king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. And when 12 he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it. For the king of the north 13 shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those 14 times there shall many stand up against the king of the

set forth] lit. cause to stand up, i.e. raise; so v. 13.

and he (Ptolemy) shall cause tens of thousands to fall] at the battle of Raphia.

but he shall not be strong] he will gain no permanent advantage in consequence. Ptolemy by his victory recovered Cole-Syria; but he did not pursue his success further; he again gave way to his natural indolence, and quickly resumed his dissolute life (Polyb. xiv. 12); so that when Antiochus sent to ask for terms of peace, he readily granted them. Justin (xxx. 1) writes of him, 'Spoliasset regno Antiochum, si fortunam virtute iuvisset.

13. Twelve years after the battle of Raphia, in 205, Ptolemy Philopator died, leaving a son aged 4 years, who succeeded him on the throne as Ptolemy V. (Epiphanes). Antiochus had meanwhile been gaining the series of successes in Persia, Bactria, Asia Minor, and even in India, which earned him the epithet of the Great.' Returning from the East, in the same year in which Philopator died, he concluded an alliance with Philip, king of Macedon, for a joint attack upon the infant king of Egypt, and partition of his foreign possessions between them (Polyb. xv. 20; cf. Jer. ad loc.). Details of the war are not known, the part of Polybius' history which described it being lost. We only learn from Justin (xxxi. 1) that he invaded Phoenicia and Syria; and from Polybius (xvi. 18, 40) that he captured Gaza, after a stout resistance.

shall return, &c.] shall again raise a multitude, greater than the former, with allusion to the forces by which he achieved his successes in Persia and the East. Jerome (quoting probably from Porphyry) speaks of the immense army which he brought back with him from the East.

and he shall come on at the end of the times, (even of) years] after 12 years, at the end of his conquests in Persia, Bactria, &c.

with much substance] the allusion is to the baggage, implements of war, &c., belonging to a well-appointed army. The word used (17) denotes especially such possessions as stores, furniture, implements, &c.: see 1 Chr. xxvii. 31, 2 Chr. xx. 25 ('riches'-of an invading army), xxi. 14 (R.V.), 17; Ezr. i. 4, 6 ('goods').

14. there shall many stand up, &c.] Alluding to Antiochus, to Philip of Macedon, his ally, and also (according to Jerome) to rebellions which broke out in the provinces subject to Egypt, and

south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves 15 to establish the vision; but they shall fall. So the king

insurrections in Egypt itself, through dissatisfaction with the haughty and dissolute Agathocles, Ptolemy Philopator's chief minister and favourite (see Polyb. xv. 25-34 [Mahaffy, pp. 276-287], where a graphic account is given of the assassination of Agathocles in a popular tumult, immediately after the accession of the infant king, Ptolemy V.). also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish (the) vision; but they shall be overthrown] The allusion is apparently to a faction among the Jews, who, for the purpose of fulfilling certain prophecies, took the part of Antiochus against Ptolemy, but were unsuccessful.

Antiochus the Great, in the invasion referred to on v. 13, had, it seems, obtained possession of Palestine: shortly afterwards, however, in 200, the guardian of the young Ptolemy Epiphanes sent Scopas, an Aetolian mercenary, to recover it: he was successful, 'subdued the nation of the Jews' (Polyb. xvi. 39 ap. Jos. l. c.), and left a garrison in the citadel at Jerusalem. Within a year or two, as soon as his war with Attalus of Pergamum was over, Antiochus marched against Scopas, and defeated him with great loss at Paneion, by the sources of the Jordan (cf. Polyb. xvi. 18 f.), so that he was obliged to retreat, with 100,000 men, into Sidon, where Antiochus besieged him, and, though. Ptolemy sent him assistance, compelled him to surrender (B.C. 198). After this Antiochus recovered Batanaea, Samaria, Abila and Gadara: he then entered Jerusalem, where the people received him gladly, provided his army with food, and assisted him to expel the garrison left in the citadel by Scopas; in return for this friendliness, Antiochus afterwards granted the Jews remission of many taxes, and contributed liberally to both the services and the repair of the Temple1. Only Gaza remained loyal to Ptolemy; and withstood a siege from Antiochus rather than join the Syrian side (Polyb. xvi. 40). We do not know particulars: but the allusion in this part of v. 14 can hardly be to anything except to a party in Jerusalem which (perhaps before the expedition of Scopas: notice Polybius' phrase 'subdued,' as though there had been some rebellion) supported Antiochus, and in some way was broken up.

violent] properly, breakers down (or breakers through): the word denotes a robber, Jer. vii. 11 ('a den of robbers'); Ez. vii. 22, xviii. 10; and is used of a destructive wild-beast, Is. xxxv. 9. The author chooses a strong term for the purpose of expressing his disapprobation of a party who were instrumental in bringing Judah under the rule of the Seleucidae, Antiochus the Great being the father of the hated Antiochus Epiphanes.

be overthrown] lit. stumble: see Prov. xxiv. 16.

