Daniel 11:7-20
We will resume our study of Daniel 11 and hopefully get through verses 7-20 today. Most of Daniel 11 records prophecies of the conflict between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid Empires from 323 BC to 145 AD. I have again listed a table of the kings of both empires and what verses they are mentioned in the chapter.
The Ptolemies of Egypt -Kings of the South
Name of Ruler Years of Reign Verses in Daniel
Ptolemy I Soter 323-282 BC 11:5
Ptolemy II Philadelphus 282-246 BC 11:6
Ptolemy III Euergetes 246-221 BC 11:7-9
Ptolemy IV Philopator 221-204 BC 11:10-12
Ptolemy V Epiphanes 204-181/0 BC 11:14-17
Ptolemy VI Philometer 181/0-145BC 11:25-27
The Seleucids of Syria -Kings of the North
Name of Ruler Years of Reign Verses in Daniel
Seleucus I Nicator 312-280 BC 11:5
Antiochus I Soter 280-261/0 BC Not mentioned
Antiochus II Theos 261/0-246/5 BC 11;6
Seleucus II Callinicus Pogon 246/5-226/5 BC 11;7-9
Seleucus III Ceraunus 226/5-223 BC 11;10
Antiochus III the Great 223-187/6 BC 11;10-19
Seleucus IV Philopater 187/6-175 BC 11:20
Antiochus IV Epiphanes 175-164 BC 11:21-35
Antiochus V Eupator 164-162 BC Not mentioned
Demetrius I Soter 162-150 BC Not mentioned
Alexander Balas 150-145 BC Not mentioned
Last week we also noted verses 5-20 can be further divided into sections as follows:
a. Ptolemy I and Seleucus I, vs 5.
b. Ptolemy II and Antiochus II, vs 6.
c. Ptolemy III and Seleucus II, vs. 7-9
d. Ptolemy IV and Antiochus III, vs. 10-12.
e. Ptolemy V and Antiochus III, vs 13-19.
f. Seleucus IV Philopator, vs 20.
Last week we covered the interactions between Ptolemy I and Seleucus I in verse 5 and the intrigue between Ptolemy II and Antiochus II in vs 6. Today we will cover verses 7-20.
Ptolemy III and Seleucus II, vs 7-9.
Vs 7a, one from her family line will arise to take her place.
Following the death of Ptolemy II, his son ( Ptolemy III and the brother of Berenice), ascended to the throne of the Ptolemaic Empire. This fulfilled the prophecy of vs 7, one from her family line (Berenice) will arise to take her place (The use of the word her is better translated as his. The KJV, the NKJV, the ASB and the NASB, all translate the phrase as will arise to take his (Ptolemy II) place).
Vs 7b and 8a: He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. 8 He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt.
Ptolemy III came to power before the death of his sister. As he learned of Antiochus’s plans to divorce Berenice and re-marry Laodice, he became anxious for Berenice’s safety and decided to invade Syria to rescue her. Berenice had fled to Daphne (in Syria) and sought refuge in the temple of Apollo. This did not stop Laodice who sought her out and killed her. When Ptolemy III heard of his sister’s death, his invasion turned from being a rescue operation to one of revenge and punishment. Ptolemy proceeded to overthrow all the Seleucid fortresses from Cilicia (what is now Lebanon, NW Syria, and SE Turkey) to the Tigres River and in the process captured and killed Laodice. He finally returned to Egypt in 245 BC. Ptolemy III showed he had humbled the Seleucids by carrying off their gods back to Egypt along with other treasure he had captured, thus fulfilling vs 7 and 8a.
Vs 8b and vs 9: For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. 9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country.
Ptolemy III never again attacked the Seleucids. However, in 240 BC, Seleucus II attempted an invasion of Egypt to avenge the invasion Ptolemy III had conducted 5 years prior. He was repulsed and forced to retreat home.
Ptolemy IV and Antiochus III, Vs 10-12.
Vs 10, His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.
Seleucus II had two sons, Seleucus III Ceraunus and Antiochus III. Following the death of Seleucus II, his son Seleucus III took the throne at age 18 in 225 BC. He began a campaign against Ptolemy III but died just two years into his reign at the age of 20. His brother, Antiochus III succeeded him and assumed the fight in earnest. He was able to assemble a large army and proceeded against Ptolemy IV who had succeeded his father, Ptolemy III, in 221. In what became known as the 4th Syrian war (219-216 BC), Antiochus III seized what is now Lebanon, present day Isreal, and then in 217 BC, he pressed into the Sinai (what was in ancient times called Phoenicia and at the time Egyptian territory). This incursion into Egyptian territory finally aroused Ptolemy IV who assembled a large force to push Antiochus III out. The two armies met at Raphia, a border city and fortress along the Sinai-Israeli border, thus fulfilling vs 10.
Vs 11, Then the king of the South (Ptolemy IV) will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North (Antiochus III), who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated.
Historians claim Ptolemy IV assembled an army of 70,000 men with 5000 calvary and 73 elephants while Antiochus had 60,000 men, 6000 calvary, and 102 elephants. It was a big battle, and Ptolemy IV won a decisive victory, thus fulfilling verse 11.
Vs 12, When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant.
