 30And ships of Chittim have
come in against him, and he hath been pained, and hath turned back, and hath
been insolent toward the holy covenant, and hath wrought, and turned back, and
he understandeth concerning those forsaking the holy covenant.
For the ships of Chittim shall come against him,.... Ptolemy
king of Egypt, and his brother, being come to an agreement, sent an embassy to
the senate of Rome, to implore their help and assistance against Antiochus, who
was preparing to besiege them in Alexandria; upon which they sent their
ambassadors Caius Popilius Laenas, Caius Decimus, and Caius Hostilius, in ships
from MacedoniaF26Vid. Liv. Hist. l. 45. c. 10. , or Greece, to
Antiochus, to require him to desist from making war upon Ptolemy, and that he
quit the land of Egypt; see Numbers 24:24.
Macedonia is called the land of Cittim, in the Apocrypha:
"And
it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out
of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes,
that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece,' (1 Maccabees 1:1)
"Beside
this, how they had discomfited in battle Philip, and Perseus, king of the
Citims, with others that lifted up themselves against them, and had overcome
them:' (1 Maccabees 8:5)
Jarchi,
Aben Ezra, Saadiah, and Jacchiades, interpret it of the Romans; and, according
to GorionidesF1Heb. Hist. l. 1. c. 1. p. 7. , Cittim are the Romans;
and Jerom here interprets them of them; and Bochart has proved at largeF2Phaleg.
l. 3. c. 5. that they are meant. The word seems to be used both of Grecians and
Romans, and here of Romans in Grecian ships:
therefore he shall be grieved, and return; being obliged
to it, sore against his will: as soon as he saw Popilius, with whom he had contracted
a friendship while he was an hostage at Rome, he offered his hand to kiss; but
Popilius refused it, and observed that private friendship should give way to
public interest; and then produced the decree of the senate, and delivered it
to him, and required his answer; but Antiochus delaying, telling him he would
consult his friends, Popilius, with a rod in his hand, drew a circle round him,
and bid him consult his friends directly; adding that he should not stir from
that circle till he had given a positive answer; which roughness struck him,
and, hesitating a little, he replied he would obey the senate, as JustinF3E
Trogo, l. 34. c. 2, 3. , LivyF4Hist. l. 45. c. 12. , Velleius
PaterculusF5Roman. Histor. l. 1. , and other historians, relate; and
upon which he at once departed with his army, though fretted and vexed to the
last degree:
and have indignation against the holy covenant; the Jews,
God's covenant people; on whom he gratified his revenge, sending Apollonius,
with an army of twenty two thousand men, to whom he gave orders to slay the
men, and sell the women and children; and who committed many outrages in the
city and temple: now it was the daily sacrifice was made to cease, and the
abomination of desolation set up, as in the following verse, and all that done
predicted in Daniel 8:10, this
was two years after his former expedition into Egypt, and the havoc he made
upon his return from thence, and in the eighth year of his reign, and one
hundred and forty fifth of the Seleucidae; in the Apocrypha:
"And
spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given
him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed
much people of Israel.' (1 Maccabees 1:30)
"He
sent also that detestable ringleader Apollonius with an army of two and twenty
thousand, commanding him to slay all those that were in their best age, and to
sell the women and the younger sort:' (2 Maccabees 5:24)
so shall he do; such wicked deeds as before declared, in
his wrath and fury against the Jews, being provoked at his disappointment in
Egypt:
he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake
the holy covenant: apostate Jews, who had renounced their religion, forsook the law
of God, and the ordinances of his worship, and turned Heathens; of whom it is
said, agreeably to the language of this prophecy, and seemingly with a view to
it,
that they made themselves uncircumcised, and departed from the
holy covenant, in the Apocrypha:
"And
made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the holy covenant, and joined
themselves to the heathen, and were sold to do mischief.' (1 Maccabees 1:15)
with
these Antiochus kept an intelligence, and held a correspondence, in order not
only to know the affairs of the Jews from time to time, but to draw them off
from their religion, and propagate Heathenism among them; such as Jason,
Menelaus, and others; in the Apocrypha:
"12
So this device pleased them well. 13 Then certain of the people were so forward
herein, that they went to the king, who gave them licence to do after the
ordinances of the heathen: 14 Whereupon they built a place of exercise at Jerusalem
according to the customs of the heathen: 15 And made themselves uncircumcised,
and forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were
sold to do mischief. 43 Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his
religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the sabbath. 44 For the king
had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Juda that they
should follow the strange laws of the land, 45 And forbid burnt offerings, and
sacrifice, and drink offerings, in the temple; and that they should profane the
sabbaths and festival days:' (1 Maccabees 1)
Daniel 11:31 31 And
forces[j] shall be
mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall
take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination
of desolation.
YLT 31And strong ones out of him
stand up, and have polluted the sanctuary, the stronghold, and have turned
aside the continual [sacrifice], and appointed the desolating abomination.
