Daniel 11, Kings of North and South

We continue a vision that began in chapter 10. An angel is explaining what is about to happen. In this chapter we read relatively specific details about coming events in the ancient Near East, in a region that serves as the battleground for a variety of kingdoms, including Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and Syria. Most commentators agree on the identifications of the main characters here. I continue to use commentaries by Gleason Archer, Joyce Baldwin and Paul House, all who view this chapter as prophecy by Daniel. (Other commentators view this material as a history added by an editor, after the fact.)

Daniel 10:21-11:4, Three, four, five kings

(No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince. And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.)

"Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

There will again be four kings. The fourth is rich and powerful and will oppose Greece. Then a "mighty king" (a fifth) will have an empire that is broken up and uprooted.

The number “four” appears again and again in Daniel, with the fourth individual often the emphasis of the passage. House writes "There were actually more than four kings between Cyrus and Darius III.... As before, the point of the four-part scheme is to summarize history, not count kings (p.171)."

House says that after the rise of more kings in Persia, a fourth Persian king will "stir everyone up against ... Greece." But "then a mighty king", Alexander the Great of Greece will conquer the region (defeating Darius III.) At his death, his kingdom was broken up by a civil war between claimants to his throne. Eventually the kingdom divided into four pieces. None of Alexander's descendants survived the turmoil and the future pieces were ruled by some of his generals and their descendants.

Daniel 11:5-6, Actions of a daughter

"The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

Jerusalem lies between kings of the South and North. House says that the ing of the South would have been a Greek ruler of Egypt (Ptolemy I) while the king of the North (Seleucus I) would have ruled Syria.

The text says that there will be an attempt to make an alliance between the two kings (or kingdoms.) One of the alliances will be a marriage alliance (as was a common political move.)  Although there were probably many alliances over the next century, in one of these Antiochus II, grandson of Seleucus married Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II.  To arrange the marriage, Antiochus II divorced his current queen Laodice. Eventually Berenice had a child, also called Antiochus, who would be the heir apparent to the northern, Syrian kingdom. Meanwhile, Laodice and Antiochus II apparently returned to their previous relationship even though Berenice was queen. According to the Wickipedia page on Berenice, Laodice may have poisoned Antiochus II and after his death, had Berenice and her son killed.

Daniel 11:7-10, North vs. South

"One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone.

Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.

After Laodice, in Syria, had Berenice and her son killed, Berenice's brother, Ptolemy III, invaded Syria and had Laodice murdered.

Warfare continues between the kings of the South and North. After the death of Alexandria the Great, there were a series of wars between the descendants of Ptolemy I in Egypt and the descendants of Seleucus I. These wars (of which there were six) are called the Syrian Wars. 

House suggestss that the battle "as far as his fortress" may have been the Battle of Raphia, a battle on the borders of Egypt and Israel, at what is now Rafah, on the Gaza Strip. This has been a place of fighting off and on for ages; indeed even now Rafah is important in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Daniel 11:11-13, South defeats North, North defeats South

"Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.

The king of the south (Ptolemies, Egypt) will at first prevail. Of course the North (Syria, Seleucids) will fight back. 

Daniel 11:14-15, South defeats North, North defeats South

"In those times many will rise against the king of the South. The violent men among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand.

House notes that the Ptolemies posted corrupt high priests in Jerusalem about 200 BC but some in Israel then supported the Seleucids.

Daniel 11:16-19, Invading the beautiful land

The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it. He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him.

Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back upon him. After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.

The invader (the king of the North?) will prevail, even over the Beautiful Land, that is, Israel. Eventually, he will make an alliance with the king of the South. After a campaign against the coastlands (of the Mediterranean?) the king of the North will stumble and fall.

Early in the second century BC, Antiochus III, one of the Seleucids, out of Syria, controlled Jerusalem. He sought to enlarge his kingdom but in 191 BC and again in 189 BC, he was defeated by Roman armies to the west.

Daniel 11:20, Tax collector

"His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.

This successor may be Seleucus IV who succeeded Antiochus III in 187 BC. In 2 Maccabees 3, Seleucus IV is said have sent out an agent, Heliodorus, to "tax" (loot) the temple in Jerusalem. Seleucus died shortly afterwards, possibly assassinated by Heliodorus. 

Daniel 11:21-24, Successor and contemptible person

"He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses but only for a time.

After the death of Seleucus IV, his brother, Antiochus IV Ephiphanes, assumes the throne of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus IV is the "contemptible person", the villain in the Maccabean revolt of 167 BC. That revolt is covered in detail in both 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, part of the Apocrypha.

It is possible (suggests Baldwin) that the "prince of the covenant" is the high priest Onias III who was murdered by his brother Menelaus, with the aid of the local governor, Andronicus.

Daniel 11:25-29, Two kings

"With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. Those who eat from the king's provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle.

The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.

In this period, the king of the North (Antiochus IV?) seems to prevail. Antiochus IV did, for a time, win battles against Egypt in 169 and 168 BC.

Daniel 11:29-30, Defeated by ships, anger at the covenant

"At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before.  Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

The king of the North invades the South and then withdraws. After victories against Egypt, Antiochus IV was forced by the growing Roman power in the Mediterranean to withdraw to Palestine and Syria. (The western coastlands are islands of the Mediterranean, says Archer.)

Daniel 11:31-35, Abolishing the daily sacrifice

"His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

"Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

The king of the North invades the South and then withdraws. In 167 BC Antiochus IV invaded Jerusalem, built up a fortress there and placed an idol in the temple. This led to the Maccabean revolt that, over several decades, led to independent Jewish rule of Judea (and the feast of Hanukkah.)

Daniel 11:36-39, Speaking against the God of gods

"The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. 

Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.

This king will insult the God of gods and will honor a god of fortresses. 

Daniel 11:40-45, Triumph of the North

"At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.

He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians in submission. But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. 

Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

The arrogant kings of verses 31-39 will be very powerful for some time but like all these rulers, eventually he will fail. 

House -- whom I've relied on heavily -- lists four different approaches to this last section of verses  (p. 178.) He says these fout approaches are:

"(1) it proceeds chronologically, and includes events beyond 168 BC;

(2) it provides a general description of what happens to Antiochus IV from 171 BC to the end of his life in 164 BC;

(3) it conveys what an author writing in the mid-second century BC thought would happen but did not; and

(4) it describes an eschatological figure that the New Testament mentions, the anti-Christ."

House says that his commentary approaches the passage incorporating viewpoints (1) and (2). Baldwin (p. 202) says that "Biblical prophecy regularly exhibits this characteristic of telescoping the future, so that the more distant event appears to merge with the nearer so as to become indistinguishable from it." From that viewpoint, one might imagine option (4) above mixed in with options (1) or (2).

Some Random Thoughts

I found this chapter a hard read and an even harder study. The kings of the south and north do this and that, back and forth. Without commentaries, I would have no clue as to what is happening; even with the commentaries the identification of various strong men is confusing and, in some places, debatable. The commentaries themselves rely on ancient histories of the ANE during the Syrian Wars and those ancient histories have discrepancies. 

As Joyce Baldwin wrote in her commentary (p. 191), 

"[W]hy should the Christian reader concern himself with him [Antiochus IV]?" 

Her answer (p. 192) is that "Antiochus is the prototype of many who will come after him." She argues that this chapter records many "strong men" taking "a stand" against other strong men, and over the centuries of time, the strong men arise, abuse and oppress others, and then are swept away by other strong men. Even as commentators debate the identity of individuals and the accuracy of historical events, there seems to be some belief that the last half of the chapter (verses 21-45) describes ancient historical events with future end-time shadows.