Ptolemy IV was a lazy and not very strategic person. After vanquishing Antiochus and his army, he could have easily pressed his advantage northward and seized control of the Seleucid Empire. However, he did not, and after slaughtering much of Antiochus’ army, and full of victory, he was content to move back into Egypt taking with him a sizeable number of captives. Though this victory guaranteed peace for the remainder of Ptolemy’s IV reign it did not end the wars between the two empires as Antiochus III escaped to reconstitute his army and fight another day. This historical event thus fulfilled verse 12.
Ptolemy V and Antiochus III, vs 13-19.
Vs 13, For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.
After his defeat, Antiochus III began to rebuild his army and soon began campaigns along his eastern and northern and western borders. Between the years 212 and 202 BC he gathered strength and by 202 BC, he finally began to press against Egypt.
Meanwhile, Egypt had existed peaceably with the Seleucids due to the defeat of Antiochus III (at Raphia) and his attention to other parts of his kingdom. Ptolemy IV died in 204 BC, and his young son, Ptolemy V was appointed king. Because of his extremely immature age a regent was appointed to manage the affairs of state till Ptolemy V reached an age of competence. Unfortunately, there was much political infighting over this Regency position, thus giving the perception that no one was really in control of the Ptolemaic Empire. This was the signal to Antiochus to attack, thus fulfilling vs 13.
Vs 14, in those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success.
Indeed, this sense of political weakness, incited others to join the fray, including some Jewish Nationalists led by a man named Tobias who roused some of his countryman to attack the Egyptian garrison in Jerusalem to re-establish Jewish control over the region. He was defeated, thus fulfilling verse 14.
Vs 15: Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand.
Antiochus decisively defeated the Ptolemies at the battle of Panium near the head of the Jordan River in 200 BC allowing him to sweep south and take control of what is now Israel and on into Gaza. Still standing however was the strategic fortress of Sidon along what is now the southern Lebanese coast, which controlled access to the Mediterranean and the northern Israeli coast. Antiochus laid siege to the city and to relieve it, the Ptolemies sent three expeditions. All failed. This episode fulfilled verse 15.
Vs 16, The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it.
With his victory, Antiochus had now taken control of what is now Lebanon, Israel, Gaza, and part of the Sinai, which previously had been under Ptolemaic protection. Antiochus now controlled the Lavant, and no Ptolemaic army could stand in his way from more conquest, thus fulfilling verse 16.
Vs 17, He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans[c] will not succeed or help him.
In 198 BC, Antiochus III expansionist tendencies brought him into conflict with Rome. By now the Seleucid Empire stretched from eastern Iraq through Syria, into Lebanon and Israel, and additionally into Asia minor (Türkiye). Antiochus III kept pressing westward and in 198 BC, he conquered parts of Pergamum (in western Türkiye) then pushed into Europe by invading Thrace (what is now Bulgaria, and NE Greece), territories that once had been conquered by Seleucus I many years earlier. Antiochus III felt these areas rightfully belonged to the Seleucid Empire, hence his desire to reestablish control. This brought him upon Rome’s eastern border, and they demanded he withdraw. They additionally demanded he move back into central Türkiye and restore the autonomous cities of western Türkiye to which he refused. Understanding he would need more support to withstand Rome, Antiochus III decided to strike an alliance with the weakened Ptolemaic empire. Antiochus III therefore came upon the Ptolemies with his army and schemed to marry one of his daughters to Ptolemy V with the idea she would be loyal to her father and bend her husband to do what Antiochus III wanted. It is not hard to imagine his thinking as Ptolemy was only 11 years old when he married Antiochus’s daughter, Cleopatra I in 193 BC. As things do not always work out as planned as Ptolemy V died when he was in his early 20’s in 181 BC. Cleopatra became the true ruler of Egypt as regent for her young son Ptolemy VI. She was not as loyal has her father had hoped. She ruled well and maintained Egypt’s neutrality in Antiochus’s struggle with Rome and never provided the military assistance for which he was hoping, thus fulfilling vs 17.
Vs 18, Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him.
Tensions with Rome continued to grow and finally resulted in two battles, one at Thermopylae in Greece in 191 BC, and the other at Magnesia ad Sipylum, a town in western Türkiye, in 190 BC. Antiochus was defeated both times. The later battle resulted in the treaty of Apamea, which brought an end to Seleucid rule in Asia minor, thus fulfilling verse 18.
Vs 19, After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.
Antiochus returned home to Syria in defeat. The treaty he had signed forced him to pay Rome a 15,000-talent indemnity over a 12-year period. For reference a talent was thought to be about 6000 denarii (each denarii equivalent to a day’s wage). A talent weighed about 60 lbs. With a little math, Antiochus owed Rome about 75,000 lbs. of coinage yearly. This was a lot of money. Antiochus was forced to raise taxes, while his kingdom had shrunk now consisting of only Syria, Mesopotamia, the Levant, and western Persia. He was assassinated in 187 BC while attempting to raid a temple in Susa to raise revenue, thus fulfilling vs 19.
Seleucus Philopator, vs 20.
Vs 20, His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.
Antiochus III died in 187 BC and his second son, Seleucus IV Philopator took the throne. He needed money as he was obligated to pay Rome under the terms his father had signed. Under the direction of Heliodorus, his chief tax collector, Seleucus IV particularly targeted the temple in Jerusalem and its treasury. This obviously created tension. Seleucus died an uneventful death although some historians claim Heliodorus poisoned him. Following Philopator’s death Heliodorus seized the throne but was soon disposed by Seleucus’s brother, Antiochus IV, otherwise known as Antiochus Epiphanes, who will study next time.