And arms shall stand on his part,.... Powerful armies sent
by him into Judea; garrisons of soldiers placed in Jerusalem; mighty generals
and commanders who fought for him, as Lysias, Philip the Phrygian, Andronicus,
Apollonius, Bacchides, and others:
and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength; the temple,
which stood in Jerusalem, a fortified city, and was itself a building strong
and stable; and especially it was so called, because here the mighty God had
his residence, the symbol of which was the ark of his strength, and here he
gave strength unto his people: this holy place, sacred to his worship and
service, the commanders and soldiers of Antiochus defiled by entering into it,
who were men unholy and unclean; by making it a place of luxury and rioting, of
whoredom, and all manner of uncleanness; by bringing things into it which were
not lawful, and filling the altar with what was abominable, in the Apocrypha:
"4For
the temple was filled with riot and revelling by the Gentiles, who dallied with
harlots, and had to do with women within the circuit of the holy places, and
besides that brought in things that were not lawful. 5 The altar also was
filled with profane things, which the law forbiddeth.' (2
Maccabees 6)
particularly
by erecting a high place upon the altar, and sacrificing swine upon it, as
JosephusF6Antiqu. l. 12. c. 5. sect. 4. relates; with which agrees
what is said of Antiochus, in the Apocrypha in is written that he ordered:
"46
And pollute the sanctuary and holy people: 47 Set up altars, and groves, and
chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine's flesh, and unclean beasts:' (1 Maccabees 1)
and shall take away the daily sacrifice; the sacrifice
of the lamb in the morning, and in the evening, which the priests were hindered
from offering, by the crowds of Heathens in the temple; or prohibited by the
order of Antiochus; for he forbad burnt offerings, sacrifice, and libation, to
be made in the temple, in the Apocrypha:
"Set
up altars, and groves, and chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine's flesh, and
unclean beasts:' (1 Maccabees 1:47)
and
JosephusF7lbid. expressly says, that he forbad the daily sacrifices
to be offered, which were used to be offered to God, according to the law: and
they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate; either a garrison of
Heathen soldiers in the temple, which drove the priests and people from it, and
made it desolate; or rather an idol in it, it being usual in Scripture to call
idols abominations, as they are to God and all good men; the image of Jupiter
Olympius, as is thought, which was placed upon the altar of God by Antiochus,
on the fifteenth day of the month Cisieu, in the hundred and forty fifth year
of the Seleucidae, and is called the abomination of desolations, in the
Apocrypha:
"And
whosoever was found with any the book of the testament, or if any committed to
the law, the king's commandment was, that they should put him to death.' (1 Maccabees 1:57)
and
the temple itself was ordered to be called the temple of Jupiter Olympius, in
the Apocrypha:
"And
to pollute also the temple in Jerusalem, and to call it the temple of Jupiter
Olympius; and that in Garizim, of Jupiter the Defender of strangers, as they
did desire that dwelt in the place.' (2 Maccabees 6:2)
and
what with this and other things that were done, the temple and city were left
desolate; for it is said in the Apocrypha:
"Now
Jerusalem lay void as a wilderness, there was none of her children that went in
or out: the sanctuary also was trodden down, and aliens kept the strong hold;
the heathen had their habitation in that place; and joy was taken from Jacob,
and the pipe with the harp ceased.' (1 Maccabees 3:45)
It
may be rendered, "the abomination that maketh astonished"F8השיקוץ משומם "abominationem
obstupefacientem", Montanus; "quae obstupefaciet", Calvin. ; for
it struck the people of the Jews with astonishment; it amazed and stupefied
them, when they saw such an idol placed in their temple. The Karaite Jews, who
by the others are called Sadducees, give a very foreign interpretation of this
passage, which Aben Ezra observes:
"it
is marvellous (says he) that the wise men of the Sadducees should explain this
of future time, and say that this sanctuary is Mecca, where the Ishmaelites or
Turks keep a feast; "the daily sacrifice", to be removed, their five
prayers; and the "abomination" set up is their idolatrous worship.'
Sir
Isaac Newton understands all this of the Romans, and their building a temple to
Jupiter Capitolinus, where the temple in Jerusalem had stood.
Daniel 11:32 32 Those
who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the
people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.
YLT 32And those acting wickedly
[against] the covenant, he defileth by flatteries; and the people knowing their
God are strong, and have wrought.
