Daniel 11

After these things happened Scripture says again, "And another king shall arise and he shall prevail over the earth and the king of the south shall arise and he shall take his daughters to wife." For it happened that a certain Alexander, the son of Philip arose. And in that time he rose up against Antiochus and, having made war with him, he killed him, and he ruled the kingdom.

Then he sent to Ptolemy king of Egypt, saying, "Give to me your daughter Cleopatra to wife. For behold, I sit upon the throne of the kingdom of my fathers." [1 Maccabees 10:51-58] And then Ptolemy took his daughter and brought her into Ptolmaeus and gave her to Alexander to wife. And Scripture was fulfilled as it says, "and he shall take his daughters to wife." [Daniel 11:17]

But it says, "And he shall corrupt her, she shall not be for him." [Daniel 11:17] And truly this was fulfilled. For when Ptolemy gave him his own daughter, he turned and saw the wondrous and glorious kingdom of Alexander, of which he was very eager to have, so he spoke deceitfully to Alexander.

But Scripture says, "And the kings shall speak lies to one another at one table." [Daniel 11:27] For Ptolemy desired the kingdom of Alexander and ate with him at his table, but he thought evil and did not have agreement with him. And so Scripture was fulfilled. And at this point Ptolemy, having come to Egypt and having levied a great army, came to the country when Alexander had gone to Cilicia. For it happened at that time that Tarsus and Mallus were thrown into confusion. He wished to repress them and came against them in haste, having left his own wife Cleopatra there.

Accordingly, Ptolemy went up to the country and mustered a watch guard against the city. Having conquered Judea, he came to his own daughter and sent a letter to Demetrius in the islands saying, "Come out and come here and I will give to you my daughter Cleopatra to wife because Alexander sought to kill me." [1 Maccabees 10:58] But he pretended these words wishing to lay blame upon Alexander. Accordingly, Demetrius came and Ptolemy received him and gave his daughter to wife, who was the wife of Alexander. And what was spoken was fulfilled, "He shall corrupt her and she shall not be to him nor remain with him," [Daniel 11:17] because "The kings, their hearts set on evil, even spoke lies to one another at one table." [Daniel 11:27]

But after he heard these things, Matthias and his sons lamented concerning their brothers and they spoke to one another, saying, "If we all should do just as our brothers did, our enemies shall come and quickly remove us from the earth. And so if war comes upon us on the Sabbath let us stand and make war on behalf of our souls and on behalf of our customs." [1 Maccabees 2:39-40] Then after that point they ran down upon them and they pursued them from their boundaries and they entered into the city and circumcised the young boys, as many as they found uncircumcised, and they threw down the altars and all the sacred places and the deed brought prosperity into their hand. [1 Maccabees 2:45-47] But Daniel says, "they shall be held with little help." [Daniel 11:34] For then, after Matthias arose, Judas the Maccabee arose and helped them and delivered them from the hand of the Greeks and what was spoken in Scripture was fulfilled.

"And another mighty king shall arise and he shall enter into the strongholds of the king of Egypt." [Daniel 11:3] For one named Antiochus became king of Syria. This one reigned in the one hundredth and thirtieth and seventh year of the kingdom of Greeks. And at this point, then in those times he engaged in war with Ptolemy king of Egypt, and having prevailed over him he ruled. This one, returning from Egypt, went up to Jerusalem in the one hundredth and forty-third year and taking all the treasures which were in the house of the Lord he went to Antioch. After these things happened in this way, two years later the king sent his own tax collector to compel the Jews in the cities of Judea to transgress the laws of their fathers and to be subjected to the decrees and laws of the king.

And so the prophet, having described what has already occurred and has been accomplished in its own time, he proclaims another mystery to us, making an indication of the end of times. For he speaks in this way, "And another shameless king shall arise and he shall be exalted over every god and shall be magnified and he shall say immoderate things and he shall prosper until the wrath is consummated. For it is to be consummated. And he shall not regard any god of his fathers nor desire women and he shall not regard any god, because he shall be magnified over all. And he shall glorify the god of Moazeim in his place and a god which his fathers did not know; he shall honor in gold and silver and precious stones and he shall multiply glory and shall subject many to them and divide the earth in gifts." [Daniel 11:36-39]

But it says, "And he shall corrupt her, she shall not be for him." [Daniel 11:17] And truly this was fulfilled. For when Ptolemy gave him his own daughter, he turned and saw the wondrous and glorious kingdom of Alexander, of which he was very eager to have, so he spoke deceitfully to Alexander.

But Scripture says, "And the kings shall speak lies to one another at one table." [Daniel 11:27] For Ptolemy desired the kingdom of Alexander and ate with him at his table, but he thought evil and did not have agreement with him. And so Scripture was fulfilled. And at this point Ptolemy, having come to Egypt and having levied a great army, came to the country when Alexander had gone to Cilicia. For it happened at that time that Tarsus and Mallus were thrown into confusion. He wished to repress them and came against them in haste, having left his own wife Cleopatra there.

Accordingly, Ptolemy went up to the country and mustered a watch guard against the city. Having conquered Judea, he came to his own daughter and sent a letter to Demetrius in the islands saying, "Come out and come here and I will give to you my daughter Cleopatra to wife because Alexander sought to kill me." [1 Maccabees 10:58] But he pretended these words wishing to lay blame upon Alexander. Accordingly, Demetrius came and Ptolemy received him and gave his daughter to wife, who was the wife of Alexander. And what was spoken was fulfilled, "He shall corrupt her and she shall not be to him nor remain with him," [Daniel 11:17] because "The kings, their hearts set on evil, even spoke lies to one another at one table." [Daniel 11:27]

And so Daniel has foretold two abominations, one of destruction, one of desolation. What is the one of destruction but what was set up there in the time of Antiochus? And what was the one of desolation but the universal abomination when the Antichrist is near? As Daniel says, "And he himself shall stand for the destruction of many and he shall divide the earth in gifts and he shall cast an embankment against her and the land of Egypt shall not be saved, and these shall be saved from his hand, Edom and Moab and the chief of the sons of Ammon." [Daniel 11:41] For these are partners with him on account of kinship who also first proclaimed him king. For Edom is the sons of Esau who dwell at Mount Seir. But Moab and Ammon are the sons of Lot, who were begotten from his two daughters. As also Isaiah says, "And they shall be dispersed in ships of foreigners, carrying them together to the sea and those from the East and the West and from the North shall give glory, but the sons of Ammon first shall obey." [Isaiah 11:14]

"And another mighty king shall arise and he shall enter into the strongholds of the king of Egypt." [Daniel 11:3] For one named Antiochus became king of Syria. This one reigned in the one hundredth and thirtieth and seventh year of the kingdom of Greeks. And at this point, then in those times he engaged in war with Ptolemy king of Egypt, and having prevailed over him he ruled. This one, returning from Egypt, went up to Jerusalem in the one hundredth and forty-third year and taking all the treasures which were in the house of the Lord he went to Antioch. After these things happened in this way, two years later the king sent his own tax collector to compel the Jews in the cities of Judea to transgress the laws of their fathers and to be subjected to the decrees and laws of the king.