15 a. And the king of the north shall come, and throw up earthworks, and take a city of fortifications] Sidon, in which Scopas was shut up, and which Antiochus took (see on v. 14).

Jos. Ant. XII. iii. 3 (Mahaffy, p. 293 f.); Jerome on Dan. viii. 15; Ewald, Hist. v. 284.

of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that cometh 16

against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do:

cast up a mount] i.e. throw up (lit. pour out, viz. from the baskets used for collecting the earth) earth-works, the expression often used in the O. T. of a besieging army (2 Sam. xx. 15; 2 Kin. xix. 32; Jer. vi. 6; Ez. iv. 2 al.). Mount is simply the old form of mound, the two words being really the same, though now differentiated in meaning. W. A. Wright (Bible Word-Book, s.v.) quotes from North's Plutarch (1595), Alexander, p. 748, all the army in their armour did cast up a mount of earth fashioned like a tombe.'

15 b-16. The final collapse of the Egyptian power in Syria.

15 b. and the arms of the south shall not stand] shall make no stand (v. 25; Am. ii. 15) against Antiochus. The arm (of the body) is often fig. for strength (Ps. lxxi. 18, lxxix. 11, lxxxiii. 8; Ezr. iv. 23; Judith ix. 7); here, the plur. is fig. for forces: cf. vv. 22, 31.

and as for his chosen people (i.e. his chosen warriors: cf. Ex. xv. 4; Jer. xlviii. 15), there shall be no strength (in them) to stand] so the Heb. accents. Scopas, and the three "duces inclyti" (Jerome) sent to assist him, could not resist the forces of Antiochus.

16.

But he (Antiochus) that cometh against him (Ptolemy) shall do according to his own will] so greatly will he be superior to him: the phrase, as v. 3.

stand before him] viii. 4, 7.

shall stand in the beauteous land (the land of Israel: see on viii. 9), with destruction in his hand] aimed, viz., against Egypt; possessed of Palestine (v. 14), he will 'stand' in it, menacing Egypt with ruin. Or (with a change of points), with all of it (the land) in his hand (power) (Bertholdt, Kamph., Prince).

17. And he shall set his face-i.e. purpose, plan (2 Kin. xii. 17; Jer. xlii. 15, 17; xliv. 12)—to come with the strength, &c.] to advance with all his force against Egypt. Livy (xxxiii. 19) describes how, in the spring of 197, omnibus regni viribus connixus, quum ingentes copias terrestres maritimasque comparasset, Antiochus himself set out with a fleet for the purpose of attacking all the cities on the coast of Cilicia, Lycia, and Caria, which were subject to Ptolemy. He did not actually invade Egypt, nor does the present verse say that he would do so.

and upright ones with him; thus shall he do] the words yield no sense read, with very slight changes, but shall make an agreement (see v. 6) with him: so LXX. Theod. Vulg. (cf. R.V. marg.). He did not carry out his intention, but found it convenient to come to

17

and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. 18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall

terms with Ptolemy (φιλίαν καὶ σπονδὰς πρὸς τὸν Πτολεμαῖον ἐποιήσατο, Jos. Ant. XII. iv. 1). Antiochus had his eye on Asia Minor, and even on Europe: but being opposed by the Romans, he was glad to be on good terms with Egypt; he accordingly betrothed his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy Epiphanes, promising that she should receive as her dowry what was afterwards understood by the Egyptians to be the provinces of Cole-Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, though this was denied before the Roman legates by Antiochus Epiphanes (Polyb. xxviii. 17, who appears to think that Antiochus Epiphanes was right)1. The marriage actually took place in the winter of 194-3, Antiochus taking his daughter to Raphia for the purpose (Livy xxxv. 13).

and he shall give him the daughter of women] his daughter Cleopatra.

corrupting her] a very improbable rendering: Cleopatra was not (as was the case with many of the queens of the Ptolemies) her husband's sister; and (Mahaffy, p. 330) she "bears an excellent character in Egyptian history." Keil renders to destroy her; but Cleopatra, so far as we know, lived happily in Egypt, and died a natural death. The only reasonable rendering is to destroy it,-the pronoun being referred ad sensum to Egypt. Antiochus was not really actuated by friendliness to Egypt; his true motives, no doubt, being (Hitz.) to protect himself against Roman interference, to gain a footing in Egypt, and, if the opportunity should offer, to secure the country for himself.' In 196, upon a false report of the death of Ptolemy reaching Lysimacheía (below, note), he actually started for the purpose of seizing Egypt (Livy xxxiii. 41).