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupted by
flatteries,.... That forsook the law of God, the book of the covenant, and
did things contrary to it; and particularly violated the covenant of
circumcision, drawing on the foreskin, and becoming uncircumcised; as well as
rejected other ordinances of religious worship the Jews by covenant were
obliged to observe: these apostates Antiochus corrupted by good words and fair
speeches, by gifts and presents; and they became his tools, to do his pleasure,
and were his instruments to seduce the Jews to renounce their religion, and
give in to his idolatry; such as Jason, Menelaus, and others; in the Apocrypha:
"Now
when the kingdom was established before Antiochus, he thought to reign over
Egypt that he might have the dominion of two realms.' (1 Maccabees 1:16)
"Now
such was the height of Greek fashions, and increase of heathenish manners,
through the exceeding profaneness of Jason, that ungodly wretch, and no high
priest;' (2 Maccabees 4:13)
"Yet
was he not content with this, but presumed to go into the most holy temple of
all the world; Menelaus, that traitor to the laws, and to his own country,
being his guide:' (2 Maccabees 5:15)
"But
they that had the charge of that wicked feast, for the old acquaintance they
had with the man, taking him aside, besought him to bring flesh of his own
provision, such as was lawful for him to use, and make as if he did eat of the
flesh taken from the sacrifice commanded by the king;' (2 Maccabees 6:21)
but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do
exploits; such who knew the Lord God of Israel to be the true God, and
owned and acknowledged him as such; and not only professed him, but served and
worshipped him, having a spiritual knowledge of him, and communion with him;
and therefore could not be drawn off from him and his worship by flatteries or
frowns, by promises or menaces: these were strong in the Lord, and in the power
of his might; they held fast their religion, and the profession of it, and were
proof against all allurements or threatenings, and endured racks and tortures,
all sorts of punishment, and death in every shape, with the greatest constancy
and courage; such as Eleazar, the mother and her seven sons, and others; as
well as others did many valiant actions in the defence of themselves and
country, as Mattathias, Judas Maccabaeus, and his brethren; to which heroic
actions the apostle refers in Hebrews 11:34, so
JosephusF9Antiqu. l. 12. c. 5. sect. 4. says,
"that
many of the Jews indeed, some willingly, and others through fear of punishment,
obeyed the king's commands; but the more approved, and those of generous minds,
had a greater regard to the customs of their country than to the punishment
threatened to the disobedient; and for this being continually harassed, and
enduring grievous punishments, died; some were scourged, and their bodies
mutilated, and being yet alive and breathing, were crucified; women and their
children, whom they crucified, were by the king's orders strangled, and hanged
about the necks of their parents that were crucified;'
In
the Apocrypha:
"60
At which time according to the commandment they put to death certain women,
that had caused their children to be circumcised. 61 And they hanged the
infants about their necks, and rifled their houses, and slew them that had
circumcised them. 62 Howbeit many in Israel were fully resolved and confirmed
in themselves not to eat any unclean thing. 63 Wherefore the rather to die,
that they might not be defiled with meats, and that they might not profane the
holy covenant: so then they died. 64 And there was very great wrath upon
Israel.' (1 Maccabees 1)
Daniel 11:33 33 And
those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many
days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.
YLT 33And the teachers of the
people give understanding to many; and they have stumbled by sword, and by
flame, by captivity, and by spoil -- days.
And they that understand among the people shall instruct many,.... Such as
had a better understanding of divine things than others, had more light and
knowledge in the sacred Scriptures, in the law of God, and in his mind and
will, and were capable of teaching others; and such as these the Lord raises up
among his people in the worst of times, in the times of the greatest apostasy
and declension; and these are enabled to perform their duty, to instruct the
people in theirs, teach them what they should do, and how they should behave;
exhort them to retain the doctrines and ordinances of their holy religion, and
not embrace the doctrines and inventions of men, will worship, superstition,
and idolatry; and so they instructed the ignorant, strengthened the weak, and
established the wavering; such were Mattathias the priest of Modin, and
Eleazar, one of the chief scribes, in the Apocrypha:
"In
those days arose Mattathias the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the
sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem, and dwelt in Modin.' (1 Maccabees 2:1)
"Eleazar,
one of the principal scribes, an aged man, and of a well favoured countenance,
was constrained to open his mouth, and to eat swine's flesh.' (2 Maccabees 6:18)
Auk
applies this to the times of the apostles, who he thinks are here meant; so Sir
Isaac Newton:
yet they shall fall by the sword; by the sword of
Antiochus and his soldiers; as multitudes of the Jews did, even both the
instructors and the instructed, who would not comply with his orders:
and by flame; some were burnt alive in caves, where they
fled for shelter; and others as the mother and her seven sons, were cast into heated
caldrons of brass; in the Apocrypha:
"And
others, that had run together into caves near by, to keep the sabbath day
secretly, being discovered by Philip, were all burnt together, because they
made a conscience to help themselves for the honour of the most sacred day.' (2 Maccabees 6:11)
"3Then
the king, being in a rage, commanded pans and caldrons to be made hot: 4Which
forthwith being heated, he commanded to cut out the tongue of him that spake
first, and to cut off the utmost parts of his body, the rest of his brethren
and his mother looking on. 5 Now when he was thus maimed in all his members, he
commanded him being yet alive to be brought to the fire, and to be fried in the
pan: and as the vapour of the pan was for a good space dispersed, they exhorted
one another with the mother to die manfully, saying thus,' (2 Maccabees 7)
by captivity; so it is expressly said of Antiochus, that
he carried captive women and children and at another time ordered the women and
children to be sold for slaves, in the Apocrypha:
"Insomuch
that the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them: whereupon the city was
made an habitation of strangers, and became strange to those that were born in
her; and her own children left her.' (1 Maccabees 1:38)
"He
sent also that detestable ringleader Apollonius with an army of two and twenty
thousand, commanding him to slay all those that were in their best age, and to
sell the women and the younger sort:' (2 Maccabees 5:24)
and by spoil many days; being plundered of their
substance, their houses rifled, and their goods carried away; and this distress
lasted "days", a short time only; JosephusF11De Bello Jud.
l. 1. c. 1. sect. 7. reckons it at three years and a half. All this Cocceius
interprets of the persecutions of the Christians by the Romans; and likewise
Sir Isaac Newton.
Daniel 11:34 34 Now
when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join
with them by intrigue.