And at this point when he arrived in the city of Modein, he summoned a certain righteous and pious man by the name of Matthias, who was from priestly stock, to whom he, answering, said, "Come now, Matthias, sacrifice and do what is prescribed by the king, just as he made all nations, because you are a great chief and a ruler in the city and are established in children and you will be a friend of the king." [1 Maccabees 2:17-18] But he, answering, said, "Though all nations and every man marches behind the king to do according to his command, I myself and my house and the house of my father will never do according to the prescription of the king; may we never depart from the law and covenant of our fathers; we will not listen to the words of the king to turn from our way right or left!" [1 Maccabees 2:19-22] While he was still speaking these words, behold, a Jewish man, coming before his face, came to sacrifice upon the altar of Modein. But Matthias, seeing him, was zealous for the law and his innards trembled, and he stood up in the fury of judgment and having fixed his mind to the task, he killed the Jewish man and also overpowered the guard of the king, and destroyed the altar and shouted, saying in the city, "Whoever is for the Lord who maintains the holy covenant let him follow after me!" [1 Maccabees 2:23-27]

And they left all their things in the city and fled into the mountains and an assembly of strong men clung to him with might and they became for him a support.

Then at this point, the army, which dwelt in Syria, having heard what happened, ran against them and made war against them on the day of the Sabbath. Those who feared the law of God and who kept the commandment of God did not lift up their hands against them, nor throw a stone against them, nor devise hiding places. And the soldiers answered them and said, "'Come forth now and do the command of the king and live!' but they said, 'We will not come out, nor will we do the command of the king, we will die in our sincerity. Heaven and earth testifies against you because you kill us recklessly.'" [1 Maccabees 2:29-37]

Then they fell upon them in fire and murder and in captivity and killed from them over a thousand souls. And so what was spoken to the blessed Daniel was fulfilled, "And he will go on a journey and his heart shall be lifted up against the holy covenant, and he shall want to do all according to his heart, and my slaves shall be persecuted and weakened in hunger and in sword and in captivity." [Daniel 11:28]

Accordingly, a meeting between Ptolemy and Antiochus happened again. For Scripture says thusly, "And the king of the south rose up against the king of the north and he rose up seed from her." [Daniel 11:6-7] But what kind of seed except Ptolemy, who joined war with Antiochus? At this Antiochus marched out and did not overpower him, being set to flight, he turned again to Antioch gathering a greater crowd.

Accordingly, Ptolemy took all the military equipment and brought it into Egypt. And the Scripture was fulfilled just as Daniel says, "And indeed he shall carry into Egypt their gods and their things formed from cast metal and every desirable golden vessel." [Daniel 11:8]

And so he says to him, "Behold, still three kings shall arise in Persia and the fourth will be rich with greater riches than all. And after he himself masters his riches he shall rise against all the kingdoms of the Greeks. And a mighty king shall arise, and he shall be lord of a great dominion and he shall do according to his will. And as his kingdom rises it shall be shattered and divided to the four winds of heaven." [Daniel 11:2-4]

And so we have already described these things above when we made the account concerning the four beasts, but since now Scripture describes all these things again in detail, it is absolutely necessary also for us to make a second account, so that we do not forsake Scripture as idle and indemonstrable.

In this way after these things happened, Alexander, having heard this, engaged in war with Ptolemy, and having not overpowered him, became a fugitive to the king of the Arabs. But he, removing the head of Alexander, sent it to Ptolemy and that one received it and the two diadems of Syria and Egypt were bestowed on him, which after being bestowed he died on the third day. And what was spoken in Scripture was fulfilled, "And they did not give to him the glory of kingdom." [Daniel 11:21] For he died and he did not receive glory from anyone as king.

After these things Antiochus came out a second time raising war against him and he overcame Ptolemy. And then, after these things happened, Antiochus again stirred up the sons of Israel and he dispatched a certain Nicanor with a great army in order to make war against the Jews, while Judas, after the death of his father Matthias, ruled the people.

And so Nicanor, coming to Jerusalem, was defeated by the Maccabee and he reported these things to king Antiochus. But he, having heard this, summoned all his armies and gave to them allowances for one year and he commanded them to be ready for what was necessary. At this point, having failed to fulfill the salaries, he wished to enter into Persia in order to take tributes.

Accordingly, as he was about to depart, he addressed his friend, Lysias by name, and he set before him his own son Antiochus, and he commanded him to do all the things he willed, and he commanded him to send an army into Judea and to destroy the nation. Accordingly, Lysias, having arisen with the boy Antiochus, went with a great army, to wage war against Jerusalem.

And he came and was defeated by the Maccabee and these things were reported in Persia to Antiochus, that all the armies which were sent into Judea were cut down and that Lysias went with an army against them and was overthrown from their faces, and also that the Jews were strong in arms and were strong in every neighborhood and from every camp which he was cut down and that they fortified Mount Zion and that they had built a great and high wall around the city. But Antiochus, having heard this, fell into sickness from grief because just as he did not will, it also happened, and just as he did not want, thus it also occurred. And then being about to die, he called Philip his friend and he gave to him the diadem in order that he might restore it to his child Antiochus. When Philip arrived he entered Antioch and he kept himself safe in the palace. For the greatest armies were with him. And so these things were reported to Lysias and the child Antiochus, for it happened that Lysias had raised a barricade against Jerusalem to besiege it because Philip had arrived carrying the diadem and because he ruled Antioch. But having heard this, he was troubled and said, "Let us give pledges to these men and let us have peace with them. For the place is strong and it is closed to us and to the armies of the kingdom." [1 Maccabees 6:58] And having given pledges, he departed and what was spoken in Scripture was fulfilled, "And rumors and engagements troubled him from the east and west." [Daniel 11:44]

"And now," he says, "I will proclaim to you the truth." [Daniel 11:2] And so was the truth able to proclaim some other thing beyond the truth? The truth was what was seen by Daniel and he proclaimed the truth. He himself, with the truth being revealed in the world, teaches the truth. On account of which the blessed disciples are taught by Christ.

"Still three," he says, "kings shall arise in Persia and the fourth will be rich with greater riches than all." [Daniel 11:2] For after Cyrus, Darius arose, then Artaxerxes, next Xerxes. These three were kings. Scripture is fulfilled. "And the fourth will be rich with greater riches." [Daniel 11:2] Who is this but Darius, who after reigning and being glorious, became wealthy and rose against all the kingdoms of the Greeks?

