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 streng... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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,... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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,... [ Continue Reading ]
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 numbe... [ Continue Reading ]
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" x; by "her roots" are meant her ancestors, particularly Ptolemy Lagus; by "a branch" from thence, Ptolemy Philadelphus her father; and by the "shoot" out o... [ Continue Reading ]
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 fro... [ Continue Reading ]
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,... [ Continue Reading ]
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 Justin f says, by a fall from his horse; these were Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus, who was afterwards called the great: these being ir... [ Continue Reading ]
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 Justin k relates; the same, though naturally sluggish and slothful, was provoked and... [ Continue Reading ]
Ver. 12 AND WHEN HE HATH TAKEN AWAY THE MULTITUDE,.... 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 l... [ Continue Reading ]
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 div... [ Continue Reading ]
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 be... [ Continue Reading ]
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 pr... [ Continue Reading ]
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 no... [ Continue Reading ]
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 t... [ Continue Reading ]
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, Colopho... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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 write... [ Continue Reading ]
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 pe... [ Continue Reading ]
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 ther... [ Continue Reading ]
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 peop... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SHALL ENTER PEACEABLY EVEN UPON THE FATTEST PLACES OF THE PROVINCE,.... Or, "into tranquillity, and the fattest places of the province" s; 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... [ Continue Reading ]
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 expediti... [ Continue Reading ]
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 o... [ Continue Reading ]
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 frien... [ Continue Reading ]
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 thi... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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 ambassad... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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 ot... [ Continue Reading ]
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 rais... [ Continue Reading ]
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 Modi... [ Continue Reading ]
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 THE... [ Continue Reading ]
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 universa... [ Continue Reading ]
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 antichris... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT IN HIS ESTATE SHALL HE HONOUR THE GOD OF FORCES,.... Or god Mahuzzim q; 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 anc... [ Continue Reading ]
THUS SHALL HE DO IN THE MOST STRONG HOLDS WITH A STRANGE GOD,.... Or, "in the strong holds of Mahuzzim" w 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 notor... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
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 COUN... [ Continue Reading ]
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 emp... [ Continue Reading ]
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, t... [ Continue Reading ]
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, bein... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SHALL PLANT THE TABERNACLES OF HIS PALACE,.... Or "pavilion" c; 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" d; or t... [ Continue Reading ]