YLT 34And in their stumbling, they
are helped -- a little help, and joined to them have been many with flatteries.
Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help,.... When the
Jews shall be thus harassed and distressed by Antiochus and his armies, to the
ruin of many, by the several sorts of punishments inflicted on them; they
should be helped and eased a little by Mattathias, a priest of Modin, and his
five sons, commonly called the Maccabees; Porphyry himself interprets this of
Mattathias: the help and assistance which he and his sons gave to the Jews was
but "little"; if we consider they were persons of a small figure,
began with a handful of men, and could do but little, especially at first; and
though great exploits were done by them, considering their number and strength,
yet they were not able to restore the land to its former glory and liberty; nor
did this help of theirs last long, but the enemy returned with great fierceness
and cruelty, and sadly afflicted the people of the Jews. Cocceius understands
this of the help the Christians had under Constantius Chlorus, and Constantine
the great; and so does Sir Isaac Newton, who agrees with him in interpreting
this and the preceding verse: he interprets "arms", in Daniel 11:31, of
the Romans, and so Jacchiades; and makes this to be the beginning of the fourth
kingdom that should "stand", ממנו,
"after him"; that is, after Antiochus; so the particle, he observes,
is used in Daniel 11:8, and it
must be owned this is the sense in which it is sometimes used, of which NoldiusF12Concord.
Part. Ebr. p. 557. has given instances: and this seems to agree with the thread
of history, and introduces the Romans, who must have a place in this prophecy,
in a very proper manner; and carries on the account of things, through the
times of Christ, his apostles, the first ages of Christianity under
persecution, until the rise of antichrist, Daniel 11:36 and
throws light upon the text in Matthew 24:15, the
language of which seems best to agree with Daniel 11:31, and,
if so, must respect something to be done, not in the times of Antiochus, but
after the times of Christ.
But many shall cleave to them with flatteries; seeing
Mattathias and his sons succeed, some of those, who had been apostates from
their religion, or not heartily friends to it, joined them, but not sincerely;
pretended to be on their side, and commended their bravery and courage; and
being ambitious of honour and fame, took with them, in order to share the glory
of their actions; such were Joseph the son of Zachariah, and Azarias, in the
Apocrypha:
"56
Joseph the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, captains of the garrisons, heard of
the valiant acts and warlike deeds which they had done. 57 Wherefore they said,
Let us also get us a name, and go fight against the heathen that are round
about us.' (1 Maccabees 5)
and
those under whose clothes were found idols, or what belonged to them, at
Jamnia, when they were slain, in the Apocrypha:
"Now
under the coats of everyone that was slain they found things consecrated to the
idols of the Jamnites, which is forbidden the Jews by the law. Then every man
saw that this was the cause wherefore they were slain.' (2 Maccabees 12:40)
and
Rhodocus, a soldier of the Jewish army, who betrayed their secrets, in the
Apocrypha:
"But
Rhodocus, who was in the Jews' host, disclosed the secrets to the enemies;
therefore he was sought out, and when they had gotten him, they put him in
prison.' (2 Maccabees 13:21)
Cocceius
applies this to antichrist and his followers pretending to be for Christ and
his church, but were not.
Daniel 11:35 35 And
some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them,
and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is
still for the appointed time.
YLT 35And some of the teachers do
stumble for refining by them, and for purifying, and for making white -- till
the end of the time, for [it is] yet for a time appointed.
And some of them of understanding shall fall,.... Not into
sin, or from the religion they profess; and the doctrines they have an understanding
of, and have instructed others in; but into distresses and calamities for their
steadfast adherence to the word, worship, and ordinances of God:
to try them, and purge and make them white; to try their
faith, patience, and other graces, and whether they would hold fast their
profession, and persevere in the good ways of God; and to purge and separate
them from others, that were like chaff, hypocrites, that so they might be
manifest, both the one and the other; and these good men appear to be sincere
and upright: moreover, the best of men have their dross, and chaff, and spots,
to be removed from them; and this is one way of doing it, even by afflictions:
the allusion, in the first word, is to the melting, purifying, and refining of
metals, gold and silver; the second to the winnowing of a grain floor, and
separating the chaff from the wheat; and the third to the cleansing and
whitening of cloths, and taking the spots out of them by the fuller.
Afflictions are the furnace in which the Lord refines and purifies his people;
the fan with which he purges his floor; and the fuller's soap with which he
makes his people white; by all this the iniquity of Jacob is purged, and the
fruit of it is to take away sin, Isaiah 27:9, so
that afflictions are not hurtful, but beneficial to the saints, even those more
violent ones, severe persecutions.
Even to the time of the end; because it is yet for a
time appointed; these distresses, calamities, and persecutions, would have an
end, and the time for it was appointed of God; as yet it was not come, but
quickly would, and then an end would be put to the third or Grecian monarchy; a
hint of the Roman power over that being given, Daniel 11:30, hence
we have no further account of Antiochus or his sons. Very remarkable are the
words of Aemilius SaraF13De annis populi Romani apud Velleii Paterculi
Hist. Roman. l. 1. c. 6. ,
"the
Assyrians first were possessors of monarchy; then the Medes; afterwards the
Persians; then the Macedonians; from that time the kings, Philip and Antiochus,
who sprung from the Macedonians, being conquered, not long after Carthage was
subdued, the supreme power of empire came to the Roman people;'
of
whom, under one character or another, the following part of the prophecy is
chiefly to be understood. So another historian saysF14"Festi
Breviarium, prope initium". , Antiochus being drove out of Asia, the
Romans first set footing there; and anotherF15Eutropii Hist. Rom. l.
