Daniel 11:2

11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ¹  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ²  king will be unusually rich, ³  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ⁴  the kingdom of Greece.

Daniel 11:10

11:10 His sons ⁵  will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s ⁶  fortress. ⁷ 

[11:2]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ⁴ 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.

[11:10]  ⁵ sn The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus (ca. 227-223 B.C.) and Antiochus III the Great (ca. 223-187 B.C.).

[11:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he will certainly come and overflow and cross over and return and be aroused unto a fortress.” The translation has attempted to simplify the syntax of this difficult sequence.