Daniel 11.15-The Prophecy of Antiochus III Capturing Sidon By Defeating the Egyptian Commander Scopas
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday April 30 2014
Daniel: Daniel 11:15-The Prophecy of Antiochus III Capturing Sidon By Defeating the Egyptian Commander Scopas
Lesson # 332
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. 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. 14 In fact, during those days, certain great ones will oppose the king ruling the south. Even violent persons belonging to your people will for their own benefit, rebel in order to fulfill the revelation but they will be overthrown.” (My translation)
Daniel 11:15 Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.” (NASB95)
“Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city” is resuming the angel’s thought from verse 13.
“Will come” is the verb bô(ʾ) (בּוֹא) (bo), which means “to wage an attack” referring to the king of the north “waging an attack” by putting up siege mounds to capture a fortified city of the king of the south.
“Cast up a siege ramp” defines specifically the previous statement that the king ruling the north will wage an attack.
It expresses the fact that the army of the king ruling the north will construct or build a siege mound in order to capture a fortified city of the king ruling the south.
A “siege ramp” refers to an elevated embankment built against the defensive wall of a fortified city of the king of the south.
“And capture a well-fortified city” presents the purpose of the king of the north constructing a siege ramp.
“And the forces of the South will not stand their ground” stands in contrast to the previous statement that the king of the north will construct a siege ramp in order to capture a fortified city of the king of the south.
Therefore, the contrast is between a fortified city of the king of the south serving as a defense against the army of the king of the north and the army of the south not being able to withstand this attack.
“Not even their choicest troops” advances upon and intensifies the previous statement that the armed forces of the south will by no means stand their ground against the army led by the king of the north.
The north will not only defeat the army of the south but more than this, they will defeat the best troops the south can put in the field of combat.
“For there will be no strength to make a stand” presents the reason why the armed forces of the south and their elite combat unit will by no means stand their ground against the army led by the king of the north.
Daniel 11:15 “And so, the king ruling the north will wage an attack. Specifically, he will construct a siege mound in order to capture a fortified city. However, the south’s armed forces will by no means stand their ground, not even their elite unit because there will be no strength.” (My translation)
Verse 15 is resuming the angel’s thought from verse 13, which records the angel communicating 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 in Daniel 11:13 was fulfilled in history as well since 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 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.
Then in Daniel 11:14, the elect angel of God predicts that during those days in which the king of the north will wage war against the king of the south, certain great ones will oppose the king of the south.
Even certain violent persons belonging to Daniel’s people, the Jews will for their own benefit rebel in order to fulfill the revelation the angel was communicating to Daniel.
The angel then tells Daniel that this rebellion will be overthrown by the king of the south.
This verse was also fulfilled in history since history records Philip V of Macedonia joined Antiochus III the Great in waging war against Egypt whose king was only a child, Ptolemy V Epiphanes.
History records the powerful Egyptian general Scopas leading the Egyptian forces against the armies led by Antiochus and Philip.
History also records that at that time, politically zealous men in Israel who were characterized by violence waged a rebellion against Egypt who controlled Israel during those days.
General Scopas overthrew the Jewish rebellion and punished the ring leaders of this rebellion.
Daniel 11:15 has also been fulfilled in history since history records that in 203 B.C. Antiochus III, the king of the north, laid siege to Egypt’s fortified city Sidon and captured it.
Antiochus forced the Egyptian general Scopas to surrender near the headwaters of the Jordan River.
Three other Egyptian military commanders sought to rescue Scopas at Sidon but failed.
This was a great strategic victory for Antiochus III and it also put Israel under the control of the Seleucid kingdom until the Roman Empire wrestled it from its control.
Scopas was appointed to the top command of the army in Coele-Syria which is the region of southern Syria disputed between the Seleucid dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty.
It was in this place he had to make a stand against Antiochus III the Great.
At first he was completely successful since he had in fact reduced the whole province of Judaea into subjection to Ptolemy V Epiphanes.
However, soon afterwards he was defeated by Antiochus III at the battle of Panium.
Scopas shut himself up within the walls of Sidon. Egypt still had their best generals, namely Eropus, Menocles and Hamoxenus.
Nonetheless they were no match for the army led by Antiochus III.
Thus, Scopas was ultimately compelled by famine to surrender (Polybius XIII.1-2, XVI.18-19, 39; Josephus, Antiquities XII.3.3; St. Jerome, ad Daniel 11:15-16).