And so the prophet, having described what has already occurred and has been accomplished in its own time, he proclaims another mystery to us, making an indication of the end of times. For he speaks in this way, "And another shameless king shall arise and he shall be exalted over every god and shall be magnified and he shall say immoderate things and he shall prosper until the wrath is consummated. For it is to be consummated. And he shall not regard any god of his fathers nor desire women and he shall not regard any god, because he shall be magnified over all. And he shall glorify the god of Moazeim in his place and a god which his fathers did not know; he shall honor in gold and silver and precious stones and he shall multiply glory and shall subject many to them and divide the earth in gifts. And these shall be preserved from his hand, Edom and Moab and the chief of the sons of Ammon. And he shall stretch forth his hand upon the earth and the land of Egypt shall not be saved and he shall rule over the secret things of gold and silver and of all the desirable things of Egypt and Libya and Ethiopia in their fortresses. And he shall pitch his tent Efadano between the seas near the holy Mountain of Sabir and he shall come to his lot." [Daniel 11:36-45]

And so these things the prophet described in this way concerning the Antichrist, as he will be shameless and warlike and a tyrant daring to exalt himself over every god, who boasts in his own power and pillages the fortresses of cities, and bearing lofty things in gold and silver and precious stone, he shall speak immoderate words against God, wishing that he himself alone be worshiped as God.

Concerning him all Scripture is not silent and the prophets announced beforehand his coming for the destruction of many, and the Lord has testified to these things, and the apostles taught these things concerning him, and John in the Apocalypse mystically revealed his name through a number. The Lord displayed this abomination of desolation and the apostle taught that this son of the devil arrives according to the working of Satan.

This one, having struck the city of Tyre, will also desolate the land of Egypt, having waged war he will extend and destroy all the land of Libya, and he shall ruin the kingdom of the Ethiopians with his might in the slaughter of the sword. He, being lifted up over every king and every god, shall build the city of Jerusalem and he shall raise the converted Temple, he shall restore both all the land and its borders to the Jews, and having summoned their people from the slavery of the nations, he shall exhibit himself to them as king, and at this the faithless shall worship him as God and shall bend the knee to him, considering him to be the Christ, not apprehending what was spoken by the prophet, how he is a deceiver and not truth. For Jeremiah says, "Instead they disobeyed the truth, then a spirit shall deceptively speak to this people and to Jerusalem." [Jeremiah 4:11] From which the apostle, when he saw a deceiver of the people, who will also be the work of Satan in them, said, "Whenever they say 'Peace,' and 'Security,' then suddenly ruin shall come upon them, just as the pain of birthing, and they shall not escape." [1 Thessalonians 5:3]

Alexander of Macedon rose against him, who was the son of Philip, and he seized his kingdom. And after he subjected the Persians, his kingdom was divided to the four winds of heaven. For while dying, Alexander divided his kingdom to four chiefs.

Again he says, "And the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to make with him agreements and the arms of him who brings her shall not stand and he shall be crushed and both she and he who brings her shall fall." [Daniel 11:6] And this also happened. For a certain Ptolemy, who reigned at this point in Egypt, went out with her two sons Ptolemy and Philometer, making agreements with Antiochus the king of Syria. And then she, having come to Scythopolis, was killed there, for he who led her betrayed her. Then at this point the two brothers engaged in war with one another and Philometer was killed, but Ptolemy ruled.

"These shall hate the whore, to wit, the city, and shall burn her flesh with fire." Now that one of the heads was, as it were, slain to death, and that the stroke of his death was directed, he speaks of Nero. For it is plain that when the cavalry sent by the senate was pursuing him, he himself cut his throat. Him therefore, when raised up, God will send as a worthy king, but worthy in such a way as the Jews merited. And since he is to have another name, He shall also appoint another name, that so the Jews may receive him as if he were the Christ. Says Daniel: "He shall not know the lust of women, although before he was most impure, and he shall know no God of his fathers: for he will not be able to seduce the people of the circumcision, unless he is a judge of the law." Finally, also, he will recall the saints, not to the worship of idols, but to undertake circumcision, and, if he is able, to seduce any; for he shall so conduct himself as to be called Christ by them. But that he rises again from hell, we have said above in the word of Isaiah: "Water shall nourish him, and hell hath increased him; "who, however, must come with name unchanged, and doings unchanged, as says the Spirit.

"[Jesus] breathed on the disciples and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' " As soon as these things were done, everything was finished. The altar was broken, and the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. And although the city was not yet sacked and destroyed, the abomination of desolation was soon to rest on the temple and the city. The consummation of the ancient ceremonies was at hand.

Antiochus will assail Judea, will occupy Jerusalem, will rush into the secret places of the sanctuary, will destroy the sacred objects of God, will break the vessels and will take away the golden altar, the candlestick and the table.

Understand this as referring to Alexander, who was certain that his last day was not close and therefore did not have children, who could be the heirs of his reign, and left it to his friends after dividing it into four parts.

Daniel gave the reason why God permitted them to be involved in such trials. What is the reason? "To purge them, to choose them and to make them white until the time of the end" … so as to cleanse them and to show who among them was genuine and approved.

He means the events in the time of the Maccabees: Judas, Simon and John.

Daniel then went on to show that Antiochus destroyed the Jewish commonwealth and way of life when he said, And through him the sacrifice was disordered by transgression.

Verse 20. "And there shall stand up in his place one most vile and unworthy of kingly honor, and in a few days he shall be destroyed, not in rage nor in a battle." The reference is to the Seleucus surnamed Philopator, the son of Antiochus the Great, who during his reign performed no deeds worthy of Syria or of his father, but perished ingloriously without fighting a single battle. Porphyry, however, claims that it was not this Seleucus who is referred to, but rather Ptolemy Epiphanes, who contrived a plot against Seleucus and prepared an army to fight against him, with the result that Seleucus was poisoned by his own generals. They did this because when someone asked Seleucus where he was going to get the financial resources for the great enterprises he was planning, he answered that his financial resources consisted in his friends. When this remark was publicly noised abroad, the generals became apprehensive that he would deprive them of their property and for that reason did him to death by nefarious means. Yet how could Ptolemy be said to rise up in the place of Antiochus the Great, since he did nothing of the sort? This is especially improbable since the Septuagint translated: "And there shall stand up a plant from his root," that is, "of his issue and seed," who should deal a severe blow to the prestige of the empire; "and within a few days he shall be destroyed without wrath or battle." The Hebrews claim that it is Trypho who was intended by the man who was most vile and unworthy of kingly honor, for as the boy-king's guardian he seized the throne for himself.

