the ill-treatment of the daughter of the King of the South, then this Southern King to invade the Northern King's territories, take his fortresses, capture his treasures and princes, and (as it is singularly added) their gods, and return triumphantly with them into his own country and kingdom, Egypt, so the third Ptolemy, forthwith on coming to the kingdom, invaded Syria, (then under the rule of the fourth Seleucidean king, Seleucus Callinicus, son to Laodice,) overran the whole kingdom to the Euphrates, indeed beyond it almost to the Indus, plundered it of 40,000 talents of silver and of 2,500 images of gods, including among them the Egyptian idol-gods, carried out of Egypt two centuries and a half before by the Persian king Cambyses; and with these, and numerous captives, returned triumphantly back into Egypt.-4. Whereas the sons of the King of the North (sons in the plural) were to be stirred up,2 and assemble great forces, as if with a view to the re : vessels of silver and gold and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. 9. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land." + 1 In 1631 an inscription on an ancient marble in honour of this action of Euergetes was published by Allatius; "Sacris quæ ab Egypto Persæ abstulerant receptis, ac cùm reliquâ congestâ gazâ in Egyptum relatis."-Wintle. 10. "But his sons shall be stirred up,§ and shall assemble a multitude of a meaning very different from our English rendering, princes, but which attaches also to the Hebrew word. For the root of the word is, to pour out: and it thus applies alike to images melted in fusion, (as the cognate word in Isa. xli. 29,) and to princes poured upon with the anointing oil, (Josh. xiii. 21 &c.)-Probably the Septuagint rendering, molten images, is the more correct as it so well carries on the idea of their gods in the clause preceding; and was also so striking a point in the historical fulfilment. A word used also of the sacred Jewish vessels carried off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 10. This verse seems recapitulatory.-It is to be observed that there is no his prefixed to kingdom in the Hebrew. So that the translation might be; And he (viz. the King of the North) shall enter into the kingdom of the King of the South, and return to his own land," i. e. without effecting anything. But there is nothing in the history to suit the verse so translated. That is the sons of the King of the North, though not the last mentioned: because the King of the North, spoken of in the next verse as the southern King's antagonist, was apparently one of these two sons. So Aben Ezra and Saadiah. The affix prevents the expression of dualism in the word for sons. § The Hebrew is, the same verb that occurs again, and in the same Hithpahel form, at the end of this verse, and also in verse 25; and quite a different one from that in verse 2. Its root is a verb not used in Kal; but which in Piel signifies stirring up contention, as Prov. xv. 18, "A wrathful man : covery of their losses and to revenge, and one out of them (one only) to overflow, (whether over his own recaptured territory, or over that of his enemy the King of the South,) and the King of the South to meet him in battle, and utterly overthrow him,—so did Seleucus Ceraunus, and, on his speedy death a year or two after, his brother and successor Antiochus, called the Great,' assemble great forces to recover their father's dominions, and the latter achieve the object, recover Seleucia and Syria, and proceed to invade Egypt with a mighty army;2 whereupon ensued the (to him) disastrous battle of Raphia, on the Egyptian frontier, in which he suffered a total defeat from Philopator, the then reigning Ptolemy. -5. Whereas the King of the South was not eventu great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through, then shall he return,† and be stirred up, even to his fortress. 11. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth, and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth § a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand." 1 So Justin xxx. 1; "Antiochus rex Syriæ, veteri inter se regnorum odio stimulante, repentino bello multas urbes ejus (Ptolemæi) oppressit, ipsamque Ægyptum aggreditur." The following dates will be useful towards the illustration of this prophetic sketch of Antiochus the Great's history. B.C. 225 217 198 192 190 187 Antiochus succeeds to the Syrian throne. Is defeated in the battle of Raphia. Defeats Scopas in the battle of Panias, on returning from his Eastern conquests; and recovers Judea and Jerusalem. War with the Romans begins, and lasts three years. Battle and defeat of Magnesia. Antiochus killed. 2 Polybius describes the army and its amount; 62,000 foot, 6000 horse, and 102 elephants. Newton. 