Daniel 11:7

11:1-30 The angel shows Daniel the succession of the Persian and Grecian empires. The kings of Egypt and Syria are noticed: Judea was between their dominions, and affected by their contests. From ver. 5-30, is generally considered to relate to the events which came to pass during the continuance of these governments; and from ver. 21, to relate to Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a cruel and violent persecutor of the Jews. See what decaying, perishing things worldly pomp and possessions are, and the power by which they are gotten. God, in his providence, sets up one, and pulls down another, as he pleases. This world is full of wars and fightings, which come from men's lusts. All changes and revolutions of states and kingdoms, and every event, are plainly and perfectly foreseen by God. No word of God shall fall to the ground; but what he has designed, what he has declared, shall infallibly come to pass. While the potsherds of the earth strive with each other, they prevail and are prevailed against, deceive and are deceived; but those who know God will trust in him, and he will enable them to stand their ground, bear their cross, and maintain their conflict.

Or, "out of a branch of her roots a shoot thereof shall stand or rise up" (x); by "her roots" are meant her ancestors, particularly Ptolemy Lagus; by "a branch" from thence, Ptolemy Philadelphus her father; and by the "shoot" out of that, or its plantation, as the Vulgate Latin version, is designed her brother, Ptolemy Euergetes; who succeeded her father in the kingdom, and stood firm in it; "upon his basis" (y), as some render it: which shall come with an army; or, "to an army" (z) as soon as he heard of his sister's case, he put himself at the head of an army, and marched to her relief; but coming too late, he, and the forces of the lesser Asia, which came for the same purpose, joining him, resolved to revenge the death of his sister and her son, went with his army into Syria, as next foretold: and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north; the king of Syria, Seleucus Callinicus: Ptolemy entered into Syria itself, as Polybius (a) says, into the fortified cities of it, and took them, the singular being put for the plural; unless Seleucia itself is particularly designed, which Ptolemy seized, and put a garrison of Egyptians in it, which held it twenty seven years (b): and shall deal against them; besiege and take them at his pleasure; the king of Syria not being able to stand against him and defend them: and shall prevail; over the king of Syria, and conquer great part of his dominions, as he did: he took Syria and Cilicia, and the superior parts beyond Euphrates

(7) As yet there has been no account of any war between the northern and southern king, but it must not be forgotten that Ptolemy Philadelphus and Antiochus Theos were at war for ten years or more. In this and the following verses there is a description of a severe war, in which the southern king is victorious. This is explained of the war between Ptolemy Evergetes and Seleucus Callinicus, which lasted B.C. 246-243, and in which Ptolemy was successful, carrying back with him into Egypt on his return large quantities of spoil and images of gods which he had taken. The coincidence between history and prophecy is far from establishing the truth of the explanation; but the mention of Egypt in Daniel 11:8 directs our attention to a country which will hereafter become the scene of the fulfilment of the prophecy. Out of a branch of her roots.—The same words occur in Isaiah 11:1. The meaning is, “a branch growing from her roots shall stand up in the place of the person last mentioned.” It is not easy to say which king is meant, nor is there any agreement among commentators as to what is intended by “her roots.” According to one view, “her parents” are intended, so that “the branch” is some one of collateral descent with herself. According to another view the words mean “her family.” With an army.—Literally, to the army. Theodotion and the LXX. both translate by δύναμιν, which Theodoret explains to be a name for Jerusalem.

But out of a branch of her {s} roots shall one stand up in his estate, {t} which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: (s) Meaning that Ptolemais Evergetes after the death of his father Philadelphus would succeed in the kingdom, being of the same stock that Bernice was. (t) To revenge the sister's death against Antiochus Calinicus King of Syria.

i.e. Of Bernice shall come Ptolemy Euergetes, who shall be king, and revenge the wrong done to his sister; for he invaded Syria, and took many strong holds, with a great part of Syria. And shall prevail, i.e. shall be conqueror, and destroy Callinicus with his mother, whose treachery was hereby repaid.

Daniel 11:7-8 . But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up — One of the same stock, or original, with Berenice, namely, her brother, Ptolemy Euergetes, shall succeed his father in the government of Egypt, and shall revenge his sister’s quarrel, by invading the territories of Seleucus Callinicus, then reigning in Syria with his mother Laodice; and shall deal, or act, against them, and shall prevail — According to Justin and other authors, he prevailed so far, that he made himself master of Syria and Cilicia, and the upper parts beyond Euphrates, and almost all Asia. And shall carry captive, &c. — Jerome relates, out of authors extant in his time, that Ptolemy carried back with him into Egypt vast plunder from all the conquered provinces, upon the whole not less than forty thousand talents of silver, with “precious vessels,” and two thousand five hundred “images of the gods:” among which were also those which Cambyses, after he had taken Egypt, had carried into Persia. And for thus restoring their gods, after many years, the Egyptians complimented him with the title of Euergetes, or benefactor. “Polybius, lib. v, observes, that he took the city Seleucia, which was kept for some years after by the garrisons of the kings of Egypt; and Justin gives us to understand, that all the fortified cities that had revolted surrendered to him.

Archbishop Usher observes, from Josephus against Appian, that after Ptolemy had gained all Syria he came to Jerusalem, and there offered many eucharistic sacrifices to God, and dedicated some presents suitable to his victory. And from hence we may collect a sufficient reason why he obtains a part in the angel’s narrative, as it may in general be observed, that the history of the Jews is interwoven throughout the whole of it.” — Wintle. And he shall continue more years than the king of the north — He outlived Seleucus four or five years, the latter dying in exile of a fall from his horse.

7 . But one of the shoots ( Isaiah 11:1 ) of her roots ] Ptolemy III., Berenice’s brother. shall stand up in his (Ptolemy II.’s) place ] or office, position . So Genesis 40:13 ; Genesis 41:13 ; and below, Daniel 11:20-21; Daniel 11:38 . and shall come unto the army ] shall place himself at its head, with the object, viz., of attacking Syria. and shall enter into the stronghold of the king of the north ] Seleukeia. and shall deal with them ] viz. as he may find fit, in no friendly manner; the pron. referring to the subjects of Seleucus: cf. Jeremiah 18:23 ‘in the time of thine anger deal thou with them .’ and shall prevail ] or shew strength, shew himself strong . 7–9 . Ptolemy III. (Euergetes I.), 247–222, and Seleucus II. (Callinicus), 246–226. Ptolemy Euergetes I., Berenice’s brother, an enterprising and energetic king, in revenge for his sister’s murder, invaded the empire of Seleucus, seized Seleukeia (Polyb. v. 58 end ), the fortified port of Antioch ( Acts 13:4 ), and overran the greater part of Seleucus’ Asiatic dominions as far as Babylon. The murder of Berenice had made Seleucus unpopular with his subjects; and had Ptolemy not been called home by an insurrection in Egypt, he would in all probability have made himself master of Seleucus’ entire empire (Justin xxvii. 1). Ptolemy returned, bringing back with him an immense quantity of spoil (cf. Mahaffy, The Empire of the Ptolemies , pp. 196–200).