3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with 4 great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be pluckt up, even for others besides those.

3. Alexander the Great (B.C. 336-323). The writer, passing over the intermediate Persian rulers, hastens to the period when the course of events begins to affect the Jews, limiting what he has to say respecting the whole of the Persian empire, and the founder of the Greek empire, to a single verse in each case.

a warrior king] The regular meaning of gibbōr (' mighty man') in Heb.: e.g. 2 Sam. i. 9, xxiii. 8, 1 Ki. i. 8, 10, Is. xlii. 13, &c.

do according to his will] carry out whatever he wishes: an expression implying the possession of irresistible and irresponsible power. Cf. Quintus Curtius x. 5, 35, 'Huius [fortunae] beneficio agere videbatur gentibus quidquid placebat.' Comp. on viii. 4; and below vv. 16, 36. 4. The disruption of Alexander's empire, after his death.

when he shall stand up] or, at the time of his standing up. The expression, if correct, will be intended to emphasize the short-lived duration of Alexander's empire (his reign extended from 336 to 323; his conquests in Asia from 334 to 323). But in view of viii. 8, Grätz's emendation, 'when he shall become strong' (DY for 11), is a probable one; the reference will then be to the manner in which Alexander was suddenly struck down in the midst of his successes. be broken] The word is, no doubt, suggested by viii. 8, where it is used of the 'great horn,' which symbolizes Alexander.

toward the four winds of heaven] So also viii. 8. Alexander's empire, after his death, was broken up; and in the end the four kingdoms of Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy arose upon its ruins (see on viii. 8).

but (it shall) not (belong) to his posterity] Alexander, the conqueror's youthful son by Roxana, and Herakles, an illegitimate son, were both murdered in 310 or 309, the former by Cassander directly, the latter by Polysperchon at Cassander's persuasion (Diod. Sic. xix. 105, xx. 28).

The

nor (be) according to his dominion, wherewith he ruled] divided kingdom would not, in any of its parts, retain the power and prestige which Alexander enjoyed. Cf. viii. 22, ‘but not with his power.

pluckt up] The figure is that of a tree: it is common in Jeremiah, as i. 10, xviii. 7, xxxi. 28.

and (it shall be) for others besides these] besides Alexander's generals, with allusion to the independent petty dynasties which arose gradually in Cappadocia, Armenia, and other countries, during the century and a half that followed upon the death of Alexander (Jerome, von Leng., Bevan).

And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of 5 his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. And 6

From this point onwards the author confines himself to the kingdoms of the north and of the south, i.e. of the Seleucidae (in Syria), and of the Ptolemies (in Egypt),-these being the two dynasties which during the period that elapsed from the death of Alexander to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, successively dominated Palestine.

5. Ptolemy I. (Lagi), 305—285, and Seleucus I. (Nicator), 312— 280.

the king of the south] The 'south' (Heb. Negeb), when applied to a particular region, means commonly in the O.T., the southern part of Judah (Gen. xii. 9, R.V. marg.); but in this chapter (as in viii. 9) it denotes regularly Egypt, as opposed to Antioch (or Syria), which is signified by the north.' Ptolemy, son of Lagus, a Macedonian, one of Alexander's most trusted and capable generals, who distinguished himself especially in his Indian campaigns, succeeded, in the partition of Alexander's empire which was arranged immediately after his death, in securing for himself Egypt, which he ruled as satrap from B.C. 322 to 305, when he assumed the title of king. He died B.C. 285.

and one of his princes] or captains (2 Ki. ix. 5, &c.). Seleucus, an officer of Alexander's 'companions' (èraîpo), or distinguished corps of heavy cavalry, received at the convention of Triparadisus, in 321, the wealthy satrapy of Babylonia. Being in 316 taken to account for his administration by Antigonus (who had received in 323 Phrygia, Lycia, and Pamphylia, but increasing in power had presumed to control the provinces as he thought fit), he took refuge with Ptolemy in Egypt. Ptolemy appointed him his general; and he helped him to gain the battle of Gaza in 312. After this he induced Ptolemy to send him with a small force to recover Babylon. He was successful, and regained his satrapy; and the era of the Seleucidae (B.C. 312), by which in later times the Jews reckoned (1 Macc. i. 10), was fixed by the event.

and he (the latter, Seleucus) shall be strong above him1 (the former, Ptolemy), and have dominion: his dominion shall be a great dominion] After the final defeat of Antigonus at Ipsus in 301 (which indeed was principally due to the large forces contributed by Seleucus), the empire ruled by Seleucus, reaching from Phrygia, Cappadocia, and Syria, on the W., almost to the Indus on the E., was much more extensive than that of Ptolemy, and commanded much larger resources. Seleucus is called by Arrian (Exped. Alex. vii. 22) the "greatest," as well as the most "princely-minded," of Alexander's successors; and he deserves, more than any of his brother generals, to be regarded as the heir of Alexander. Antioch was founded by him as his capital, B.C. 300.

