Daniel 11:6-30
Konteks11:6 After some years have passed, they 1 will form an alliance. Then the daughter 2 of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power, 3 nor will he continue 4 in his strength. 5 She, together with the one who brought her, her child, 6 and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time. 7
11:7 “There will arise in his 8 place one from her family line 9 who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully. 10 11:8 He will also take their gods into captivity to Egypt, along with their cast images and prized utensils of silver and gold. Then he will withdraw for some years from 11 the king of the north. 11:9 Then the king of the north 12 will advance against the empire of the king of the south, but will withdraw to his own land. 11:10 His sons 13 will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s 14 fortress. 15
11:11 “Then the king of the south 16 will be enraged and will march out to fight against the king of the north, who will also muster a large army, but that army will be delivered into his hand. 11:12 When the army is taken away, the king of the south will become arrogant. 17 He will be responsible for the death 18 of thousands and thousands of people, 19 but he will not continue to prevail. 11:13 For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.
11:14 “In those times many will oppose 20 the king of the south. 21 Those who are violent 22 among your own people will rise up in confirmation of 23 the vision, but they will falter. 11:15 Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city. 24 The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents. 25 They will have no strength to prevail. 11:16 The one advancing against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land, and its annihilation will be within his power. 26 11:17 His intention 27 will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances. 28 He will give the king of the south 29 a daughter 30 in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage. 11:18 Then he will turn his attention 31 to the coastal regions and will capture many of them. But a commander 32 will bring his shameful conduct to a halt; in addition, 33 he will make him pay for his shameful conduct. 34 11:19 He will then turn his attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, not to be found again. 11:20 There will arise after him 35 one 36 who will send out an exactor 37 of tribute to enhance the splendor of the kingdom, but after a few days he will be destroyed, 38 though not in anger or battle.
11:21 “Then there will arise in his place a despicable person 39 to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred. He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit. 11:22 Armies 40 will be suddenly 41 swept away in defeat 42 before him; both they and a covenant leader 43 will be destroyed. 44 11:23 After 45 entering into an alliance with him, he will behave treacherously; he will ascend to power with only a small force. 46 11:24 In a time of prosperity for the most productive areas of the province he will come and accomplish what neither his fathers nor their fathers accomplished. He will distribute loot, spoils, and property to his followers, and he will devise plans against fortified cities, but not for long. 47 11:25 He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm 48 against the king of the south 49 with a large army. The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him. 11:26 Those who share the king’s fine food will attempt to destroy him, and his army will be swept away; 50 many will be killed in battle. 11:27 These two kings, their minds 51 filled with evil intentions, will trade 52 lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time. 11:28 Then the king of the north 53 will return to his own land with much property. His mind will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action, and then return to his own land. 11:29 At an appointed time he will again invade the south, but this latter visit will not turn out the way the former one did. 11:30 The ships of Kittim 54 will come against him, leaving him disheartened. 55 He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor 56 those who forsake the holy covenant.
[11:6] 1 sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246
[11:6] 2 sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.
[11:6] 3 tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”
[11:6] 4 tn Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.
[11:6] 5 tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.
[11:6] 6 tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yolÿdah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.
[11:6] 7 sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227
[11:7] 8 sn The reference is to the king of Egypt.
[11:7] 9 tn Heb “the stock of her roots.”
[11:7] sn The reference to one from her family line is probably to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (ca. 246-221
[11:7] 10 tn Heb “will deal with them and prevail.”
[11:8] 11 tn The Hebrew preposition מִן (min) is used here with the verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It probably has a sense of separation (“stand away from”), although it may also be understood in an adversative sense (“stand against”).
[11:9] 12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:10] 13 sn The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus (ca. 227-223
[11:10] 14 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:10] 15 tn Heb “and he will certainly come and overflow and cross over and return and be aroused unto a fortress.” The translation has attempted to simplify the syntax of this difficult sequence.
[11:11] 16 sn This king of the south refers to Ptolemy IV Philopator (ca. 221-204
[11:12] 17 tn Heb “his heart will be lifted up.” The referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:12] 18 tn Heb “cause to fall.”
[11:12] 19 tn Heb “of myriads.”
[11:14] 20 tn Heb “stand against.”
[11:14] 21 sn This was Ptolemy V Epiphanes (ca. 203-181
[11:14] 22 tn Heb “sons of violence.” “Son(s) is sometimes used idiomatically in Hebrew to indicate that someone is characterized by a certain quality. So the expression “sons of violence” means that these individuals will be characterized by violent deeds.
[11:14] 23 tn Heb “to cause to stand.”
[11:15] 24 sn This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.
[11:15] 25 tn Or “choice troops” (BDB 104 s.v. מִבְחָר), or “elite troops” (HALOT 542 s.v. מִבְחָר).
[11:17] 27 tn Heb “and he will set his face.” Cf. vv. 18, 19.
[11:17] 28 tc The present translation reads מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim, “alliances”) for the MT וִישָׁרִים (viysharim, “uprightness”).
[11:17] 29 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:17] 30 tn Heb “the daughter of the women.”
[11:17] sn The daughter refers to Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus, who was given in marriage to Ptolemy V.
[11:18] 31 tn Heb “his face.” See v. 19 as well.
[11:18] 32 sn The commander is probably the Roman commander, Lucius Cornelius Scipio.
[11:18] 33 tn The Hebrew here is difficult in that the negative בִּלְתִּי (biltiy, “not”) is used in an unusual way. The sense is not entirely clear.
[11:18] 34 tn Heb “his shameful conduct he will return to him.”
[11:20] 35 tn Heb “on his place.”
[11:20] 36 sn The one who will send out an exactor of tribute was Seleucus IV Philopator (ca. 187-176
[11:20] 37 sn Perhaps this exactor of tribute was Heliodorus (cf. 2 Maccabees 3).
[11:20] 38 tn Heb “broken” or “shattered.”
[11:21] 39 sn This despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (ca. 175-164
[11:22] 41 tc The present translation reads הִשָּׁטֹף (hishatof), Niphal infinitive absolute of שָׁטַף (shataf, “to overflow”), for the MT הַשֶּׁטֶף (hashetef, “flood”).
[11:22] 42 tn The words “in defeat” are added in the translation for clarification.
[11:22] 43 tn Heb “a prince of the covenant.”
[11:22] 44 tn Heb “broken” or “shattered.”
[11:23] 45 tn The preposition מִן (min) is probably temporal here (so BDB 583 s.v. 7.c; cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV), although it could also be understood here as indicating means (so J. Goldingay, Daniel [WBC], 279, n. 23a; cf. TEV, NLT).
[11:24] 47 tn Heb “and unto a time.”
[11:25] 49 sn This king of the south was Ptolemy Philometer (ca. 181-145
[11:26] 50 tc The present translation reads יִשָׁטֵף (yishatef, passive) rather than the MT יִשְׁטוֹף (yishtof, active).
[11:27] 51 tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 28.
[11:28] 53 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:30] 54 sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).
[11:30] 55 sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.
