but ... multitude ... given into his hand--into Ptolemy's hands; ten thousand of Antiochus' army were slain, and four thousand made captives.
12. when he hath taken away--that is, subdued "the multitude" of Antiochus.
heart ... lifted up--instead of following up his victory by making himself master of the whole of Syria, as he might, he made peace with Antiochus, and gave himself up to licentiousness [Polybius, 87; Justin, 30.4], and profaned the temple of God by entering the holy place [Grotius].
not be strengthened by it--He shall lose the power gained by his victory through his luxurious indolence.
13. return--renew the war.
after certain years--fourteen years after his defeat at Raphia. Antiochus, after successful campaigns against Persia and India, made war with Ptolemy Epiphanes, son of Philopater, a mere child.
14. many stand up against the king of the south--Philip, king of Macedon, and rebels in Egypt itself, combined with Antiochus against Ptolemy.
robbers of thy people--that is, factious men of the Jews shall exalt themselves, so as to revolt from Ptolemy, and join themselves to Antiochus; the Jews helped Antiochus' army with provisions, when on his return from Egypt he besieged the Egyptian garrison left in Jerusalem [Josephus, Antiquities, 12:3.3].
to establish the vision--Those turbulent Jews unconsciously shall help to fulfil the purpose of God, as to the trials which await Judea, according to this vision.
but they shall fall--Though helping to fulfil the vision, they shall fail in their aim, of making Judea independent.
15. king of ... north--Antiochus the Great.
take ... fenced cities--Scopas, the Egyptian general, met Antiochus at Paneas, near the sources of the Jordan, and was defeated, and fled to Sidon, a strongly "fenced city," where he was forced to surrender.
chosen people--Egypt's choicest army was sent under Eropus, Menocles, and Damoxenus, to deliver Scopas, but in vain [Jerome].
16. he that cometh against him--Antiochus coming against Ptolemy Epiphanes.
glorious land--Judea ([Da 11:41], ; [Da 8:9]; [Eze 20:6], ).
by his hand shall be consumed--literally, "perfected," that is, completely brought under his sway. Josephus [Antiquities, 12:3.3] shows that the meaning is not, that the Jews should be utterly consumed: for Antiochus favored them for taking his part against Ptolemy, but that their land should be subjected to him [Lengkerke]. Grotius translates, "shall be perfected by him," that is, shall flourish under him. English Version gives a good sense; namely, that Judea was much "consumed" or "desolated" by being the arena of conflict between the combatants, Syria and Egypt. Tregelles refers ([Da 11:14]), "robbers of thy people," to the Gentiles, once oppressors, attempting to restore the Jews to their land by mere human effort, whereas this is to be effected only by divine interposition: their attempt is frustrated ([Da 11:16]) by the wilful king, who makes Judea the scene of his military operations.
17. set his face--purpose steadfastly. Antiochus purpose was, however, turned from open assault to wile, by his war with the Romans in his endeavor to extend his kingdom to the limits it had under Seleucus Nicator.
upright one--Jasher, or Jeshurun ([De 32:15]; [Is 44:2]); the epithet applied by the Hebrews to their nation. It is here used not in praise; for in [Da 11:14] (see on [Da 11:14]) they are called "robbers," or "men of violence, factious": it is the general designation of Israel, as having God for their God. Probably it is used to rebuke those who ought to have been God's "upright ones" for confederating with godless heathen in acts of violence (the contrast to the term in [Da 11:14] favors this).
thus shall he do--Instead of at once invading Ptolemy's country with his "whole strength," he prepares his way for doing so by the following plan: he gives to Ptolemy Epiphanes his daughter Cleopatra in marriage, promising Coelo-Syria and Judea as a dowry, thus securing his neutrality in the war with Rome: he hoped through his daughter to obtain Syria, Cilicia, and Lycia, and even Egypt itself at last; but Cleopatra favored her husband rather than her father, and so defeated his scheme [Jerome]. "She shall not stand on his side."
18. isles--He "took many" of the isles in the Ægean in his war with the Romans, and crossed the Hellespont.
prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach ... to cease--Lucius Scipio Asiaticus, the Roman general, by routing Antiochus at Magnesia (190 B.C.), caused the reproach which he offered Rome by inflicting injuries on Rome's allies, to cease. He did it for his own glory.
without his own reproach--with untarnished reputation.
19. Then he shall turn ... toward ... his own land--Compelled by Rome to relinquish all his territory west of the Taurus, and defray the expenses of the war, he garrisoned the cities left to him.
stumble ... not be found--Attempting to plunder the temple of Jupiter at Elymais by night, whether through avarice, or the want of money to pay the tribute imposed by Rome (a thousand talents), he was slain with his soldiers in an insurrection of the inhabitants [Justin, 32.2].