4. So Plutarch. in Vita Scipionis Africani. observes, that Antiochus being
defeated by L. Cornelius Scipio, he took the name of Asiaticus, because he had
conquered Asia; as his brother was called Africanus, from his subduing Africa:
wherefore Asia and Africa being now in the hands of the Romans, the supreme
power might well be said to be with them; and therefore, henceforward, are only
spoken of, and particularly the Roman antichrist.
Daniel 11:36 36 “Then
the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself
above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall
prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined
shall be done.
YLT 36`And the king hath done
according to his will, and exalteth himself, and magnifieth himself against
every god, and against the God of gods he speaketh wonderful things, and hath
prospered till the indignation hath been completed, for that which is
determined hath been done.
And the king shall do according to his will,.... Not
Antiochus, for he could not do as he would, being curbed by the Romans, as has
been observed; and there are many things which follow that cannot be applied to
him; rather the Roman people, under the name of a king or kingdom, rising up to
universal monarchy, upon the decline of the Grecian empire, are meant; and who
did what they would, subdued kingdoms at pleasure, and gave laws to the whole
world; and particularly in the little horn, or Rome Papal, antichrist, Daniel 7:8, of
which Antiochus was a type, and is called by the same name, Daniel 8:9 and the
transition is easy from the type to the antitype, with whom everything said
agrees: for the pope of Rome, claiming infallibility, does, or has done, whatsoever
he pleases; regarding neither the laws of God nor man, but dispensing with both
at his pleasure; coining new doctrines; appointing new ordinances; setting
himself up above councils and princes; taking upon him a power to depose kings
and set them up as he pleases; with many other things done by him in an
arbitrary and despotic way, both civil and religious; and with none does the
character agree as with him, as well as what follows:
and magnify himself above every god; that is so called,
whether angels whom he commands, or the kings of the earth he claims an
authority over, those gods in heaven, and gods on earth; which is the exact
description of antichrist, as given by the apostle, who has manifestly a
reference to this passage; see Gill on 2 Thessalonians 2:4,
and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods; the true God,
to whom angels and civil magistrates are subject, being his creatures, and
acting under him; but such is the arrogance of the man of sin, that he takes
upon him to speak against God, and such things as are astonishing; and it may
be extremely wondered at that he should dare to speak them, as to call himself
God on earth; to take such things to himself, which only belong to God, as by
claiming all power in heaven, earth, and hell; power to bind the consciences of
men, and impose what he pleases on them; to make new articles of faith; to
pardon the sins of men; to open and shut the gates of heaven when he pleases;
with other blasphemies against God, his mouth, given him to speak, utters; see Revelation 13:5,
and shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished; the wrath of
God upon the Jewish nation for their rejection of the Messiah; until the time
of their conversion is come; and then antichrist shall be destroyed, to make
way for it; till that time he shall prosper and flourish, more or less, until
the 1260 days or years are ended, the date of his reign, Revelation 11:2,
for that that is determined shall be done; all the
decrees and purposes of God shall be accomplished; all respecting the state and
condition of the people of God under antichrist, particularly the people of the
Jews, and concerning the reign and ruin of antichrist.
Daniel 11:37 37 He
shall regard neither the God[k] of his
fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself
above them all.
YLT 37And unto the God of his
fathers he doth not attend, nor to the desire of women, yea, to any god he doth
not attend, for against all he magnifieth himself.
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,.... Of the
apostles of Christ, from whom he pretends to descend, and whose successor he
would be thought to be: now their God was the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they
worshipped and adored, believed in, embraced, professed, and preached; but whom
antichrist disregards, though he would be thought to be his vicar on earth; yet
slights him, yea, opposes and acts contrary to him, in his offices of Prophet,
Priest, and King, and therefore is rightly called antichrist:
nor the desire of women; or "wives"F16נשים "conjuges", Gejerus. ; not desirous of
having wives, or enjoying women in lawful marriage; but forbidding his priests
to marry, as is notoriously a tenet of antichrist, and foretold by the apostle,
in agreement to this prophecy, 1 Timothy 4:3,
otherwise, none more lustful or desirous of women in an unlawful way than the
Romish priests:
nor regard any god; either the true God, and his laws, or any
god in a metaphorical sense, any king or potentate on earth; showing no respect
to any authority, or to any laws, divine or human:
for he shall magnify himself above all; above all
gods, real or nominal, as in 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
Daniel 11:38 38 But
in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers
did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and
pleasant things.
YLT 38And to the god of
strongholds, on his station, he giveth honour; yea, to a god whom his fathers
knew not he giveth honour, with gold, and with silver, and with precious stone,
and with desirable things.