3 12. "And when he hath taken away¶ the multitude, his heart shall be lifted So stirreth up strife;" and in its Hithpahel form (as here) is used, 1st, says Gesenius, in the sense to be excited, as to anger, 2nd, to contend, to engage in war. Deut. ii. 5, 19, "Meddle not with them in war ;" and Jer. 1. 24. * The change from plural to singular is as marked in the Hebrew as the English. The clause is literally, "And coming he shall come." The Hebrew verb is the same that is used in verses 18 and 19 subsequently with, in the sense of to turn one's face towards a place. It often means to do a thing again. So here it may perhaps mean, after his first acting out of his anger, and overflowing, he shall be again excited to urge the war. Gesenius supplies "and march" even to his fortress; i. e. the fortress of the Southern King. § Or, make to stand. So verse 13. Lit. "he shall give," or, "some one shall give."-The he and his refer evidently. to different persons. ¶; a word used not unfrequently of taking away with violence, So ally to be strengthened by this great victory, his heart being lifted up with that vanity (perhaps, like Sennacherib's' or Uzziah's,' against God himself) which often up and he shall cast down many ten thousands; but he shall not be strengthened by it. 13. For the king of the north 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. 14. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people + shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.§ 15. So the king 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.++ 16. But he that cometh 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." (Marg. perfected.) 22 Chron. xxvi. 16. Isa. xxxvii. 23. 1 Sam. xvii. 34, Job xxvii. 21, xxxii. 22, &c. But in these examples the verb is in Kal; in the text in Piel: which latter form of the verb scarcely admits a transitive sense. The passage may therefore be thus rendered; "And when the multitude shall be carried away, his heart, &c." * Margin, Hebr. at the end of times, even years. † Marg, the children of robbers: used as sons of Belial, &c, for men of that character.―The word , rendered robbers, is often used of violent and lawless men. "" So Psalm xvii. 4, The ways of the violent; " Ezek. xviii. 10, "If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood;" Jer. vii. 11, "Is this house become a den of robbers in your eyes?" Again in Isa. xxxv. 9, of ravenous beasts. Lee expounds it here as violent lawless men, of (or belonging to) thy people. The Sept. translates it, δι διοι των λοιμων του λαου σου. Compare 2 Chron. xiii. 7, συνήχθησαν προς αυτον ανδρες λοιμοι, διοι παρανομοι also Mac. x. 61. Lit. "To make to stand a vision;" the definite article not being in the original Hebrew. So the Sept. του ςησαι δρασιν. May it have been the case that a vision was pretended by false prophets among them, in order to stir up the more violent to take up arms in favour of Antiochus, as an appointed deliverer, and to attack the castle of Jerusalem, then garrisoned by a strong Egyptian force? Compare the case of Ahab's false prophets urging the expedition against Ramoth Gilead. Also Isa. xxviii. 7, Jer. v. 31, xiv. 14, &c. ** Literally, the people of his chosen ones. ++"Rather "stand,” as before. Withstand they might for a while. "Against," : a word meaning more generally to; but also used in the sense of against, as Gen. iv. 8, "Cain rose against Abel; " Ezek. xiii. 8, "Behold I am upon, or against you :" &c. §§; i. e. literally, "in the land of the beauty, ornament, honour.” In Dan. viii. 9 the same word is used of Julea, and with the definite article, 'waxed great toward the pleasant land;" the word land, however, not being there expressed. So again Dan. xi. 41, 45, "the land of glory, the glorious holy mount;" Jer. iii. 19, "goodly heritage, or heritage of beauty;" and in Ezek. xx. 6, 15, "the glory of all lands;" also 2 Sam. i. 19-In Isa. xiii. 19, "the glory of kingdoms" is an appellative used of Babylon. (N. B. In Psalm cvi. 24, "They despised the pleasant land," Jer. iii. 19, 'Give thee a pleasant land," and Zech. vii. 14, "They laid the pleasant land desolate," the Hebrew phrase is different; (".land of desire "אֶרֶץ חֶמְדָּה being "It shall be consumed, or perfected." Here, 1st, as the verb is masculine, ought not the it to be masculine also? In that case it would not precedes a fall, and after certain years the King of the North was to return, with great riches and a greater army than before, and in confederacy moreover with various other states and persons, including among them certain revolters or violent men of Daniel's people,and, there being no power in the arms of the South to withstand him, would both take the city of munitions, and also stand in the glorious land, or land of the glory and beauty, that is, of Jerusalem and its sacred Temple, which by his hand, whether in respect of its buildings or otherwise, should be perfected and made complete,so Ptolemy