Welcome back to my study/review of The Book of Daniel. If you missed the previous parts of this study, you can find them HERE.
Daniel 11:7-13
7 “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 8 He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.
10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. 11 Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.
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The identities of these two warring kings is a more than two thousand year old debate. There is of course the “this all already happened” answer, arguing that this refers to an intra-Greek empire feud from the 2nd century BC. There is also an argument that it refers to something not yet come to pass. And then there are those who say it is both.
With that context, verse 7 here feels important. (from The Pulpit Commentaries)
But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail. The version of the LXX. is very different here also, “And a plant shall arise out of his root against himself, and the king of the north shall come against his power in his might, and shall cause disturbance, and[ prevail.” The Hebrew text would bear the translation here given of the last clause, save “cause disturbance.” The nominative may be the “king of the north.” History confirms the ordinary interpretation. Theodotion, as usual, is in closer agreement with the Massoretic. Yet even he differs considerably: he connects the last words of the preceding verse, “In those times, one shall arise out of the flower of her root of his preparation, and shall enter into the strongholds of the king of the north, and shall do in them (according to his will), and prevail.” The Peshitta is somewhat like this, “And there spring from the stem of her seed against his place, and he shall come in might, and he shall come in strength against the king of the north, and he shall pass over against them, and prevail.” The Vulgate rendering seems to have a relation to that just given, “And a plant shall stand from the seed of his roots, and he shall come with an army, and shall enter into the province of the king of the north, and shall abuse them, and take possession.” There must have been very different manuscript readings to explain these widely different renderings. The Massoretic text scarcely quite bears out the rendering of the Authorized Version. Yet it is difficult to make any other consistent sense. Certainly Euergetes, brother of the murdered Berenice, advanced into Syria, and overran the whole country, captured Seleucia, the port of Antioch, then mastered Antioch itself, and advanced even beyond the Tigris, while Seleucus retired behind the Taurus Mountains. The statements in the LXX. suit better a later period in history, when Physcon rebelled against his brother Philometor. Epiphanes invaded Egypt, nominally in the interest of Philometor, and laid siege to Alexandria. This, however, does not suit with the next verse.
If we’re going to find a “now and not yet” clue in these verses, I think it’s in the “out of a branch of her roots” language of verse 7. Ellicott‘s note on verse 7 adds the following:
(7) As yet there has been no account of any war between the northern and southern king, but it must not be forgotten that Ptolemy Philadelphus and Antiochus Theos were at war for ten years or more. In this and the following verses there is a description of a severe war, in which the southern king is victorious. This is explained of the war between Ptolemy Evergetes and Seleucus Callinicus, which lasted B.C. 246-243, and in which Ptolemy was successful, carrying back with him into Egypt on his return large quantities of spoil and images of gods which he had taken. The coincidence between history and prophecy is far from establishing the truth of the explanation; but the mention of Egypt in Daniel 11:8 directs our attention to a country which will hereafter become the scene of the fulfilment of the prophecy.
Out of a branch of her roots.—The same words occur in Isaiah 11:1. The meaning is, “a branch growing from her roots shall stand up in the place of the person last mentioned.” It is not easy to say which king is meant, nor is there any agreement among commentators as to what is intended by “her roots.” According to one view, “her parents” are intended, so that “the branch” is some one of collateral descent with herself. According to another view the words mean “her family.”
With an army.—Literally, to the army. Theodotion and the LXX. both translate by δύναμιν, which Theodoret explains to be a name for Jerusalem. The person spoken of comes to attack the army, and the fortress has been supposed to be Seleucia. However, the use of the plural “them” in the latter part of the verse makes it more probable that the word “fortress” is used collectively for fortified cities.
As the commentary points out, we can now link – thanks to the text – the “King of the South” with the nation of Egypt. That will be useful in our attempts to interpret this vision going forward.
Continuing in Ellicott, starting in verse 8:
(8) He shall continue.—Apparently the meaning is (comp. the use of the preposition in Daniel 11:31) “He shall stand on the side of [i.e., as an ally of] the northern king several years.” Others translate, “He shall abstain from the king of the north some years.” In either case the sense is nearly the same. The reference is said to be to the cessation of hostilities between Ptolemy and Seleucus, but there is nothing in these verses which leads us to infer what history states as a fact, that the northern king was completely crippled by a serious defeat, and that his fleet was dispersed by a storm.
(9) The king of the south.—According to the Hebrew text, these words are in the genitive case (so Theod. Jer.), though the English Version is supported by the LXX. In this case the meaning is, “The king of the north shall come into the kingdom of the southern king,” and then shall return to his own land—i.e., the north—apparently without gaining any advantage.
