Daniel 11:5-6

11:5 “Then the king of the south ¹  and one of his subordinates ²  will grow strong. His subordinate ³  will resist ⁴  him and will rule a kingdom greater than his. ⁵  11:6 After some years have passed, they ⁶  will form an alliance. Then the daughter ⁷  of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power, ⁸  nor will he continue ⁹  in his strength. ¹⁰  She, together with the one who brought her, her child, ¹¹  and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time. ¹² 

[11:5]  ¹ 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.

[11:5]  ² tn Heb “princes.”

[11:5]  ³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “be strong against.”

[11:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “greater than his kingdom.”

[11:6]  ⁶ sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 B.C.) and Antiochus II Theos (ca. 262-246 B.C.).

[11:6]  ⁷ sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.

[11:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”

[11:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.

[11:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.

[11:6]  ¹¹ tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yolÿdah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.

[11:6]  ¹² sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 B.C.), as the Seleucid king.