Daniel 11:10-20

(3) PTOLEMIES AND SELEUCIDS, II

TEXT: Daniel 11:10-20

10

And his sons shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on, and overflow, and pass through; and they shall return and war, even to his fortress.

11

And the king of the south shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitudes shall be given into his hand.

12

And the multitude shall be lifted up, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.

13

And the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and he shall come on at the end of the times, even of years, with a great army and with much substance.

14

And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

15

So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the south shall not stand, neither shall there be any strength to stand.

16

But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, and in his land shall be destruction.

17

And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he shall perform them: and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him.

18

After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; yea, moreover, he shall cause his reproach to turn upon him.

19

Then he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.

20

Then shall stand up in his place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.

QUERIES

a.

What does north and south mean in this context?

b.

Who is the daughter of women in Daniel 11:17?

c.

What are the isles of Daniel 11:18?

PARAPHRASE

The sons of the king of Syria will assemble a mighty army that will overflow across Israel into Egypt, to war against the fortifications of the king of Egypt. Then the king of Egypt, in great anger, will rally against the vast forces of the king of Syria and defeat them. And the multitudes of Syria, having been disposed of, the king of Egypt will be filled with pride. But due to a dissolute life his success will be short lived. The king of Syria, after great successes in the East, will return when some thirteen or fourteen year have elapsed. He will return with a larger army and better equipment than he ever had before. Other nations will join him. Even some Jewish insurgents will join him against Egypt. These violent revolutionaries among the Jews will bring great trouble on their fellow countrymen as a consequence of their playing into the hand of the Syrians. This will confirm the prediction made to you in the vision of the seventy weeks. The king of Syria, after some bitter fighting against the Egyptians in the land of Palestine, will besiege the Egyptian forces. The king of Syria will so decisively defeat the Egyptian army it will be forced to surrender, leaving the whole of Syria in the hands of the king of Syria. He will march on toward Egypt unopposed; none will be able to stop him. And he will also march into Israel, the land of God's Glory, and it shall be entirely in his hand. This will be his plot for conquering all Egypt: he will make an agreement or treaty with the king of Egypt and confirm it by betrothing his daughter to the king of Egypt. But she will constantly side with her husband against her father and his stratagem will fail. The king of Syria will then turn his attention to the islands and coasts of Asia Minor and Greece. But a great general and nobleman will defeat and humiliate him. The king of Syria will return to Syria in abject defeat, his power gone, he will come to an ignominious end. Another king shall follow him, one of his sons, who will be forced to send a tax-collector through the land of Palestine exacting taxes. But within a short time this king will be destroyed, methodically and in cold blood, not in a fit of anger or in a battle.

COMMENT

Daniel 11:10-11. HIS SONS SHALL WAR. THE KING OF THE SOUTH SHALL BE MOVED WITH ANGER. The sons are sons of Seleucus II, Seleucus III (Ceraunus) (226-223 B.C.) who died in battle in Asia Minor, and Antiochus III (The Great) (223-187), who became king when only 18 years of age. Antiochus III, however, had experience in government, having served as ruler of Babylonia under his older brother, Seleucus III. Young points out that grammatically the they of Daniel 11:10 should read he. The prediction therefore, is that one of the two sons will campaign against the king of the South (Ptolemy IV (Philopator), 221-204 B.C.). History actually records that Antiochus III, after crushing a revolt in the eastern part of his empire, attempted an invasion of Palestine in the summer of 221 B.C. He did not get very far (the Marsysas valley in Lebanon) until he was forced to withdraw by Theodotus, the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian forces in Syria. Antiochus invaded Palestine again in 219 B.C. and Theodotus deserted Ptolemy and joined Antiochus-' ranks delivering to his new sovereign the cities of Ptolemais (Acre) and Tyre. There were more skirmishes until Antiochus in the spring of 217 B.C. had conquered all of Palestine and had reached in his conquests the Egyptian frontier town of Raphia. An Egyptian army under the personal command of Ptolemy Philopater met the Syrians south of Raphia. Here the armies of Antiochus met a disastrous defeat. Historians record that Ptolemy went forth to fight with 70,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and 73 elephants.