1 The reading 'but one of his captains shall be strong above him' (LXX., Theod., Meinh., Kamph., Prince) would improve this verse, without altering the sense.

in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not

In the distribution of provinces, an ambiguous position was taken by Cole-Syria, with Phoenicia, and Palestine; and this intermediate region remained a bone of contention between the kings of Syria and Egypt, and in the century and a half which followed the death of Alexander, repeatedly changed hands. At Triparadisus, in 321, Syria was assigned to Laomedon; but Ptolemy got possession of it in 320, only to lose it again in 315 to Antigonus, to recover at least the S. part of it after the battle of Gaza in 312, and to relinquish it a second time to Antigonus in 311. After the battle of Ipsus in 301, Ptolemy, as a matter of fact, obtained Cole-Syria and Phoenicia; but his right to these provinces became a subject of protracted dispute between the later Ptolemies and Seleucidae. On the one hand, it was alleged that after the victory it had been distinctly agreed that Seleucus should have 'the whole of Syria'; on the other, it was claimed that Ptolemy Lagi had only joined the coalition against Antigonus on the understanding that he should receive Cœle-Syria and Phoenicia (Polyb. v. 67; cf. also the quotation from Diodorus in Mahaffy, Empire of the Ptolemies, p. 66). Upon the whole, during the period here in question, Palestine remained, with short interruptions, in the hands of the Ptolemies till the battle of Paneion in 198, after which it was retained permanently by the kings of Syria.

6. Ptolemy II. (Philadelphus), 285-247, and Antiochus II. (Theos), 261-246.

Antiochus I. (Soter), B. C. 280-261, is passed by in the survey, as a ruler whose reign was of no importance to the Jews. The allusion in v. 6 is to what happened about B.C. 249. In order to terminate his long wars with Antiochus II. (Theos), Ptolemy Philadelphus gave him in marriage his daughter, Berenice, upon condition that he should divorce his legitimate wife, Laodice, and that his two sons, Seleucus and Antiochus, should renounce all claim to the throne of Syria: in the event of Antiochus and Berenice having issue, Ptolemy hoped in this way to secure Syria as an Egyptian province. After two years, however, Ptolemy died. Antiochus then took back Laodice, and divorced Berenice. Laodice, however, dreading her husband's fickleness ('ambiguum viri animum,' Jerome), and fearing lest he might again evince a preference for Berenice, before long procured his death by poison. She then persuaded her son, Seleucus, to secure the throne for himself by murdering both Berenice and her infant child (Jerome ad loc.; Appian, Syr. 65; Justin xxvii. 1).

at the end of (some) years] 31 years after the death of Seleucus Nicator.

join themselves together] by the matrimonial alliance just described. and the daughter of the king of the south] Berenice.

come to] in marriage (cf. Josh. xv. 18; Jud. xii. 9).

to make an agreement] lit. uprightness (Ps. ix. 8), or equity

retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.

But out of a branch of her roots shall one 7

(Ps. xcviii. 9), i.e. (here) the equitable adjustment of a dispute. Comp. v. 17.

but she shall not retain the power of the arm] fig. for, she will not be able to maintain herself against her rival, Laodice. As said above, she was first divorced by Antiochus in favour of Laodice, and afterwards murdered at her instigation.

neither shall he stand] Antiochus, who was murdered by Laodice. nor his arm] his might will come to an end. Theod., Kamph., Prince, 'nor his seed' (iv for iv), referring to Antiochus' issue by Berenice1.

but she shall be given up] of Laodice.