But in his estate shall he honour the god of forces,.... Or god
MahuzzimF17ולאלהוה מעזים
"deum Mahuzim", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus. ; departed saints and their
images, whom the Papists make their protectors, defenders, and guardians: the
word signifies towers, strong holds, fortresses; and by these titles the
martyrs, saints departed, are called by the ancient fathers, who first
introduced the worship of them: So BasilF18Homil. in 40. Martyr. p.
151. , speaking of the forty martyrs, says,
"these
are they, who obtaining our country, like certain towers, afford us a refuge
against the incursion of enemies:'
and
a little after thus addresses them,
"O
ye common keepers of mankind, the best companions of our cares, the suffragans
of our prayers and wishes, "most powerful" ambassadors with God, &c.:'
and
elsewhereF19Homil. de Martyr. Mamant. p. 167. he prays,
"that
God would keep the church unmoved, and fortified with the great towers of the
martyrs;'
so
ChrysostomF20Sermo in Berenice, Homil. l. in 1Thess. See Mede's
Works, B. 3. p. 673,674. calls them patrons and protectors. Or, "with God
he shall honour"F21"Ad, vel juxta deum Mahuzzimos
in sede ejus honorabit", Medus, p. 667,671. ; these along with him, or
besides him; these shall be the objects of religious worship and honour, as
they are: and that "in his estate"; or in his room and stead, that
is, of the true God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and
man; and yet angels and departed saints are set up as mediators in his stead:
and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour; the host, the
wafer, the breaden god, made a god by the words of a muttering priest; this is
such a god as the apostles, and Peter particularly, from whom the popes of Rome
pretend to, derive their succession, never knew, nor once dreamed of; and yet
this is received as a god, bowed unto, and worshipped, and honoured:
with gold, silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things; with rich and
costly ornaments, with which the pyxis or box, in which it is carried in
procession, is adorned.
Daniel 11:39 39 Thus
he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he
shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them
to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
YLT 39And he hath dealt in the
fortresses of the strongholds with a strange god whom he hath acknowledged; he
multiplieth honour, and hath caused them to rule over many, and the ground he
apportioneth at a price.
Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,.... Or,
"in the strong holds of Mahuzzim"F23למבצרי
מעזים "munitionibus Mahuzim", Pagninus,
Montanus. that is, in the temples, churches, and chapels, dedicated to angels
and departed saints; deck and adorn their images with gold, silver, precious
stones, and with desirable things, which is notorious; as well as commit the
grossest idolatries with this strange breaden god; which they hold up in such
places, cringe and bow to, and pay all religious worship and adoration to it:
whom he shall acknowledge, and increase with glory; as really
God; the wafer being transubstantiated into the very body and blood of Christ,
as is said; and own it as such, as very God, and heap religious honour and
glory upon it, which is due to Christ:
he shall cause them to rule over many; that is, the
Mahuzzim, the departed saints; one shall rule over England, and be the patron
and defender of it, as St. George; another over Scotland, as St. Andrew;
another over Ireland, as St. Patrick; another over France, as St. Dennis;
another over Spain, as St. James:
and shall divide the land for gain; or "price"F24במחיר "pro pretio", Vatablus, Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator. ; the whole Romish jurisdiction, all antichristian
states, which are divided among those tutelar saints; each of them have their
proper country assigned them they are to defend; but this is not done without
gain arising to the pope of Rome from those countries, as by firstfruits,
annates, Peter's pence, &c.
Daniel 11:40 40 “At
the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the
North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and
with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and
pass through.
YLT 40`And at the time of the
end, push himself forward with him doth a king of the south, and storm against
him doth a king of the north, with chariot, and with horsemen, and with many
ships; and he hath come in to the lands, and hath overflowed, and passed over,
And at the time of the end,.... At the end of the
time appointed of God, when antichrist is arrived to the height of his power
and authority:
shall the king of the south push at him; not
Philometor king of Egypt; nor is Antiochus meant in the next clause by the king
of the north; for, after he was required by the Romans to quit the land of
Egypt, there was no more war between him and the king of Egypt; rather
therefore the Saracens are meant by the king of the south, as Mr. MedeF25Works,
B. 3. p. 674. and Cocceius think, who came from the south, from Arabia Felix:
and so Gravius interprets it of the king or caliph of the Saracens, and his
successors; who, extending their empire through Asia and Africa, repressed the
attempts of the Roman antichrist affecting primacy in the east; and this way
goes Mr. Mede, who takes them to be the same with the locusts in Revelation 9:3,
that distressed antichrist:
and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind; not
Antiochus, as before observed; but either emperors, kings, and Christian
princes, the chief of which was Godfrey of Bullain, who was crowned king of
Jerusalem, as Cocceius: or the Turks, as Jacchiades, so Mr. Brightman on the
place, and Mr. Mede; who were originally Tartars or Scythians, and came from
the north, the same with the horsemen at Euphrates, Revelation 9:15,
who also came against antichrist; for he seems to be the "him" they
both came against; both the king of the south, and the king of the north, the
two woes that came upon Christendom the Saracens are the first woe, and the
Turks the second; and who chiefly afflicted the antichristian states, and came
like a whirlwind upon them, suddenly, swiftly, and with great rapidity and
force:
with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; which well
agrees with the Turks, whose armies chiefly consist of horse:
and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow, and
pass over; into the countries belonging to antichrist; particularly the
Greek or eastern empire; which they overran like a flood, seized it for
themselves, and set up an empire for themselves, which still continues; as well
as entered into some parts of Europe, and did much damage.