Daniel 11:12. HIS HEART SHALL BE EXALTED. HE SHALL CAST DOWN TENS OF THOUSANDS. The Syrians are reported to have lost 10,000 infantry, 300 cavalry, 5 elephants dead plus 4,000 lost as prisoners. Ptolemy IV, however, was too much of a playboy to utilize his success to the fullest. He resumed his life of luxury and dissolutions and died in 203 B.C., without building up or strengthening his imperial fortifications.

Daniel 11:13 AND THE KING OF THE NORTH SHALL RETURN. AT THE END OF THE TIMES. Meanwhile, Antiochus was busy in the East. All during the years Ptolemy IV was living-it-up and letting his defenses deteriorate, Antiochus was making plans to annex Palestine. He gathered a vast army and better equipment than before, and launched an attack. Ptolemy Philopator was dead, his son and heir-apparent was only a child of four, and Egypt was rent with turmoil and rebellion. After some bitter battles without much success, Antiochus finally won a decisive victory at the Battle of Panion. The phrase he shall come on at the end of the times, even of years. does not refer to the Antichrist coming at the end of the world but simply describes the years intervening between Antiochus-' defeat by Ptolemy IV and Antiochus-' victory at Panion.

Daniel 11:14-15. MANY STAND. AGAINST THE KING OF THE SOUTH. THE VIOLENT AMONG THY PEOPLE. THE KING OF THE NORTH SHALL COME. AND TAKE A WELL-FORTIFIED CITY. Antiochus III made a league with Philip of Macedon and probably had the help of some rebel forces or malcontents in Egypt against their own government, Antiochus also had the support of certain violent and factious Jews whose aid and comfort to their enemy eventually brought trouble upon their country. This confirms the prediction of the vision of Daniel in Daniel 9:25 about the troublous times of this era. After the Battle of Panion, near the sources of the Jordan, Scopas, the Egyptian general, fled to Sidon where Antiochus besieged him by land and sea. In the spring of 198 B.C. Scopas was forced to surrender, leaving the whole of Syria in the hands of Antiochus.

Daniel 11:16. AND HE SHALL STAND IN THE GLORIOUS LAND. In passing through his newly acquired territories, Antiochus came to Jerusalem where, according to Josephus, the inhabitants gave him a cordial welcome. The glorious land refers, of course, to Palestine. The phrase, in his hand shall be destruction, should be according to Leupold, and the RSV, all of it shall be in his power. In other words, Antiochus II does not devastate the land of Palestine, but he had complete control of the land and its people. Historians report of Antiochus that he released Jerusalem from all taxes for three years, and afterwards from one-third of the taxes. He also sent a large sum of money for the service of the Temple and released the elders, priests, scribes and singing men from all taxes for the future. When a king remits taxes and has such control over the influential men of the nation, it is evident that he controls even the minute details of their society.

Daniel 11:17. WITH. EQUITABLE CONDITIONS. HE SHALL GIVE. THE DAUGHTER OF WOMEN TO CORRUPT. Antiochus plots (sets his face) to throw all the power and cunning of his whole kingdom at Egypt in order to conquer her. It is nothing short of amazing that God knows not only historical events before they happen but also the schemes of men before they are even thought! Antiochus The Great (III) plots that he will give his daughter to Egypt to corrupt her. History again confirms in absolute perfection the omniscience of God. In a treaty (198 B.C.) with Ptolemy V (Epiphanes), who was then only seven years of age, Antiochus III betrothed his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy V. (204-181 B.C.) The marriage, however, was not consummated until five years later. Antiochus hoped by this stratagem to gain in advantage over the king of Egypt by trusting that his daughter would be her father's ally rather than her husband'S. But, as history records, Cleopatra constantly sided with her husband over against her fatherfulfilling the words, she shall not stand, neither be for him.