Berenice, put to death at the instigation

they that brought her] either into the marriage, or to Syria. The expression is a vague one. The reference may be (Ewald, Meinh.) to Berenice's attendants, who accompanied her to Antioch, and met there the same fate as their mistress; it may be (Hitz., Keil) simply to Antiochus (the plural being generic, without reference to the number of persons actually meant; cf. Gen. xxi. 7, Mt. ii. 20); it may even be, more generally, to the ministers of Ptolemy who supported the alliance, and who were 'given up,' in the sense of finding their expectations disappointed.

he that begat her and supported (v. 1) her] Ptolemy Philadelphus (so Ew., Hitz., Keil). Or, he that begat her, and he that obtained (v. 21) her; i.e. Ptolemy, and Antiochus (so von Leng., Zöckl., Meinh.).

in the times] at the time in question=in those times (R.V.).

7-9. Ptolemy III. (Euergetes I.), 247-222, and Seleucus II. (Callinicus), 246—226.

Ptolemy Euergetes I., Berenice's brother, an enterprising and energetic king, in revenge for his sister's murder, invaded the empire of Seleucus, seized Seleukeia (Polyb. v. 58 end), the fortified port of Antioch (Acts xiii. 4), and overran the greater part of Seleucus' Asiatic dominions as far as Babylon. The murder of Berenice had made Seleucus unpopular with his subjects; and had Ptolemy not been called home by an insurrection in Egypt, he would in all probability have made himself master of Seleucus' entire empire (Justin xxvii. 1). Ptolemy returned, bringing back with him an immense quantity of spoil (cf. Mahaffy, The Empire of the Ptolemies, pp. 196—200).

7.

But one of the shoots (Is. xi. 1) of her roots] Ptolemy III., Berenice's brother.

1 Bevan and Marti render the last three clauses, but the arm (fig. for the support afforded by Berenice) shall not retain strength, neither shall his (other) arms (supports) abide (prove effectual),—altering (with Hitz.) the division and punctuation of the last two words.

stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and 8 shall deal against them, and shall prevail: and shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he 9 shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and

shall stand up in his (Ptolemy II.'s) place] or office, position. So Gen. xl. 13, xli. 13; and below, vv. 20, 21, 38.

and shall come unto the army] shall place himself at its head, with the object, viz., of attacking Syria.

and shall enter into the stronghold of the king of the north] Seleukeia.

and shall deal with them] viz. as he may find fit, in no friendly manner; the pron. referring to the subjects of Seleucus: cf. Jer. xviii. 23 in the time of thine anger deal thou with them.'

and shall prevail] or shew strength, shew himself strong.

8. And also their gods, with their molten images, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, shall he bring into captivity into Egypt] The custom of carrying off the gods of a conquered nation was common in antiquity: the capture of its gods implied naturally that the nation's strongest support had passed into the hands of the victors. Cf. Is. xlvi. 1, 2; Jer. xlviii. 7, xlix. 3. On the present occasion Jerome, following Porphyry, states that Ptolemy brought back with him 40,000 talents of silver and 2,500 precious vessels and images of gods, among the latter being those which Cambyses had carried off from Egypt 280 years before (cf. the Canopus decree, 11. 9-10: Mahaffy, p. 230). In consequence of the recovery of these images, it was said, the Egyptians conferred upon him the title of Euergetes ('Benefactor').

precious vessels] lit. vessels of desire: the same expression, 2 Chron. xxxii. 27, xxxvi. Io; Hos. xiii. 15; Neh. ii. 9; Jer. xxv. 34.

and he shall refrain some years from (R.V.)] i.e. desist from attacking. 'Refrain' is lit. stand: cf. in the Heb. Gen. xxix. 35, 2 Ki. iv. 6.

9.

And he shall come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but he shall, &c.] After two years Seleucus Callinicus succeeded in re-establishing his power in Asia (B.C. 242); but proceeding to march against Ptolemy he was defeated, and obliged to retreat, accompanied by only a few attendants, to Antioch (Justin xxvii. 2), B.C. 240.

10-19. Seleucus III. (Ceraunos), 226-223, and Antiochus III. (the Great), 223-187: Ptolemy IV. (Philopator), 222—205, and Ptolemy V. (Epiphanes), 205-181.

Seleucus Callinicus left two sons, Seleucus Ceraunos and Antiochus. The former succeeded him, but was murdered, after two years, in the course of an expedition in Asia Minor (Polyb. v. 40). Antiochus, who then came to the throne, determined to resume the war with Egypt, hoping, in view of Ptolemy Philopator's effeminacy and supineness,