Verses 34, 35. "And when they shall have fallen, they shall be relieved with a small help; and many shall be joined to them deceitfully. And some of the learned shall fall, that they may be refined as by fire and that they may be chosen and made white even to the time before appointed, because there shall yet be another time." Porphyry thinks that the "little help" was Mattathias of the village of (variant: mountain of) Modin, for he rebelled against the generals of Antiochus and attempted to preserve the worship of the true God (1 Maccabees 2:1-41). He says he is called a little help because Mattathias was slain in battle; and later on his son Judas, who was called Maccabaeus, also fell in the struggle; and the rest of his brothers were likewise taken in by the deceit of their adversaries. Consult the books of Maccabees for the details. And all these events took place, he asserts, for the purpose of testing and choosing out the saints, that they might be made white until the time before appointed, inasmuch as victory was deferred until another time. Our writers, however, would have it understood that the small help shall arise under the reign of the Antichrist, for the saints shall gather together to resist him, and afterwards a great number of the learned shall fall. And this shall take place in order that they may be refined as by fire in the furnace, and that they may be made white and may be chosen out, until the time before determined arrives - for the true victory shall be won at the coming of Christ. Some of the Jews understand these things as applying to the princes Severus and Antoninus, who esteemed the Jews very highly. But others understand the Emperor Julian as the one referred to; for after they had been oppressed by Gaius Caesar and had steadfastly endured such suffering in the afflictions of their captivity, Julian rose up as one who pretended love for the Jews, promising that he would even offer sacrifice in their temple. They were to enjoy a little help from him, and a great number of the Gentiles were to join themselves to their party, although falsely and insincerely. For it would only be for the sake of their own idolatrous religion that they would pretend friendship to the Jews. And they would do this in order that those who were approved might be made manifest. For the time of their true salvation and help will be the coming of the Christ; for the Jews mistakenly imagine that he (i.e., their Messiah) is yet to come, for they are going to receive the Antichrist (when he comes) (1 Corinthians 11).

"And he shall set his face to come and possess all his kingdom, and he shall make upright conditions with him. And he shall give him the daughter of women, that she may overthrow him" (Vulgate: it). That is to say, the intention is to overthrow him, that is, Ptolemy, or else to overthrow it, that is, his kingdom. Antiochus not only wished to take possession of Syria, Cilicia, and Lycia, and the other provinces which had belonged to Ptolemy's party, but also to extend his empire to Egypt. He therefore used the good offices of Eucles of Rhodes to betroth his daughter, Cleopatra, to young Ptolemy in the seventh year of his reign; and in his thirteenth year she was given to him in marriage, professedly endowed with all of Coele-syria and Judaea as her marriage-portion. By pleonasm she is called a daughter of women, just as the poet says:

...Thus she spake with her mouth... And with these ears did I drink in her voice.

"And she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him." For he was unable to take possession of Egypt, because Ptolemy Epiphanes and his generals detected the strategem and followed a cautious policy. And besides, Cleopatra inclined more to her husband's side than to her father's.

Verse 5. "And the king of the South shall be strengthened." The reference is to Ptolemy, son of Lagos, who was the first to become king in Egypt, and was a very clever, mighty and wealthy man, and possessed such power that he was able to restore Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, to his kingdom after he had been driven out, and also to seize Cyprus and Phoenicia. And after he had conquered Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, he restored to Seleucus that portion of his kingdom which Antigonus had taken away from him. He also acquired Caria and many islands, cities, and districts unnecessary to detail at this time. But no further notice is taken of the other kingdoms, Macedonia and Asia Minor, because Judaea lay in a midway position and was held now by one group of kings and now by another. And it is not the purpose of Holy Scripture to cover external history apart from the Jews, but only that which is linked up with the nation of Israel.

"And one of his princes shall prevail over him, and he shall rule with great power, for his dominion shall be great." The person mentioned is Ptolemy Philadelphus, the second king of Egypt and the son of the former Ptolemy. It was in his reign that the Seventy (Septuaginta) translators are said to have translated the Holy Scripture into Greek. He also sent many treasures to Jerusalem for the high priest Eleazar, and votive vessels for the Temple. The curator of his library was Demetrius of Phalerum, a man of reputation among the Greeks as an orator and philosopher. Philadelphus is reported to have possessed such great power as to surpass his father Ptolemy. For history relates that he possessed two hundred thousand infantrymen, twenty thousand cavalry, and even two thousand chariots and four hundred elephants, which he was the first to import from Ethiopia. He also had a thousand five hundred war galleys of the type now known as Liburnian, and a thousand others for the transporting of military provisions. So great was his treasure of gold and silver that he received a yearly revenue from Egypt amounting to fourteen thousand eight hundred talents of silver, as well as grain in the amount of five or ten hundred thousand artabae (a measure containing three and a half modii).