Philopator, the victor of Raphia, instead of aggrandizement by his victory, abandoning himself thenceforth to his lusts and passions, made peace with Antiochus that he might the better indulge them; showed how his heart was lifted up by attempting, on a visit to Jerusalem now again subjected to him, to force his way into the Holy of Holies; and then in a few years died of his debauchery-whereupon (his infant son having succeeded him) Antiochus, who had meanwhile been indefatigably reconquering the eastern provinces of his ancestral dominion, returned after some fifteen years, as to an easy prey, against the Egyptian rival kingdom, with great riches and a mightier army than before,-the King of Macedon having confederated with him, the Jews thrown off their allegiance to Egypt, and many of the Egyptians themselves rebelled,-defeated Scopas utterly who was sent against him, besieged and took Sidon, the "city of munitions," where Scopas had taken refuge, together with other fenced cities, and then recovered Judea: where, as the Jews welcomed him as a deliverer, he acted like a deliverer and friend towards them; and, by repairing the city walls, gathering together to their own land more out of answer to the 7, "the land," which is feminine; but either to the word beauty, or the He, viz. the King of the North. But in Daniel's Hebrew, I believe, the same attention to grammatical construction is not paid that is usual elsewhere.-2. The Septuagint, agreeably with the Margin, gives the sense τελειωθήσεται, 'shall be perfected," or completed. And so Wintle and Bishop Newton. The verb is used Exod. xxxix. 32, 1 Kings vi. 38, of the completion of the tabernacle and temple. And here too it may refer to the temple, as the beauty of holiness; though without the of verse 45. VOL. IV. " K the Jewish dispersion, assisting the completion of the Temple,' and other ways, did not a little contribute to the perfecting of the national restoration.-6. Whereas2 the King of the North was, notwithstanding this success, and just when setting his face to enter with all his strength the southern kingdom, to break off the apparently meditated design, make an agreement and reconciliation with the King of the South, (a plan of agreement involving the giving him his daughter in marriage,) # 1 See Bishop Newton, and Josephus as referred to by him. : 2 17. " He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with hlm + thus shall he do; 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 he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall 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. 19. Then shall he turn his face toward the fort ¶¶ of his own land and he shall stumble, and fall, and not be found." * Or, “to enter with strength his whole kingdom," i. e. the whole kingdom of the King of the South. + The Greek renders this clause, Και ευθεία παντα μετ' αυτε ποιησει. and so the Vulgate, "Et recta faciet cùm eo;" reading instead of the former being a reading supported by one manuscript, and which Wintle and Bishop Newton approve. Then the whole clause will be thus literally rendered: "And he shall make rectitudes, or things straight, with him ;" that is, as in verse 6, alliances, or an agreement. The same word as deal," verse 7, and "practise," viii. 24. § Some one so called кaт' e§oxny, for rank or beauty. So Houbigant. History explains it of the northern king's own daughter. || Lit. "to corrupt or destroy her, or it :" the verb being used (like the Greek poepw)) both of corrupting, as Gen. vi. 12, "All flesh corrupted its way" and of destroying, (a yet more common meaning,) as Dan. viii. 24, "He shall destroy the mighty ones," Isa. xiv. 20, 2 Sam. i. 14, &c.-Perhaps the rendering here should be " to destroy it ;" the feminine noun kingdom, mentioned before, being understood; not her. For the historical sense well agrees thereto; but very ill to the rendering of " to corrupt her.'" Besides which, is there any example to justify the sense being attached to this word of getting her treacherously to act for him (her father) in her new marriage alliance,—so as Wintle, Newton, &c, would have it? ་ On his side," or " for him," is supplied from the clause following. It is not expressed in the original. . Lit. to islands. The word is the same as that used for the isles of Chittim, and the isles of Elishah, or Greece, in Ezek. xxvii. 6, 7. tt i. e. many islands: both substantive and adjective being masculine. : a word used both of civil magistrates and military commanders of the first, Micah iii. 9, "Princes or judges that perverted equity;" of the second, Josh x. 24, the captains of the men of war." So too Judges xi. 6, &c. "as to him:" i. e. as regards this general himself. Rather," Besides, he shall make," &c. So Wintle. He shall not only avert reproach from himself, but turn it on his assailant. ¶¶ Lit. fortresses. |