but it shall not stand, neither be for him (emph.)] his plan will not succeed (cf. for the expression, Is. vii. 7, xiv. 24), nor turn out to his advantage, but (as is implied by the position of the pron., ' and not for him shall it be') to that of another. Jerome writes, 'Neque enim obtinere potuit Aegyptum: quia Ptolemaeus Epiphanes et duces eius, sentientes dolum, cautius se egerunt, et Cleopatra magis viri partes quam parentis fovit.' In point of fact, Ptolemy retained the friendship of the Romans, while Antiochus, to his cost (see on v. 18), lost it.

18. And he shall turn his face to the isles (or coast-lands), and shall take many; but a commander shall cause his reproach to cease to him; nay, he shall even return his reproach unto him] Antiochus cherished ambitious designs towards the West. In 196 most of the cities in Asia Minor submitted to him; in the same year he even crossed the

1 The dowry seems in fact to have been not the provinces themselves, but their revenues (Wilcken [see p. 178 n.]; Mahaffy, p. 306).

Cleopatra's betrothal is alluded to in Polyb. xviii. 51 end (whence Livy xxxiii. 40) in reply to the Roman legates who were sent to him in 196 at Lysimacheia (in Thrace) to demand (among other things) that he should restore the cities taken from Ptolemy, Antiochus replied that he was on friendly terms with Ptolemy, 'et id agere se, ut brevi etiam affinitas jungatur.'

take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face towards the fort of his own land: but he shall

Hellespont and seized the Thracian Chersonese, and in 195 set about organizing it as a satrapy for his son Seleucus. In 192 he landed in Greece, and occupied various places to the N. of the Isthmus of Corinth, but was defeated by the Romans in 191 at Thermopylae, and compelled to retire to Ephesus. The Romans next determined to expel Antiochus from Asia. Immense preparations were made on both sides: in the end, the decisive battle was fought in the autumn of 190, at Magnesia, near Smyrna, and Antiochus's huge army of 80,000 men was defeated, with enormous loss, by Lucius Cornelius Scipio (Livy xxxvii. 39-44). Antiochus was now obliged to renounce formally all claims to any part of Europe, or of Asia Minor, west of the Taurus, and to submit to other humiliating conditions of peace1. His ruin was complete: "never, perhaps," remarks Mommsen, "did a great power fall so rapidly, so thoroughly, so ignominiously, as the kingdom of the Seleucidae under this Antiochus the Great.' These are the events alluded to in the present verse of Daniel.

turn his face] implying a change of purpose and direction: so v. 19. isles (or coast-lands)] Heb. 'iyyîm],-the word used regularly (e.g. Gen. x. 5; Is. xi. 11) of the islands and jutting promontories (for it includes both) of the Mediterranean Sea. Here it denotes in particular the coasts and islands of Asia Minor and Greece.

a commander] Lucius Cornelius Scipio, at the battle of Magnesia. The Heb. word (ķāzīn) means properly a decider (Arab. kāḍi), and is used of one who interposes, or acts, with authority: in Josh. x. 24, Jud. xi. 6, 11, of a military commander, as here; Is. iii. 6, 7, of a dictator, taking the lead in a civic emergency; of other authorities, civil or military, in Is. i. 10, xxii. 3; Mic. iii. 1, 9; Prov. vi. 7, XXV. 15 (all).

his reproach] implied in the defiant attitude adopted by him towards the Romans: not only had he, for instance, attacked many of their allies, but he told their legates at Lysimacheia that they had no more right to inquire what he was doing in Asia, than he had to inquire what they were doing in Italy (Liv. xxxiii. 40).

to him] a dative of reference,-though certainly redundant, after the pron. his; cf. (without a pron.) Jer. xlviii. 35; Ruth iv. 14.

return] hurl back, and at the same time requite,-viz. by the humiliating repulse at Magnesia, after which, in Appian's words (Syr. c. 37), men used to say, v Baoiλeùs 'Avrioxos o μéyas. For the expression, which forms here a climax on 'make to cease,' see Hos. xii. 14; Neh. iv. 4 (Heb. iii. 36).

19. Then he shall turn his face towards the strongholds of his own land; but he shall stumble, &c.] The end of Antiochus (B.C. 187).

1 See fuller particulars in Livy xxxvii. 39-45, 55; or in Mommsen's Hist. of Rome, Bk. 111., chap. ix.

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