Verses 44, 45. "And tidings from the East and from the North shall trouble him. And he shall come thither with a great host to destroy and slay very many. And he shall pitch his tent in Apedno between the two seas, upon the famous and holy mountain; and he shall come even unto its summit, and none shall help him." Even for this passage Porphyry has some nebulous application to Antiochus, asserting that in his conflict with the Egyptians, Libyans, and Ethiopians, passing through them he was to hear of wars which had been stirred up against him in the North and the East. Thence he was to turn back and overcome the resistance of the Aradians, and lay waste the entire province along the coastline of Phoenicia. And then he was to proceed without delay against Artaxias, the king of Armenia, who was moving down from the regions of the East, and having slain a large number of his troops, he would pitch his tent in the place called Apedno which is located between the two broadest rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. But it is impossible to state upon what famous and holy mountain he took his seat, after he had proceeded to that point. After all, it cannot be shown that he took up his seat between two seas, and it would be foolish to interpret the two seas as being the two rivers of Mesopotamia. But Porphyry gets around this famous mountain by following the rendering of Theodotion, who said: "...upon the sacred Mount Saba between the two seas." And even though he supposes that Saba was the name of a mountain in Armenia or Mesopotamia, he cannot explain why it was holy. To be sure, if we assume the right of making things up, we can add the detail which Porphyry fails to mention, that the mountain, forsooth, was called holy, because it was consecrated to idols in conformity with the superstition of the Armenians. The account then says: "And he shall come even unto the summit of that same mountain," - supposedly in the province of Elam, which is the easternmost Persian area. And there when he purposed to plunder the temple of Diana, which contained countless sums of money, he was routed by the barbarians, for they honored that shrine with a remarkable veneration. And Antiochus, being overcome with grief, died in Tabes, a town in Persia. By use of a most artificial line of argument Porphyry has concocted these details as an affront to us; but even though he were able to prove that these statements applied to Antiochus instead of the Antichrist, what does that matter to us? For do we not on the basis of all the passages of Scripture prove the coming of Christ and the falsehood of the Antichrist? For assume that these things did refer to Antiochus, what injury does that inflict upon our religious faith? Is it not true that in the earlier vision also, which contained a prophecy fulfilled in Antiochus, there is some reference to the Antichrist? And so let Porphyry banish his doubts and stick to manifest facts. Let him explain the meaning of that rock which was hewn from the mountain without hands, and which grew to be a great mountain and filled the earth, and which smashed to pieces the fourfold image. And let him say who that Son of man is who is going to come with clouds and stand before the Ancient of Days and have bestowed upon him a kingdom which shall never come to an end, and who is going to be served by all nations, tribes, and language-groups. Porphyry ignores these things which are so very clear and maintains that the prophecy refers to the Jews, although we are well aware that they are to this very day in a state of bondage. And he claims that the person who composed the book under the name of Daniel made it all up in order to revive the hopes of his countrymen. Not that he was able to foreknow all of future history, but rather he records events that had already taken place. Thus Porphyry confines himself to false claims in regard to the final vision, substituting rivers for the sea, and positing a famous and holy mountain, Apedno even though he is unable to furnish any historical source in which he has read about it. Those of our party, on the other hand, explain the final chapter of this vision as relating to the Antichrist, and stating that during his war against the Egyptians, Libyans, and Ethiopians, in which he shall smash three of the ten horns, he is going to hear that war has been stirred up against him in the regions of the North and East. Then he shall come with a great host to crush and slay many people, and shall pitch his tent in Apedno near Nicopolis, which was formerly called Emmaus, at the beginning of the mountainous region in the province of Judaea. Finally he shall make his way thence to go up to the Mount of Olives and ascend to the area of Jerusalem; and this is what the Scripture means here: "And when he has pitched his tent..." at the foothills of the mountainous province between two seas. These are, of course, that which is now called the Dead Sea on the east, and the Great Sea on the shore of which lie Caesarea, Joppa, Ashkelon, and Gazae. Then he shall come up to the summit thereof, that is of the mountainous province, or the apex of the Mount of Olives, which of course is called famous because our Lord and Savior ascended from it to the Father. And no one shall be able to assist the Antichrist as the Lord vents his fury upon him. Our school of thought insists that Antichrist is going to perish in that spot from which the Lord ascended to heaven. Apedno is a compound word, which upon analysis yields the meaning of "his throne" (the Greek thronou autou), or (in Latin) "thy throne" . And the meaning is that he shall pitch his tent and his throne between the seas upon the famous, holy mountain. Symmachus translated this passage as follows (in Greek): "And he shall stretch out the tents of his stable between the seas in the holy mountain of power, and he shall come even unto its height"; which means in Latin: "And he shall stretch forth the pavilions of his cavalry between the seas, upon the holy mountain of power, and shall come even unto the apex of the mountain." Theodotion renders it: "And he shall pitch his tent in Aphedanum between the seas in the holy Mount Saba, and he shall come to the region thereof." Aquila says: "And he shall set up the tent of his headquarters in (Greek) Aphadanon between the seas, in the glorious, holy mountain, and he shall come even unto its border." Only the Septuagint frees itself from the problem about the name by translating: "And he shall establish his tent there between the seas and the holy mountain of desire and he shall come to the hour of his final end." Adhering to this rendering, Apollinarius omits all mention of the name Apedno. I have gone into this matter at some length not only for the purpose of exposing Porphyry's misrepresentation (for either he was ignorant of all these matters or else he pretended not to know them) but also to show the difficulty in Holy Scripture. And yet men who altogether lack experience lay special claim to understanding it apart from the grace of God and the scholarship of preceding generations. Now it should be observed that Hebrew has no letter P, but uses instead the letter phe, which has the force of the Greek phi. It is simply that in this particular place the Hebrews write the letter phe, yet it is to be pronounced as p. But that the Antichrist is going to come to the summit of the holy, famous mountain and perish there is a fact upon which Isaiah expatiates more fully, saying: "The Lord shall in the holy mountain cast down the face of the ruler of the darkness which is over all races, and him who rules over all peoples, and the anointing which is applied against (variant: with which he was anointed against) all the nations."

Verses 40, 41. "And at the predetermined time the king of the South shall war against him, and the king of the North shall come against him like a tempest with chariots, with horsemen and with a great navy; and he shall invade lands and destroy them and pass through. And he shall enter into the glorious land, and many shall fall." Theodotion rendered: "...and many shall be enfeebled." And according to Aquila, the many that fell are to be understood as cities or districts or provinces. This too is referred by Porphyry to Antiochus, on the ground that in the eleventh year of his reign he warred for a second time against his nephew, Ptolemy Philometor. For when the latter heard that Antiochus had come, he gathered many thousands of soldiery. But Antiochus invaded many lands like a mighty tempest, with his chariots and horsemen and large navy, and laid everything waste as he passed through. And he came to the glorious land, that is, Judaea, which Symmachus rendered as "land of strength." In place of this Theodotion used the Hebrew word itself, Sabai (variants: Sabam and Saba) (sby). And Antiochus used the ruins of the wall of the city to fortify the citadel, and thus he continued on his way to Egypt. But those of our viewpoint refer these details also to the Antichrist, asserting that he shall first fight against the king of the South, or Egypt, and shall afterwards conquer Libya and Ethiopia, for these constitute the three broken horns about which we read previously. And then he shall come to the land of Israel, and many cities or provinces shall be given into his hands.

"And only these cities shall be saved from his hands: Edom, Moab, and the principality of the children of Ammon." They say that in his haste to fight Ptolemy, the king of the South, Antiochus left untouched the Idumaeans, Moabites, and Ammonites, who dwelt to the side of Judaea, lest he should make Ptolemy the stronger by engaging in some other campaign. The Antichrist also is going to leave Idumaea, Moab, and the children of Ammon (i.e., Arabia) untouched, for the saints are to flee thither to the deserts.

"And he shall turn his face to the islands and shall capture many; and she shall cause the prince of her reproach to cease, and his reproach shall be turned upon him." And so he turned his attention to Asia Minor, and by carrying on naval warfare against a large number of islands, he seized Rhodes, Samos, Colophon (variant: Colophonia and Bocla), Phocea and many other islands. But he was opposed by Lucius Scipio Nasica and also his brother, Publius Scipio Africanus, who had vanquished Hannibal. For since the consul Nasica, the brother of Africanus, was of a somewhat sluggish disposition, the Roman senate was unwilling to entrust to him a war against so mighty a king as Antiochus. Africanus therefore offered to assume the post of deputy on a voluntary basis, in order to obviate any damage that his brother might cause. Consequently Antiochus was vanquished and commanded to confine his rule to the other side of the Taurus range. And so this is what the Scripture refers to in this passage, when it states that he would capture many islands, and yet because of the Roman conqueror he would lose the kingdom of Asia; and that the disgrace he had inflicted would come back upon his own head.

