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©Kris Gerbrandt

Chapter 11:5-20 (ESV)

Posted on February 05, 2025  - By Chris LaBelle  

Chapter 11:5-20 (ESV) - 5 “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times.

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.

14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.

20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.

Question to consider: What empire was considered the king of the South?

In the LORD’s discourse with Daniel about future events, we left off with the four generals of Alexander the Great taking over the kingdom. The general who became the king of the South (Egypt) was Ptolemeus. The ruler of the East (Syria and Babylon) would be Seleucus. His son, Antiochus I, would be the one mentioned as stronger than Ptolemeus. The LORD spoke of some years passing before a marital alliance was made between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. Antiochus II (Theos) would marry the daughter of Ptolemeus II (Philadelphus), Berenice (Syra). This was thought to create a permanent peace between Egypt and Syria. However, upon the death of her husband, Berenice and her young son were murdered by her stepson (the son of the first wife of Antiochus Theos, Laodice I). Thus, as mentioned in verse 6, she did not retain the strength of her arm.

Ptolemeus Philadelphus was then succeeded by his son, Ptolemeus III (Evergetes) who would rule for forty-six years (“some years”). In verse ten, the sons of Calinicus, Seleucus II and Antiochus III (The Great) would make war against Ptolemeus IV (Philopater) and amass a great multitude (6,000 horsemen and 60,000 footmen).

In verses 14-16, Egypt could not withstand the assault from the Seleucid king, Antiochus the Great and the king of the north, Philip of Macedonia. At the same time a Syrian king tried to get his daughter, Cleopatra (not the famous one from Egypt), to seduce the boy king of Egypt (who was only ten years old) so that the north could control the south through her. It did not work (verse 17) because she fell in love with the boy and turned against her father.

When this plan did not work, he turned his attention to the coastlands. He was defeated by Antiochus the Great with general Hannibal from Carthage but then was defeated (stumbled and fell) in his attempt on Greece by the Roman general, Scipio.

The one who exacted tribute in verse 20 was Seleucus III, but he was murdered (most likely by his brother, Antiochus IV Epiphanes).

I know this is a lot of information to take in, and I am not one who generally likes to describe history by a list of events, but I did this to point out that history played out exactly as the LORD described.

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for bringing about Your eternal kingdom from the ashes of the failed kingdoms of men and giving us the opportunity to be a part of it. We long for the day in which there is no more corruption, sin, and death, and we get to see Your kingdom in glory. Amen.