DANIEL 11

A. A king “who does as he pleases” (11:2-4)

    B. Kings of the North and South battle (11:5-30a)

        C. Tribulation and deliverance (11:30b-35)

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A'. Apocalyptic King “who does as he pleases” (11:36-39)

    B'. Kings of the North and South battle (11:40-45)

        C'. Tribulation and deliverance (12:1-3)

As most commentaries recognize, the first part of this section is firmly rooted in historical events up to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.

Historical Notes from The Jerusalem Bible.

King of South = ruler of Egypt; King of the North = ruler of Seleucid Kingdom.

11:2 The fourth king of Persia, Xerxes the Great, attacked Greece in 480 BC.

11:3 Alexander the Great conquered Persia.

11:4 On Alexander's death in 323, the empire was divided among his generals, not his sons.

11:5 Ptolemy I (306-285) became the first ruler of Hellenistic Egypt. Seleucus I supported Ptolemy and founded his own Asiatic empire in 312.

11:6-8 Antiochus II made an alliance with Ptolemy II in 252 and married Ptolemy's daughter Berenice. Ptolemy's first wife Laodice then poisoned Ptolemy, Berenice, their son and attendants. Laodice's son, Seleucus II, was attacked by Ptolemy III who returned to Egypt with his booty.

11:9 There is no known historical events for this counter-offensive.

11:10-15 Seleucus III and Antiochus III advance. Antiochus III's victories are described next. He attacked Palestine, but Ptolemy IV (221-203) raised an army of mercenaries to oppose him. For eight years they fought until Ptolemy V (205-181) came into the throne. Antiochus III was joined by Philip V of Macedonia and they besieged Gaza (v. 15). An internal revolt in Egypt helped the cause of the Selueciads. At last, the Selueciads conquered Israel.

11:16-17 Antiochus III married Cleopatra in 194.

11:18 Antiochus III next conquered a number of seaboard towns controlled by Rome and Egypt, but he was heavily defeated by Lucius Cornelius Scipio (the magistrate) at Magnesia in 190.

11:19 During an attempt to loot one of the temples of Bel, Antiochus III was murdered in 187.

11:20 Seleucus IV (187-175), son of Antiochus III, commissioned Heliodorus to confiscate the treasures in the Jerusalem temple. A vision stopped him from carrying out his plan, and Heliodorus assassinated Seleucus in 187.

11:21-24 Antiochus IV (175-165) seized the throne illegally and killed the high priest Onian III.

11:25-27 Ptolemy VI was misled by his advisers and became a captive of Antiochus IV who plundered his empire.

11:28 On Antiochus IV's return trip, he mistreated the Jews.

11:29-30a The second Egyptian campaign of Antiochus IV failed because the Roman senate told him to withdraw.

11:30b-35 This is a general description of Antiochus IV's persecution of the loyal Jews and the early rebellion of Judas Maccabaeus.

11:36-45 From this point on, the details are either vague or do not fit historical events regarding Antiochus. (Adonis is the god “whom the women love.”)

Different Approaches

A. Those who feel that it is an example of “prophecy after the fact” note that details become increasingly hazy and inaccurate after verse 35 if they are supposed to refer to Antiochus IV. Very few evangelicals have accepted this viewpoint, and most reject it since it would deny that Daniel wrote it.

B. Some feel that all of this section belongs to events that are still future, but that would ignore the strong similarities to actual historical events up to time of Antiochus.

C. A middle position taken by many conservative scholars is that the historical figure of Antiochus IV described in the first half of the chapter slowly morphs into a more apocalyptic figure by the end, perhaps representing the Antichrist. But several of them have noted a problem in that “there is no clear transitional statement between verses 35 and 36 to indicate that such morphing is intended.”

The above structure, I believe, solves this problem by recognizing that the key phrase “does as he pleases” signals the start of the second half of the section just as it signaled the beginning of the first half.

This chapter is like previous cycles of revelations in Daniel in that each cycle repeats much of the previous one, but advances somewhat forward in history. According to this view, the last half of this section, A'-C', represents events yet to come, or at least further advanced in time from that of Antiochus' reign.

The take-away lessons are mainly found in sections C and C', so let's read them.

11:30-35 The wise will give strength and encouragement to others during times of persecution even though some of them may get killed themselves or seem to falter for a period. It ends with a hint of a future time when the story will be completed. This continuation is found in Section C'.

12:1-3 During persecution, we will get supernatural help, and those written in the Book of Life will be delivered, while those who are not there will be resurrected to everlasting contempt and shame. This is the clearest statement of the future resurrection in all of the Old Testament. In addition, the wise who led many to the truth will shine like the stars forever and ever.