Verses 15, 16. "And the king of the North shall come, and shall cast up a mound and capture the best fortified cities, and the arms of the South shall not withstand. And his chosen ones shall rise up to resist, and they shall have no strength. And he shall come upon him and do according to his own desire, and there shall be none to stand against his face. And he shall stand in the glorious land and it shall be consumed by his hand." Purposing to retake Judaea and the many cities of Syria, Antiochus joined battle with Scopas, Ptolemy's general, near the sources of the Jordan near where the city now called Paneas was founded, and he put him to flight and besieged him in Sidon together with ten thousand of his soldiers. In order to free him, Ptolemy dispatched the famous generals, Eropus, Menocles and Damoxenus (Vulgate: Damoxeus). Yet he was unable to lift the siege, and finally Scopas, overcome by famine, had to surrender and was sent away with his associates, despoiled of all he had. And as for the statement, "He shall cast up a mound," this indicates that Antiochus is going to besiege the garrison of Scopas in the citadel of Jerusalem for a long time, while the Jews add their exertions as well. And he is going to capture other cities which had formerly been held by the Ptolemaic faction in Syria, Cilicia and Lycia (variant: Lydia). For at that time Aphrodisias, Soloe, Zephrion, Mallos, Anemurium (variant: Anemurum), Selenus, Coracesium, Coricus, Andriace, Lymira, Patara (variant: Patra), Xanthus, and finally Ephesus were all captured. These things are related by both Greek and Roman historians. And as for the statement, "And he shall stand in the glorious land, and it shall be consumed (or, finished) by his hand," the term "glorious land," or, as the Septuagint interprets it, "the land of desire" (that is, in which God takes pleasure) signifies Judaea, and particularly Jerusalem, to which Antiochus pursued those men of Scopas's party who had been honorably received there. Instead of the phrase, "glorious land," as Aquila rendered it, Theodotion simply puts the Hebrew word itself, Sabin; instead of that Symmachus translated it "land of bravery."

Verses 13, 14. "And the king of the North shall return and shall prepare a much greater multitude than before, and in the end of times and years he shall come in haste with a large army and great resources. And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South." This indicates that Antiochus the Great, who despised the worthlessness of Ptolemy Philopator (for he had fallen desperately in love with a lute-player named Agathoclea and also her brother, retaining Agatho-cles himself as his concubine and afterwards appointing him as general of Egypt), assembled a huge army from the upper regions of Babylon. And since Ptolemy Philopator was now dead, Antiochus broke his treaty and set his army in motion against Philopator's four-year-old son, who was called Epiphanes. For so great was the dissoluteness and arrogancy of Agathoclea, that those provinces which had previously been subjected to Egypt rose up in rebellion, and even Egypt itself was troubled with seditions. Moreover Philip, King of Macedon, and Antiochus the Great made peace with each other and engaged in a common struggle against Agathocles and Ptolemy Eprphanes, on the understanding that each of them should annex to his own dominion those cities of Ptolemy which lay nearest to them. And so this is what is referred to in this passage, which says that many shall rise up against the king of the South, that is, Ptolemy Epiphanes, who was then a mere child.

"Moreover the children of the transgressors of thy people shall lift themselves up, that they may fulfil the vision, and then fall to ruin (Vulgate: and they shall fall to ruin)." During the conflict between Antiochus the Great and the generals of Ptolemy, Judaea, which lay between them, was rent into contrary factions, the one group favoring Antiochus, and the other favoring Ptolemy. Finally the high priest, Onias, fled to Egypt, taking a large number of Jews along with him, and was given by Ptolemy an honorable reception. He then received the region known as Heliopolis, and by a grant of the king, he erected a temple in Egypt like the temple of the Jews, and it remained standing up until the reign of Vespasian, over a period of two hundred and fifty years. But then the city itself, which was known as the City of Onias, was destroyed to the very ground because of the war which the Jews had subsequently waged against the Romans. There is consequently no trace of either city or temple now remaining. But as we were saying, countless multitudes of Jews fled to Egypt on the occasion of Onias's pontificate, and the land was filled with a large number from Cyrene as well. For Onias affirmed that he was fulfilling the prophecy written by Isaiah: "There shall be an altar of the Lord in Egypt, and the name of the Lord shall be found in their territories" (Isaiah 19:19). And so this is the matter referred to in this passage: "The sons of the transgressors of thy people," who forsook the law of the Lord and wished to offer blood-sacrifices to God in another place than what He had commanded. They would be lifted up in pride and would boast that they were fulfilling the vision, that is, the thing which the Lord had enjoined. But they shall fall to ruin, for both temple and city shall be afterwards destroyed. And while Antiochus held Judaea, a leader of the Ptolemaic party called Scopas Aetholus was sent against Antiochus, and after a bold campaign he took Judaea and took the aristocrats of Ptolemy's party back to Egypt with him on his return.

"But he shall worship the god Maozim in his place, and a god which his fathers knew not shall he worship with gold and silver and precious stones and things of great price." Instead of "the god Maozim (m'dym)," as the Hebrew has it, Aquila renders, "the God of mighty powers (fortitudinum)," whereas the Septuagint says, "the most mighty God." As for the god Maozim, Porphyry has offered an absurd explanation, asserting that Antiochus's generals set up a statue of Jupiter in the village of Modin, from which came Mattathias and his sons; moreover they compelled the Jews to offer blood-sacrifices to it, that is, to the god of Modin. The next statement, "...and he shall worship a god whom his fathers did not know" is more appropriate to the Antichrist than to Antiochus. For we read that Antiochus held to the religion of the idols of Greece and compelled the Jews and Samaritans to worship his own gods.