20. in his estate--in Antiochus' stead: his successor, Seleucus Philopater, his son.
in the glory of the kingdom--that is, inheriting it by hereditary right. Maurer translates, "one who shall cause the tax gatherer (Heliodorus) to pass through the glory of the kingdom," that is, Judea, "the glorious land" ([Da 11:16], ; [Da 8:9]). Simon, a Benjamite, in spite against Onias III, the high priest, gave information of the treasures in the Jewish temple; and Seleucus having reunited to Syria Coelo-Syria and Palestine, the dowry formerly given by Antiochus the Great to Cleopatra, Ptolemy's wife, sent Heliodorus to Jerusalem to plunder the temple. This is narrated in 2 Maccabees 3:4, &c. Contrast [Zec 9:8], "No oppressor shall pass through ... any more."
within few days ... destroyed--after a reign of twelve years, which were "few" compared with the thirty-seven years of Antiochus' reign. Heliodorus, the instrument of Seleucus' sacrilege, was made by God the instrument of his punishment. Seeking the crown, in the absence at Rome of Seleucus' only son and heir, Demetrius, he poisoned Seleucus. But Antiochus Epiphanes, Seleucus' brother, by the help of Eumenes, king of Pergamos, succeeded to the throne, 175 B.C.
neither in anger, nor in battle--not in a popular outbreak, nor in open battle.
21. vile--Antiochus called Epiphanes, that is, "the illustrious," for vindicating the claims of the royal line against Heliodorus, was nicknamed, by a play of sounds, Epimanes, that is, "the madman," for his mad freaks beneath the dignity of a king. He would carouse with the lowest of the people, bathe with them in the public baths, and foolishly jest and throw stones at passers-by [Polybius, 26.10]. Hence, as also for his crafty supplanting of Demetrius, the rightful heir, from the throne, he is termed "vile."
they shall not give ... kingdom: but ... by flatteries--The nation shall not, by a public act, confer the kingdom on him, but he shall obtain it by artifice, "flattering" Eumenes and Attalus of Pergamos to help him, and, as he had seen candidates at Rome doing, canvassing the Syrian people high and low, one by one, with embraces [Livy, 41.20].
22. shall they be overflown ... before him--Antiochus Epiphanes shall invade Egypt with overwhelming forces.
prince of the covenant--Ptolemy Philometer, the son of Cleopatra, Antiochus' sister, who was joined in covenant with him. Ptolemy's guardians, while he was a boy, sought to recover from Epiphanes Coelo-Syria and Palestine, which had been promised by Antiochus the Great as Cleopatra's dowry in marrying Ptolemy Epiphanes. Hence arose the war. Philometer's generals were vanquished, and Pelusium, the key of Egypt, taken by Antiochus, 171 B.C.
23. Tregelles notes three divisions in the history of the "vile person," which is continued to the end of the chapter: (1) His rise ([Da 11:21], ). () The time from his making the covenant to the taking away of the daily sacrifice and setting up of the abomination of desolation (Da 11:23-31). (3) His career of blasphemy, to his destruction ([Da 11:32-45]); the latter two periods answering to the "week" of years of his "covenant with many" (namely, in Israel) ([Da 9:27]), and the last being the closing half week of the ninth chapter. But the context so accurately agrees with the relations of Antiochus to Ptolemy that the primary reference seems to be to the "league" between them. Antitypically, Antichrist's relations towards Israel are probably delineated. Compare [Da 8:11], , with [Da 11:22] here, "prince of the covenant."
work deceitfully--Feigning friendship to young Ptolemy, as if he wished to order his kingdom for him, he took possession of Memphis and all Egypt ("the fattest places," [Da 11:34]) as far as Alexandria.
with a small people--At first, to throw off suspicion, his forces were small.
24. peaceably--literally, "unexpectedly"; under the guise of friendship he seized Ptolemy Philometer.
he shall do that which his fathers have not done--His predecessors, kings of Syria, had always coveted Egypt, but in vain: he alone made himself master of it.
scatter among them ... prey--among his followers (1 Maccabees 1:19).
forecast his devices against ... strongholds--He shall form a studied scheme for making himself master of the Egyptian fortresses. He gained them all except Alexandria, which successfully resisted him. Retaining to himself Pelusium, he retired to Judea, where, in revenge for the joy shown by the Jews at the report of his death, which led them to a revolt, he subdued Jerusalem by storm or stratagem.
for a time--His rage shall not be for ever; it is but for a time limited by God. Calvin makes "for a time" in antithesis to "unexpectedly," in the beginning of the verse. He suddenly mastered the weaker cities: he had to "forecast his plans" more gradually ("for a time") as to how to gain the stronger fortresses.
25. A fuller detail of what was summarily stated ([Da 11:22-24]). This is the first of Antiochus' three ([Da 11:29]) open invasions of Egypt.
against the king of the south--against Ptolemy Philometer. Subsequently, Ptolemy Physcon (the Gross), or Euergetes II, was made king by the Egyptians, as Ptolemy Philometer was in Antiochus' hands.
great army--as distinguished from the "small people" ([Da 11:23]) with which he first came. This was his first open expedition; he was emboldened by success to it. Antiochus "entered Egypt with an overwhelming multitude, with chariots, elephants, and cavalry" (1 Maccabees 1:17).
stirred up--by the necessity, though naturally indolent.
not stand--Philometer was defeated.