These notes describe a war between the two sides, with a plausible explanation being that the verses describe a war between two of the kingdoms that popped up after Alexander’s death. As the notes indicate though, it seems to not be a perfect fit. Verse 10 adds some more detail again. From TPC:
But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. The version of the Septuagint differs from this, “And his son shall both be stirred up, and shall assemble (συνάξει συναγωγὴν) a great multitude, and, ravaging with it (κατασύρων), he shall enter, and pass by and return.” The K’thib here supports this to the extent at least that it has “his son,” not “his sons;” but the verbs are plural. The last clause of this verse in the Massoretic text is transferred by the Septuagint to the next; Theodotion, while, as usual, more closely in agreement with the Massoretic text, is not quite identical with it, “And his sons shall assemble a multitude moderately numerous (ἀνὰ μέσον πολλῶν), and he that cometh and overfloweth shall come and shall pass by, and shall enter, and shall struggle hard (συμπροσπλακήσεται), even to his fortress (ἱσχύος).” The Peshitta and the Vulgate are in close agreement with the Massoretic text. But his sons shall be stirred up. The natural inference is that it is the sons of the king of the south who thus are stirred up, but, historically, it can only refer to the sons of Seleucus Callinicus, who, one after the other, succeeded him on the throne: Seleucus Ceraunus, who died after a short reign of rather more than two years; and Antiochus III; Magnus. Certainly Seleucus did little in this conflict, although he undertook a campaign to Asia Minor, in the course of which he was assassinated. It may be that this campaign was intended as a preparation for a great campaign against Egypt. On the death of Ceraunus, he was succeeded by Aatiochtus Magnus. This prince was very warlike. He began to assail Syria, which was in the possession of Philopotor, but was interrupted by news of war in the far East. After a successful campaign in Media and Persia, he wrested first Seleucia from the hands of Ptolemy Philopator; and then proceeded on his invasion of Coele-Syria and Palestine. And one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through. This describes in a compendious way the campaigns of Antiochus Magnus. And be stirred up, even to his .fortress. This is supposed to refer to the recovery of Seleucia. Some think that this rather states that he pierced nearly to Pelusium, the frontier fortress of Egypt.
Ellicott adds the following, with respect to verse 10:
(10) His sons.—The pronoun refers to the subject of Daniel 11:9, which is the northern king (though, according to the LXX. and English Version, it must be his rival). There is a marginal alternative in the Hebrew “son.” The LXX. supports the text. If the king of the north last mentioned is Seleucus Callinicus, his sons must be Seleucus Ceraunus, a man of no importance, and Antiochus the Great. It is here stated of the sons that they are stirred up; that they collect a vast army, which advances steadily, overflowing like a torrent, while its masses pass through the land; that they shall return and carry on the war up to the frontier of the southern king. Considering the uncertainty of the readings in the Hebrew text, and the ambiguity of the language, this is anything but a definite statement. However, it has been explained to refer to the wars of Antiochus and Ptolemy Philopator, in course of which they took Seleucia, Tyre, and Ptolemais, besieged the Egyptians in Sidon, and actually took possession of Gaza.
One shall certainly come.—Not the king, but the multitude just spoken of. The words “overflow,” “pass through” “return,” all refer to the ebbing and flowing of the tide of war.
Both commentaries point the explanation for these verses pretty squarely at established history. Continuing, again in Ellicott:
(11) And the king.—The ambiguity of this verse is very great. “He” may refer to either king; so that while some commentators see in the words an account of the successes of Ptolemy against Antiochus in the battle of Raphia (B.C. 217)—the “multitude” being the army of Antiochus, which was severely defeated at that place—others infer that the northern king is represented as defeating his rival. Evidently the words “with the king of the north” are added, as in Exodus 2:6, for the sake of clearness. This makes it most probable that the first of the two interpretations just given is correct, and that “he” refers to the northern king, “his hand” to the hand of the southern king. This is supported by Daniel 11:12, where we read of the conduct of the southern king after his victory.
(12) And when he.—It is not clear whether “the multitude” or “the king” is subject of the sentence, or whether the verb “he hath taken away” is to be translated active or passive. The verse might mean, “And the multitude is lifted up—i.e., takes courage—and its heart is exalted,” or, “when the multitude takes courage the king’s heart is exalted.” The English translation is most in accordance with the context, but the second rendering is preferred by many, according to which the king’s courage and pride increase as he perceives the mightiness of his troops. The LXX. follow a different reading throughout the verse.
And he shall cast down.—These words describe the victory of the southern king after he has taken the “multitude” of the northern king.
But he shall not be strengthened—i.e., he does not prove so successful as he had hoped. His aim was to gain complete supremacy over his rival, but for reasons which are about to be stated he was unable to gain his object. Those interpreters who see a distinct reference to the wars of Ptolemy and Antiochus point out that though the loss of the Syrians was very great, yet Ptolemy did not follow up his success as he should have done. Instead of striking a decisive blow, he was content with regaining the towns which Antiochus had taken from him.
Again, we see what seems to be a direct parallel from history. This is of course incredible evidence of God’s power, if we take the view that Daniel wrote this in the 6th century BC. This is also why scholars are so insistent upon the 2nd century BC dating of the book. If your starting point assumption is that prophecy is not possible, then you have no other choice but to give the later dating. As we’ve shown previously though, if you’re ambivalent as to whether prophecy is possible, then there is a strong case for the earlier dating.
We’ll finish the section of verses up today, with the note from TPC on verse 13:
For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. The LXX. does not differ essentially from this, only πόλεως comes in unnecessarily by a blunder—the less to be understood, as there seems no word which can have occasioned the misreading, unless it is simply a blunder of hearing for πολλήν; but against this is the fact that Paulus Tellensis has medeenatha. There is also the limitation of the period after which the king of the north will return to “one year” (καιροῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ), “a period of a year.” Theodotion is closer to the Massoretic . The Peshitta is closer than either of the Greek versions, as neither of them attempts to give, “coming he shall come,” which it does. The Vulgate is like Theodotion. The reference here is to the second expedition against Egypt, undertaken by Antiochus after the death of Philopator. After his victory at Raphia, Ptolemy resumed his life of self-indulgence. Antiochus endeavoured to build up his empire by curbing the Parthians; then, after an interval of fourteen years, he once more invaded the territories of the Egyptian monarch. This second invasion resulted in Antiochus gaining possession of all Palestine.
Daniel is in particular concerned with the Promised Land of Judea. Thus it is significant that all of this land is taken by the King of the North, at the end of verse 13.
We are a lot way from the end of the vision, though.
Here is another video interpreting the chapter. We’ll look at several examples when we get to the end of the section, but this is helpful to keep in mind while reading the text going forward.