Daniel 11:41 41 He
shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be
overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent
people of Ammon.
YLT 41and hath come into the
desirable land, and many do stumble, and these escape from his hand: Edom, and
Moab, and the chief of the sons of Ammon.
He shall enter also into the glorious land,.... The land
of Israel, as the Syriac version expresses it; or the land of Judea, which the
Turk entered into, and got possession of, and still retains, notwithstanding
all the attempts made by the European princes to get it out of his hand:
and many countries shall be overthrown; of which the
eastern empire listed as Bithynia, Mysia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, and Carlo, and to
the Hellesport and the Euxine sea, conquered by Ottoman and his son Urchenes;
Callipolis, Hadrianople, by Amurath; Thessalia, Macedonia, Phocis, Mysia, and
Bulgaria, by Bajazet; and at last Constantinople itself by Mahomet the second,
which put an end to the eastern empire: though perhaps those countries and
places may be here more especially meant which lay near Judea, and fell into
the hands of the Turk when that did; as Comagene of Syria, Antioch, Damascus,
Tripolis, Berytus, Sidon, and all Palestine, and all the sea coast to Egypt:
but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab, and
the chief of the children of Ammon; by which according to
Jerom is meant Arabia, left untouched by him; so Mr. Mede interprets them of
Arabia and Petraea, which some of the above people formerly inhabited, as
Jacchiades observes; and which Arabians were never subdued by the Turks, but
are independent of them to this day; yea, the Turks pay a yearly tribute to
them for the passage of their pilgrims to Mecca, as well as pay for the canyons
that pass through their country, as is affirmedF26See Dr. Newton's
Dissertations on the Prophecies. p. 53,54, &c. by modern travellers; and
yet it may be observed that these countries did not escape Antiochus, who
particularly took Rabbath, the metropolis of Ammon.
Daniel 11:42 42 He
shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall
not escape.
YLT 42`And he sendeth forth his
hand upon the lands, and the land of Egypt is not for an escape;
He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries,.... Before
mentioned, and take possession of them and rule over them, as the Turk does to
this day:
and the land of Egypt shall not escape; the hands of
the Turk by whom it was taken from the Mamalucs; and is now a province of the
Turkish empire, and governed by a Turkish basha, with twenty four princes under
himF1Ibid. (See Dr. Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies) p.
394. . This was not true of Antiochus, who, after he had been checked by the
Romans, never entered into Egypt, and much less became master of it, as the
Turk now is.
Daniel 11:43 43 He
shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the
precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow
at his heels.
YLT 43and he hath ruled over
treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the desirable things of Egypt,
and Lubim and Cushim [are] at his steps.
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and
over all the precious things of Egypt,.... The land of Egypt,
as it is a very large, so a very rich country, abounding with gold, silver, and
precious things; all which came into the hands of the Turk along with it; for
when Selim, the ninth emperor of the Turks, conquered the Mamalucs he caused
five hundred of the chiefest Egyptian families to be transported to
Constantinople; as likewise a great number of Mamalucs' wives and children,
besides the sultan's treasure, and other immense richesF2See Dr.
Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies, p. 393. .
And the Lybians and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps; at his
command and pleasure; shall follow him, being taken captive, or go where he
orders them; that is, in all things shall be obedient to him. So we find that
these very people will be in the army of Gog or the Turk, when he shall march
against the land of Judea, to recover it from the Jews, when possessed of it, Ezekiel 38:5. These
people, the Africans and Ethiopians, are near to Egypt, and therefore mentioned
with it, and never were under the power of Antiochus, as Jerome observes; but
are now subject to the Ottoman empire, and make a part of it; which is a very
strong evidence of the Turk being the king of the north here spoken of.
Daniel 11:44 44 But
news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out
with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.
YLT 44`And reports trouble him
out of the east and out of the north, and he hath gone forth in great fury to
destroy, and to devote many to destruction;
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him,.... This and
the following verse respect times and things yet to come, and the
interpretation of them is not so certain: perhaps this clause may have a regard
to the news brought to the Turk, of the Jews, upon their conversion, being
about to return to their own land, from the eastern and northern parts of the
world, where they chiefly are at this day; which will greatly alarm him, since
their land is part of his dominions: or it may be, out of the east may come
tidings of some commotions and disturbances in the eastern part of the world,
as Tartary, &c. which he may fear would be of bad consequence to the
Ottoman empire; and news out of the north, of the northern Christian princes
preparing to assist the Jews in the repossession of their country; all which
may give him great uneasiness.
Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and
utterly to make away many; hearing the Jews are preparing to return to
their own country, or that they have got possession of it, he will be provoked
to the last degree, and raise a prodigious army, and march out of his own land
with them to Judea;
and will come like a storm, with the utmost rage and
fury, and like a cloud for number, and threaten utter ruin and destruction to
the nation of the Jews; this will be his end in view in coming out, but he will
not be able to accomplish it; of all which see Ezekiel 38:2, where
the Turk, and this expedition of his, are prophesied of, and where he goes by
the name of Gog.