Verse 24. "And there shall stand up in his place one despised, and the kingly honor shall not be given him; and he shall come privately and shall obtain the kingdom by fraud. And the arms of the fighter shall be overcome before his face and shall be broken, and the prince of the covenant as well. And after friendly advances he shall deal deceitfully with him, and shall go up and shall overcome with a small people. And he shall enter into rich and prosperous cities, and shall do things which his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers. He shall scatter their spoil and their booty and their wealth, and shall undertake plots against the best fortified cities, and shall continue thus for a time." Up to this point the historical order has been followed, and there has been no point of controversy between Porphyry and those of our side (variant: and us). But the rest of the text from here on to the end of the book he interprets as applying to the person of the Antiochus who was surnamed Epiphanes, the brother of Seleucus and the son of Antiochus the Great. He reigned in Syria for eleven years after Seleucus, and he seized Judaea, and it is under his reign that the persecution of God's Law is related, and also the wars of the Maccabees. But those of our persuasion believe all these things are spoken prophetically of the Antichrist who is to arise in the end time. But this factor appears to them as a difficulty for our view, namely the question as to why the prophetic discourse should abruptly cease mention of these great kings and shift from Seleucus to the end of the world. The answer is that in the earlier historical account where mention was made of the Persian kings, only four kings of Persia were presented, following after Cyrus, and many who came in between were simply skipped over, so as to come quickly to Alexander, king of the Macedonians. We hold that it is the practice of Scripture not to relate all details completely, but only to set forth what seems of major importance. Those of our school insist also that since many of the details which we are subsequently to read and explain are appropriate to the person of Antiochus, he is to be regarded as a type of the Antichrist, and those things which happened to him in a preliminary way are to be completely fulfilled in the case of the Antichrist. We hold that it is the habit of Holy Scripture to set forth by means of types the reality of things to come, in conformity with what is said of our Lord and Savior in the Seventy-first Psalm, a psalm which is noted at the beginning as being Solomon's, and yet not all the statements which are made concerning can be applied to Solomon. For certainly he neither endured "together with the sun and before the moon from generation to generation," (Psalm 72:5) nor did he hold sway from sea to sea, or from the River unto the ends of the earth; neither did all the nations serve him, nor did his name endure before the sun; neither were all the tribes of earth blessed in him, nor did all races magnify him. But in a partial way these things were set forth in advance, by shadows as it were, and by a mere symbol of the reality, in the person of Solomon, in order that they might be more perfectly fulfilled in our Lord and Savior. And so, just as the Savior had Solomon and the other saints as types of His advent, so also we should believe that the Antichrist very properly had as a type of himself the utterly wicked king, Antiochus, who persecuted the saints and defiled the Temple. Let us therefore follow along with the explanation point by point, and let us briefly observe in the case of each item what it signifies to those of the other school of thought and what it signifies to those of our school, in accordance with each of the two explanations. Our opponents say that the one who was to "stand up in the place of" Seleucus was his brother, Antiochus Epiphanes. The party in Syria who favored Ptolemy would not at first grant him the kingly honor, but he later secured the rule of Syria by a pretense of clemency. And as Ptolemy fought and laid everything waste, his arms were overcome and broken before the face of Antiochus. Now the word arms implies the idea of strength, and therefore also the host of any army is known as a hand. And not only does the text say that he conquered Ptolemy by fraud, but also the prince of the covenant he overcame by treachery, that is, Judas Maccabaeus. Or else this is what is referred to, that after he had secured peace with Ptolemy and he had become the prince of the covenant, he afterwards devised a plot against him. Now the Ptolemy meant here was not Epiphanes, who was the fifth Ptolemy to reign in Egypt, but Ptolemy Philometor, the son of Antiochus' sister, Cleopatra; and so Antiochus was his maternal uncle. And when after Cleopatra's death Egypt was ruled by Eulaius, the eunuch who was Philometor's tutor, and by Leneus, and they were attempting to regain Syria, which Antiochus had fraudulently seized, warfare broke out between the boy Ptolemy and his uncle. And when they joined battle between Pelusium and Mt. Casius, Ptolemy's generals were defeated. But then Antiochus showed leniency towards the boy, and making a pretense of friendship, he went up to Memphis and there received the crown after the Egyptian manner. Declaring that he was looking out for the lad's interests, he subjected all Egypt to himself with only a small force of men, and he entered into rich and prosperous cities. And so he did things which his father had never done, nor his fathers' fathers. For none of the kings of Syria had ever laid Egypt waste after this fashion and scattered all their wealth. Moreover he was so shrewd that he even overcame by his deceit the well-laid plans of those who were the boy-king's generals. This is the line of interpretation which Porphyry followed, pursuing the lead of Sutorius with much redundancy, discoursing of matters which we have summarized within a brief compass. But the scholars of our viewpoint have made a better and correcter interpretation, stating that the deeds are to be performed by the Antichrist at the end of the world. It is he who is destined to arise from a small nation, that is from the Jewish people, and shall be so lowly and despised that kingly honor will not be granted him. But by means of intrigue and deception he shall secure the government and by him shall the arms of the fighting nation of Rome be overcome and broken. He is to effect this result by pretending to be the prince of the covenant, that is, of the Law and Testament of God. And he shall enter into the richest of cities and shall do what his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers. For none of the Jews except the Antichrist has ever ruled over the whole world. And he shall form a design against the firmest resolves of the saints and shall do everything for a time, for as long as God's will shall have permitted him to do these things.

"And the heart of the two kings shall be to do evil, and they speak falsehood at one table, and they shall not prosper, because as yet the end is unto another time. And he shall return into his land with much riches." There is no doubt but what Antiochus did conclude a peace with Ptolemy and ate at the same table with him and devised plots against him, and yet without attaining any success thereby, since he did not obtain his kingdom but was driven out by Ptolemy's soldiers. But it cannot be proved from this set of facts that the statement of this Scripture was ever fulfilled by past history, namely that there were two kings whose hearts were deceitful and who inflicted evil upon each other. Actually, Ptolemy was a mere child of tender years and was taken in by Antiochus' fraud; how then could he have plotted evil against him? And so our party insist that all these things refer to the Antichrist and to the king of Egypt whom he has for the first time overcome.

Verse 10. "And his sons shall be provoked, and they shall assemble a multitude of great armies, and he shall come with haste like a flood. And he shall return and be stirred up, and he shall join battle with his army." After the flight and death of Seleucus Callinicus, his two sons, the Seleucus surnamed Ceraunus and the Antiochus who was called the Great, were provoked by a hope of victory and of avenging their father, and so they assembled an army against Ptolemy Philopator and took up arms. And when the elder brother, Seleucus, was slain in Phrygia in the third year of his reign through the treachery of Nicanor and Apaturius, the army which was in Syria summoned his brother, Antiochus the Great, from Babylon to assume the throne. And so this is the reason why the present passage states that the two sons were provoked and assembled a multitude of very sizable armies. But it implies that Antiochus the Great came by himself from Babylon to Syria, which at that time was held by Ptolemy Philopator, the son of Euergetes and the fourth king to rule in Egypt. And after he had successfully fought with his generals, or rather had by the betrayal of Theodotius obtained possession of Syria (which had already been held by a succession of Egyptian kings), he became so emboldened by his contempt for Philopator's luxurious manner of life and for the magical arts which he was said to employ, that he took the initiative in attempting an invasion of Egypt itself.

"And his heart shall be against the holy covenant, and he shall succeed and return into his own land." Both the Greek and the Roman historians relate that after Antiochus had been expelled from Egypt and had gone back once more, he came to Judaea, that is, against the holy covenant, and that he despoiled the Temple and removed a huge amount of gold; and then, having stationed a garrison in the citadel, he returned to his own land.

