Daniel 11.13-The Prophecy of Antiochus III Victory Over Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday April 24, 2014
Daniel: Daniel 11:13-The Prophecy of the Victory Antiochus III Over Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Lesson # 330
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. 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. 8 Consequently, he will also cause their gods to be transported into captivity to Egypt along with their cast images, as well as their valuable silver and gold articles. Furthermore, for some years he will withdraw from the king ruling the north. 9 Then, he will wage an attack against the king ruling the south but will return to his land. 10 Following this, his sons will initiate hostile military action. Specifically, they will muster a multitude of great military forces. Then, he will as a certainty wage a massive attack so that he will overflow, yes, pass through like a flood with the result that he will turn him back. Indeed, he will engage in hostile military action up to his fortress. 11 Then, the king ruling the south will cause himself to be enraged so that he will march out in order to wage war against him, against the king ruling the north. Consequently, he will cause a great multitude to be assembled. However, despite this, this multitude will be delivered into his power. 12 When this multitude will be defeated, his heart will become arrogant. Even though, he will cause ten thousand to fall in combat, he will by no means continue to prevail.” (My translation)
Daniel 11:13 “For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment.” (NASB95)
“For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former” presents the reason why the king of the south will by no means continue to prevail militarily and politically over the king of the north.
“Will again” is the verb šûḇ (שׁוּב) (shoob), which means “to return” and refers to the king of the north “returning” to fight in war the king of the south.
Not translated after the phrase “the king of the North” is the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), which is functioning as a marker of cause meaning that it is introducing a statement which presents the reason for the angel’s previous statement that the king of the north will return to fight again the king of the south.
Therefore, the conjunction wa indicates that the king of the north will return again to fight the king of the south “because” he will muster a large army greater than the first one he mustered which was defeated by the army of the king of the south.
“Raise” is the verb ʿā∙mǎḏ (עָמַד) (aw-mad), which refers to the king of the north “raising” or “mustering” a large number of troops which are greater in number than the army he assembled which was defeated by the army of the king of the south.
“A greater multitude than the former” means that the multitude of troops assembled by the king of the north will be greater in numbers than the first army he assembled which was defeated by the army of the king of the south.
“And after an interval of some years he will press on with a great army and much equipment” presents the purpose for which the king of the north will muster a multitude greater than the first army he assembled which was defeated by the army of the king of the south.
Therefore, this clause indicates that the king of the north will muster a multitude greater than the first army he assembled which was defeated by the army of the king of the south “in order to” wage an attack some years after his first army was defeated by the king of the south.
“And after an interval of some years” refers to an indefinite period of time in which there is peace between the king of the north and the king of the south.
“He will press on” is composed of the qal active imperfect form of the verb bô(ʾ) (בּוֹא) (bo) and the qal active infinitive absolute form of the verb bô(ʾ) (בּוֹא) (bo) which together are translated “he will press on.”
In each instance, the verb bô(ʾ) means “to wage an attack” referring to the king of the north ordering his army “to wage an attack against” the army of the king of the south.
However, the second time the word appears, we have the infinitive absolute form of this verb which means that it stands before the finite verb of the same root in order to intensify the certainty or force of the verbal idea.
Here the infinitive absolute form bô(ʾ) intensifies the qal imperfect form of the verb expressing the certainty that the king of the north will wage an attack against the king of the south at the end of an interval of some years.
It is also emphasizing that this attack will be a massive invasion as indicated by the multitude of great forces mustered for this attack.
Daniel 11:13 “For he will return again since he will muster a multitude larger than the first in order to wage a massive attack with a great army as well as enormous logistical provision at the end of an interval of some years.” (My translation)
In Daniel 11:11, Daniel tells the reader that the elect angel informed him that in response to his great defeat at the hands of the king of the north, the king of the south will cause himself to be enraged over this great loss.
Consequently, he will take his army and march out in order to wage war against the king of the north.
In response to this, the angel tells Daniel that the king of the north will cause a great multitude of troops to be assembled but despite this, this multitude will be delivered over into the power of the king of the south meaning these troops will be defeated in combat by the army led by the king of the south.
The king ruling the south in Daniel 11:11 is a reference to Ptolemy IV Philopator (221-204 B.C.) and the king ruling the north is a reference to Antiochus III the Great (223-187 B.C.).
In 217 B.C., Ptolemy IV Philopator attacked and defeated the great army assembled by Antiochus III the Great at Raphia.
As we noted in our study of Daniel 11:12, the angelic being tells Daniel that when this multitude of troops under the command of the king ruling the north is defeated in battle, the heart of the king ruling the south will become arrogant.
The angel then surprisingly adds that despite causing the death of ten thousand in battle, this king ruling the south will by no means continue to prevail militarily and politically over the king of the north.
This was fulfilled in history since history records that Ptolemy IV Philopator did indeed become proud and arrogant because of his great military victory at Raphia over Antiochus III the Great.
He did not continue to maintain his military superiority after this great victory.
Now, here in Daniel 11:13, the angelic being communicates to Daniel the reason why the king of the south will by no means continue to prevail militarily and politically over the king of the north.
He tells Daniel that the king of the north will return once again to fight the king of the south.
The reason why he will return to fight the king of the south again even though he lost to him previously is that he will muster a multitude of troops larger than the first army he assembled which was defeated by the king of the south.
The purpose of mustering this large army was to wage an attack against the king of the south.
This large army will possess enormous logistical provision to fight this war with the king of the south.
The angel informs Daniel that this massive attack against the king of the south by the king of the north will take place at the end of an interval of some years.
This prophecy of the king of the north was fulfilled in history as well.
History records that fourteen years after his army was defeated by the army of Ptolemy IV Philopator at Raphia in 217 B.C., Antiochus III the Great mustered a larger army than the first one he led against the king of Egypt in 201 B.C.
He waged a massive attack against Egypt which was no longer under the rule of Ptolemy IV Philopator who had died mysteriously in his thirties in 205 B.C.
His four year old son Ptolemy V Epiphanes (203-181 B.C.) had ascended to the throne.
During the years in which there was peace between these two kingdoms, Antiochus III marched his army as far as India.
He took large numbers of Indian elephants and moved along the Persian Gulf to Arabia.
By 201, his army was well-trained and seasoned.
Antiochus saw a great opportunity to exact revenge against the Ptolemaic dynasty.
He conducted many successful campaigns to recapture what he originally lost in the previous war.
During these attacks on Egypt, he had retaken Palestine as far south as Gaza.
He gained full control of Judaea in 200 B.C. at the battle of Paneas.