Daniel 11:18-19. TURN HIS FACE UNTO THE ISLES. BUT A PRINCE. SHALL CAUSE HIS REPROACH TO TURN UPON HIM. AND SHALL NOT BE FOUND. When the Carthaginian, Hannibal, was defeated by the Romans at Zama (202 B.C.), bringing to an end the Punic War, he fled eastward and took refuge in the court of Antiochus III. Interested in stirring up trouble for Rome, Hannibal encouraged Antiochus to invade Greece. Rome thereupon declared war on Antiochus. The Roman forces moved into Greece, where Antiochus had come in his move to conquer Macedonia, defeated Antiochus, and forced him to retreat to Asia Minor. There at Magnesia, between Sardis and Smyrna, the Romans under the brilliant Cornelius Scipio defeated Antiochus (190 B.C.). He had to pay an enormous indemnity (15,000 talents or more), surrender his war elephants and his navy. His younger son, later to rule as Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), was taken to Rome as hostage for the payment of the indemnity. Antiochus marched against the revolted Armenians in 187 B.C. In order to replenish his exhausted treasury, he attempted to plunder a temple and both he and his soldiers were slain by the Elamites. So he died in disgrace and violence. He that liveth by the sword shall die by the sword,

Daniel 11:20. IN HIS PLACE ONE THAT SHALL CAUSE AN EXACTOR TO PASS. The next to rule was Selecus IV (Philopator) (187-175 B.C.), son of Antiochus III (The Great) and brother of Antiochus IV (who was away in Rome as a hostage). Rome had so thoroughly defeated Syria that she was now able to demand and get an enormous tribute annuallya thousand talents. Syria was forced to exact heavy taxes from its tributary nations which included Palestine. A special tax collector by the name of Heliodorus (cf. 2 Maccabees 7) was sent to appropriate the rich treasures of the Temple at Jerusalem. A divine apparition is supposed to have frustrated him. Montgomery shows that the position of Heliodorus as prime minister has been supported by archaeological evidence. The text here is historically accurate, for after a short time upon the throne Seleucus IV was suddenly and mysteriously removed, possibly through poisoning administered, according to Appian, by Heliodorus. More of the troublous times predicted in Daniel 9:25, that is to come upon the Jews between the time they are released from captivity and the coming of the anointed one. But these troublous times are mild compared with what is to come under the Contemptible One, Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), who is next on the scene.

It very nearly overwhelms the finite mind of man to realize that Daniel is being told by the angel in detail 200 years of history before it happens. And this 200 years of history is being predicted some 300 years before it begins to happen! Detail such as partitioning of kingdoms, wars, victories and defeats, treaties, marriages, deaths, taxationsall before the people are born and the battles foughtall predicted centuries in advance! Make no mistake dear reader, this, or nothing, is a sign of supernatural revelation! The Bible is the word of God! And this word reveals that God not only knows history before it happens, but He is also active in and directing history to serve His glorious purpose to redeem. from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of His own who are zealous for good works. His immediate purpose was to reveal to Daniel, and subsequently to the Jews, all that they must endure as a purifying process preparing them for their presentation of the Messiah (the anointed one) to the world.

QUIZ

1.

Whose sons are spoken of in Daniel 11:10? What are their names?

2.

What victory is predicted for the king of the south in Daniel 11:11?

3.

What victory is predicted for the king of the north in Daniel 11:13?

4.

Who are the children of the violent among thy people?

5.

Which king of the north is prominent in this whole section?

6.

What historical event is the fulfillment of the prediction that the king of the north shall give him the daughter of women?

7.

What was the end of Antiochus III?

8.

Who caused the exactor to pass through Israelwho was the exactorand what did he exactand why?