Daniel 11:45 45 And
he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy
mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
YLT 45and he planteth the tents
of his palace between the seas and the holy desirable mountain, and hath come
unto his end, and there is no helper to him.
And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace,.... Or
"pavilion"F3אפדנו
"praetorii sui", Vatablus. So Aquila in Drusius. ; the tents for his
princes and generals that come with him; which shall be placed about his own,
and where he will think himself safe and secure, and sure of victory. Symmachus
renders the words, "the tents of his cavalry"F4 τας σκηνας του ιπποστασιου αυτου,
Symm.; "papiliones equitatus sui", interpr. Hieronymo; "vel
potius tentoria equilis sui, seu stabuli equorum suorum",
Fuller. ; or the stables of his horses; which agrees well enough with the Turks,
whole cavalry is usually very large, their armies chiefly consisting of
horsemen; such he shall bring into the land of Judea, and place them as after
mentioned, as if he had got the day, and had obtained a settlement. The word
used has the signification of covering and clothing; hence some translate it,
"the tents of his curtain"F5"Tentoria aulaei
sui", Schindler, col. 108. ; tents covered with curtains or veils, such as
the tents of kings, generals, and principal officers, were covered with,
distinguished from others by the splendour and magnificence of them. It seems
to be derived from the same root as the ephod, a curious garment wore by the
high priest among the Jews; hence Saadiah interprets it here a covering figured
and wrought very artificially; and it is by some rendered "the tents or
tabernacles of his tunic or clothing"F6"Tentoria tunicae
suae", Fuller; "tentoria hujus amietus", Cocceius, Lex. col. 57.
. And it is an ingenious conjecture of a learned man of our own countryF7Fuller.
Miscell. Sacr. l. 5. c. 18. So Lydius, De Re Miliari, l. 4. c. 2. p. 155, 156.
, that it may refer to an ancient custom of the Roman emperors, who used before
a battle to have a scarlet coat spread over their tents, or hung up upon a
spear, to give notice of it, as appears from Plutarch, Isidore, and others; and
so this furious enemy of the church of God is here represented as setting up
his bloody flag or ensign, and preparing for battle, threatening with utter
desolation and destruction. And this will be
between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain; in the
mountain or mountains of the land of Israel, upon which it is certain Gog or
the Turk shall come, and there he shall fall, Ezekiel 39:2,
particularly the mountains about Jerusalem, and more especially Mount Zion, or
Moriah, as Jacchiades; on which the temple was built formerly, and was glorious
and holy on that account, and for which reason the epithets may be retained; though
it will now be glorious and holy, through a glorious and holy people, the Jews,
become Christian, residing and worshipping in Jerusalem; whose situation is
between two seas, the Mediterranean sea to the west, and the sea of Sodom, or
the Syrian or Persian sea, to the east, called the hinder and the former seas
in Zechariah 14:8.
Some take the word אפדנו, "Apadno",
translated "palace", for the proper name of a place, Theodoret takes
it to be a place near Jerusalem; and Jerom says it was near Nicopolis, which
was formerly called Emmaus; where the mountainous parts of Judea begin to rise,
and lay between the Dead sea on the east, and the great sea on the west, where
he supposes antichrist will pitch his tent: and Porphyry, as he relates, who
interprets the whole of Antiochus, places it between the two rivers Tigris and
Euphrates; he says that Antiochus went on an expedition against Artaxis, king
of Armenia, and, having slain many of his army, pitched his tent in the place
Apadno, which is situated between two large rivers, Tigris and Euphrates; and
that he afterwards went to the top of a mountain, in the province of Elymais,
the further part of Persia to the east, with a design to rob the temple of
Diana; but being discovered by the people was obliged to flee, and that he died
with grief in Tabes, a town in Persia: and Father Calmet is of opinion that a
place between those two rivers before mentioned is meant, and translates the
words thus,
"he
shall pitch his tents in Apadno of the two seas;'
or
in Padan of two rivers, Mesopotamia, situated between the Euphrates and the
Tigris, two large rivers, and justly compared with the sea, particularly for
their inundations. Dr. GoodwinF8Exposition of the Revelation, part
2. p. 166.
expresses
his fears that our British isles are here invaded, which so eminently stand
between the seas, and which God has made the eminent seat of the church in
these latter days; and his fears would seem to be too well grounded, were the
Romish or western antichrist here designed; but the Turk, or the eastern
antichrist, is manifestly spoken of, as appears by the context: and the reason
why he is so much observed, and so many things said of him, is, because the
Jews have, and will have, the greatest concern with him, their country being in
his hands; and it is for their sakes chiefly that the whole of this prophecy is
delivered out; however, both antichrists, the one and the other, shall come to
utter destruction, as follows: "yet he shall come to his end, and none
shall help him"; he shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, he and his
princes, his generals, and captains, and mighty men; the whole Ottoman empire
shall be destroyed, signified by the drying up of the river Euphrates, which is
in his dominions, Revelation 16:12,
and of the vast multitudes that shall come with him, Persia, Ethiopia, Lybia,
Gomer, and Togarmah, Ezekiel 38:5 and
the numerous provinces he is master of; none shall be able to help him, or save
him from ruin: of the destruction of the Turk, under the name of Gog, see Ezekiel 39:1.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)