Daniel 11:1-5

11:1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I ¹  stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.) 11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ²  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ³  king will be unusually rich, ⁴  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ⁵  the kingdom of Greece. 11:3 Then a powerful king ⁶  will arise, exercising great authority and doing as he pleases. 11:4 Shortly after his rise to power, ⁷  his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky ⁸  – but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.

11:5 “Then the king of the south ⁹  and one of his subordinates ¹⁰  will grow strong. His subordinate ¹¹  will resist ¹²  him and will rule a kingdom greater than his. ¹³ 

¹ sn The antecedent of the pronoun “I” is the angel, not Daniel. The traditional chapter division at this point, and the presence of a chronological note in the verse similar to ones used elsewhere in the book to position Daniel’s activities in relation to imperial affairs, sometimes lead to confusion on this matter.

² sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522 B.C.), Pseudo-Smerdis (ca. 522 B.C.), and Darius I Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.).

³ sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.

⁴ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

⁵ tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.

⁶ sn The powerful king mentioned here is Alexander the Great (ca. 336-323 B.C.).

⁷ tn Heb “and when he stands.”

⁸ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁹ sn The king of the south is Ptolemy I Soter (ca. 323-285 B.C.). The following reference to one of his subordinates apparently has in view Seleucus I Nicator (ca. 311-280 B.C.). Throughout the remainder of chap. 11 the expressions “king of the south” and “king of the north” repeatedly occur. It is clear, however, that these terms are being used generically to describe the Ptolemaic king (i.e., “of the south”) or the Seleucid king (i.e., “of the north”) who happens to be in power at any particular time. The specific identity of these kings can be established more or less successfully by a comparison of this chapter with the available extra-biblical records that discuss the history of the intertestamental period. In the following notes the generally accepted identifications are briefly mentioned.

¹⁰ tn Heb “princes.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Heb “be strong against.”

¹³ tn Heb “greater than his kingdom.”