Daniel 11:36

11:36 “Then the king ¹  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ²  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ³ 

Daniel 1:3

1:3 The king commanded ⁴  Ashpenaz, ⁵  who was in charge of his court officials, ⁶  to choose ⁷  some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent ⁸  –

[11:36]  ¹ sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ² tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ³ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”

[1:3]  ⁵ sn It is possible that the word Ashpenaz is not a proper name at all, but a general term for “innkeeper.” See J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia), 127, n. 9. However, the ancient versions understand the term to be a name, and the present translation (along with most English versions) understands the word in this way.

[1:3]  ⁶ sn The word court official (Hebrew saris) need not mean “eunuch” in a technical sense (see Gen 37:36, where the term refers to Potiphar, who had a wife), although in the case of the book of Daniel there was in Jewish literature a common tradition to that effect. On the OT usage of this word see HALOT 769-70 s.v. סָרֹיס.

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “bring.”

[1:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”