Daniel 11.7-The Prophecy of Bernice’s Brother Ptolemy III Euergetes Avenging Her Death By Defeating Seleucus II Callinicus
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday April 10, 2014
Daniel: Daniel 11:7-The Prophecy of Bernice’s Brother Ptolemy III Euergetes Avenges Her Death By Defeating Seleucus II Callinicus
Lesson # 324
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 11:2.
Daniel 11:2 “Now, at this present time, I must reveal to you the truth. Behold, three future kings will ascend to power for Persia. Then, the fourth will cause greater riches to make him wealthier than each and every one of these in comparison. However, when he amasses power through his wealth, the entire nation will stir up the Greek kingdom. 3 Next, a powerful king will ascend to power so that he will rule with great authority with the result that he will do according to his desire. 4 However, after he ascends to power, his kingdom will be broken up. Then, it will be divided towards the heaven’s four winds but not for the benefit of his posterity and in addition, not according to his sovereign will which he sovereignly exercised. For his kingdom will be uprooted specifically, for the benefit of others, to the separation and exclusion of these. 5 Then, the king ruling the south as well as one of his subordinate commanders will be strong. In fact, he will become stronger than him because he will exercise authority over a dominion greater than his dominion. 6 Next, at the end of an unspecified number of years, they will form an alliance as the daughter of the king ruling the south will enter into marriage with the king ruling the north in order to secure a peaceful arrangement. However, she will by no means retain her powerful position likewise he will by no means endure, namely his power. For she will be delivered over as well as he who caused her to enter into marriage, as well as her child and in addition, her benefactor during those times.” (My translation)
Daniel 11:7 “But one of the descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength.” (NASB95)
“But one of the descendants of her line will arise in his place” presents a contrast with the angel’s statements recorded in Daniel 11:6.
Therefore, the contrast is between the murders of the daughter of the king ruling the south, her child, husband which were all precipitated by the death of her father and one in her family line exacting revenge for these murders.
“Will arise” is the verb ʿā∙mǎḏ (עָמַד) (aw-mad), which means “to ascend to power” referring to a person ascending to power in a particular nation and here it is used of one of the relatives of the daughter of the king ruling the south ascending to power.
“In his place” indicates that one of the relatives of the daughter of the king ruling the south will be the successor in the place of her father.
“He will come against their army” is composed of the verb bô(ʾ) (בּוֹא) (bo), “he will come” and then we have the preposition ʾěl (אֶל) (ale), “to” and its object is the noun ḥǎ·yil (חַיִל) (khah´-yil), “army.”
The verb bô(ʾ) is employed with the preposition ʾěl and together they literally mean “to come against.”
However, figuratively they mean “to wage an attack against” referring to a persistent attack by an army against a fortress.
Here they are used of one of the relatives of the daughter of the king ruling the south “waging an attack against” the army of the king ruling the north.
“And enter the fortress of the king of the North” presents the result of the previous statement that one of the relatives of the daughter of the king ruling the south will wage an attack against the army of the king ruling the north.
“And he will deal with them” advances upon and intensifies the previous statement that one of the relatives of the daughter of the king ruling the south will wage an attack against the army of the king ruling the north so that he will enter into the fortress of the king ruling the north.
The advancement and intensification is that the angel goes from telling Daniel that this relative of the daughter of the king ruling the south will wage an attack against the king ruling the north and enter the fortress of the king ruling the north to telling him that he will take action against the king ruling the north so that he prevails.
“And display great strength” presents the result of one of the relatives of the daughter of the king ruling the south taking military action against the king ruling the north.
Daniel 11:7 “But one of the branches from her roots will ascend to power in his place. Then, he will wage an attack against their army so that he will enter the fortress of the king ruling the north. Indeed, he will take action against them so that he will be victorious.” (My translation)
In Daniel 11:6, the angel tells Daniel that at the end of an unspecified number of years, the king ruling the south and his subordinate commander will form an alliance as the daughter of the king ruling the south will enter into marriage with the king ruling the north in order to secure a peaceful arrangement.
However, she will by no means retain her powerful position likewise he will by no means endure, namely his power.
For she will be delivered over as well as he who caused her to enter into marriage, as well as her child and in addition, her benefactor during those times.
This was all fulfilled in history when Ptolemy II Philadelphus (“the king ruling the south”) formed an alliance with Antiochus II Theos (“the king ruling the north”) which was secured by the marriage of Bernice to the latter.
Bernice was the daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus.
After he died, Antiochus II Theos brought back the wife he divorced to marry Bernice, namely Laodice, who murdered Bernice and her child as well as Antiochus II Theos.
Now, here in Daniel 11:7, the angel continues this prophecy by informing him that one of the branches from her roots will ascend to power in his place.
Then, he will wage an attack against their army so that he will enter the fortress of the king ruling the north.
Indeed, he will take action against them so that he will be victorious.
This verse was also completely fulfilled in history.
“Her” is a reference to Bernice and “one of the branches from her roots” is a reference to her brother Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-221 B.C.).
The name “Euergetes” means “Benefactor.”
After the death of their father, Bernice’s brother ascended to power.
He then launched an attack against Seleucus II Callinicus who was the king ruling the north at this time who came to power through his mother, Laodice.
Ptolemy III Euergetes attacked Seleucus II Callinicus at Antioch, Syria and killed Laodice.
He also conquered much of that region around this city.
He remained the foremost military power in the Middle East during the rest of his reign.
He returned to Egypt not only avenging the death of his sister Bernice and her infant child and husband but also he came back with many spoils.
In exchange for peace, Ptolemy III Euergetes was awarded new territories on the northern coast of Syria including the port of Antioch.
Thus the Ptolemaic kingdom was at the height of its power.
Archer writes “Ptolemy III (Euergetes) organized a great expeditionary force against Syria, in order to avenge his sister’s death. This war raged from 246 to 241, in the course of which Ptolemy captured and pillaged the Seleucid capital of Antioch and invaded its eastern domains as far as Bactria. Finally, he returned to Egypt laden with spoil, but he did not see fit to add much of the Seleucid territory on a permanent basis. He did, however, shatter the Seleucid navy in the Aegean Sea and remained the foremost naval power in that region for the duration of his reign. He succeeded on other fronts as well, for he reunited Cyrenaica (at the western end of Libya) with the Ptolemaic domains, after it had enjoyed twelve years of independence. He also recovered all his father’s conquests on the coasts of Asia Minor and temporarily gained control of some portions of Thrace.”
Butler writes “How could Daniel have guessed this correctly? He might just as well have guessed that a usurper would stand in the place of Ptolemy II-for all Daniel knew. He did not guess! God revealed it to him!”
We must remember that when Daniel received this vision, it was in the third year of the reign of Cyrus the Persian in 536 B.C.
Persia was still the leading super power in the world while Greece on the other hand was simply a coalition of city states who were not unified.
All of the prophecies in Daniel 11:2-7 have been fulfilled already in history.
Therefore, the fulfillment of all these prophecies teaches us a principle that appears in the book of Jeremiah, namely, God is watching over His Word to execute it.
Jeremiah 1:12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.” (NASB95)
The fulfillment of the prophecies found in Daniel 11:2-7 reveal that He is omnipotent and sovereign and omniscient.
He is omnipotent in that God can bring to pass that which He says will take place and He is omniscient in that He has perfect knowledge of events and people centuries before these events and people appear on the pages of history.
He is sovereign in that fulfilled prophecy reveals that God is in control of history and ruler over both the human and angelic realms.
Fulfilled prophecy glorifies God since it manifests these attributes.
Isaiah 46:8 “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. 9 Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.” (NASB95)