Daniel 11:1-3

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.

[11:1]  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.

[11:2]  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.).

[11:2]  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.

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  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.

[11:3]  ⁶ sn The powerful king mentioned here is Alexander the Great (ca. 336-323 B.C.).