"And he shall turn his face to the empire of his own land; and he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found." And so he took refuge in Apamia and Susa and advanced to the easternmost cities of his realm. And during a war against the Elymaeans he was destroyed together with his entire army. And so this is what the Scripture refers to in this passage, when it states that in the end he would flee from Asia Minor and return to the empire of his own land, and would then stumble and fall, so that his place would not be found.

Verse 32. "And ungodly men shall deceitfully dissemble against the covenant. But the people who know their God shall prevail and succeed." And in Maccabees we read that there were some who, to be sure, pretended that they were custodians of God's law, and later they came to terms with the Gentiles; yet the others adhered to their religion. But in my opinion this will take place in the time of the Antichrist, when the love of many shall wax cold. It is concerning these people that our Lord says in the Gospel, "Dost thou think that the Son of man, when He comes, will find faith upon the earth?" (Luke 18:8).

Verses 11, 12. "And the king of the South, being provoked, shall go forth and shall prepare an exceeding great multitude, and a multitude shall be given into his hand. And he shall take a multitude, and his heart shall be lifted up, because (Vulgate: and) he shall cast down many thousands. But he shall not prevail." The Ptolemy surnamed Philopator, having lost Syria through the betrayal of Theodotius, gathered together a very great multitude and launched an invasion against Antiochus the Great, who now bears the title of king of the North, at the region where Egypt borders upon the province of Judaea. For owing to the nature of the region, this locality lies partly to the south and partly to the north. If we speak of Judaea, it lies to the north of Egypt and to the south of Syria. And so when he had joined battle near the town of Raphia at the gateway of Egypt, Antiochus lost his entire army and was almost captured as he fled through the desert. And after he had conceded the loss of Syria, the conflict was finally brought to an end upon the basis of a treaty and certain conditions of peace. And this is what the Scripture means here by the statement that Ptolemy Philopator "shall cast down many thousands" and yet shall not prevail. For he was unable to capture his adversary. The sequel now follows.

"At the time appointed he shall return and shall come to the South; but the latter time shall not be like the former." And then two years later he gathered an army against Ptolemy and came to the South.

Verse 31. "And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall defile (Vulgate: that (?) they may defile) the sanctuary of strength, and they shall take away the continual sacrifice, and shall place there the abomination unto desolation." Instead of "arms," another writer has rendered it as "seed," so as to imply descendants and progeny. But those of the other viewpoint claim that the persons mentioned are those who were sent by Antiochus two years after he had plundered the Temple in order to exact tribute from the Jews, and also to eliminate the worship of God, setting up an image of Jupiter Olympius in the Temple at Jerusalem, and also statues of Antiochus himself. These are described as the abomination of desolation, having been set up when the burnt offering and continual sacrifice were taken away. But we on our side contend that all these things took place in a preliminary way as a mere type of the Antichrist, who is destined to seat himself in the Temple of God, and make himself out to be as God. The Jews, however, would have us understand these things as referring, not to Antiochus Epiphanes or the Antichrist, but to the Romans, of whom it was earlier stated, "And war galleys shall come," whether Italian or Roman, "and he shall be humbled." Considerably later, says the text, a king, Vespasian, shall emerge from the Romans themselves, who had come to Ptolemy's assistance and threatened Antiochus. It is his arms or descendants who would rise up, namely his son Titus, who with his army would defile the sanctuary and remove the continual sacrifice and devote the temple to permanent desolation. By the terms siim (Siyyim) and chethim (Kittiym), which we have rendered as "galleys" and "Romans," the Jews would have us understand "Italians" and "Romans."

"And the king of the South shall enter into the kingdom and shall return to his own land." And he himself retained possession of Syria, but he handed over Cilicia to his friend, Antiochus, that he might govern it, and the provinces beyond the Euphrates he handed over to Xanthippus, another general.

"And a plant of the bud of her roots shall arise, and he shall come with an army and shall invade the province of the king of the North." After the murder of Berenice and the death of her father, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in Egypt, her brother, who was also named Ptolemy and surnamed Euergetes, succeeded to the throne as the third of his dynasty, being in fact an offshoot of the same plant and a bud of the same root as she was, inasmuch as he was her brother. He came up with a great army and advanced into the province of the king of the North, that is Seleucus Callinicus, who together with his mother Laodice was ruling in Syria, and abused them, and not only did he seize Syria but also took Cilicia and the remoter regions beyond the Euphrates and nearly all of Asia as well.

Verses 42, 43. "And he shall lay his hand upon the lands, and the land of Egypt shall not escape; and he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt. And likewise he shall pass through the Libyans (Vulgate: Libya and Ethiopia) and the Ethiopians." We read that Antiochus partially accomplished this. But as for the added detail, "He shall pass through the Libyans and Ethiopians," our school insists that this is more appropriate to the Antichrist. For Antiochus never held Libya, which most writers understand to be North Africa, nor Ethiopia; unless, of course, his capture of Egypt involved the harrassment of those provinces of Egypt which lay in the same general region as Ethiopia, and which lay as distant neighbors to it, on the other side of the deserts. Hence there is no assertion of his conquering them, but only the statement that he passed through the Libyans and the Ethiopians.

Verse 36. "And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall be lifted up and shall magnify himself against every god; and he shall speak arrogant words against the God of gods, and shall manage successfully until the wrath be accomplished (Vulgate: indignation); for the determination is made." Or else, as another has translated it: "for in him shall be the consummation." The Jews believe that this passage has reference to the Antichrist, alleging that after the small help of Julian a king is going to rise up who shall do according to his own will and shall lift himself up against all that is called god, and shall speak arrogant words against the God of gods. He shall act in such a way as to sit in the Temple of God and shall make himself out to be God, and his will shall be prospered until the wrath of God is fulfilled, for in him the consummation will take place. We too understand this to refer to the Antichrist. But Porphyry and the others who follow his lead suppose the reference to be to Antiochus Epiphanes, pointing out that he did raise himself up against the worship of God, and pushed his arrogance so far as to command his own statue to be set up in the Temple in Jerusalem. And as for the subsequent statement, "And he shall manage successfully until the wrath be accomplished, for the consummation shall be in him," they understand it to mean that his power will endure until such time as God becomes angry at him and orders him to be killed. For indeed Polybius and Diodorus, who composed the histories of the Bibliothecae (Libraries), relate that Antiochus not only took measures against the God of Judaea, but also was impelled by an all-consuming avarice to attempt the plunder of the temple of Diana in Elymais, because it was so wealthy. But he was so beset by the temple guard and the neighboring populace, and also by certain fearful apparitions, that he became demented and finally died of illness. And the historians record that this befell him because he had attempted to plunder the temple of Diana. But we for our part maintain that even though this thing befell him, it did so because he had perpetrated great cruelty upon the saints of God and had defiled His Temple. For we ought not to suppose that it was because of something he only attempted to do but from which he then desisted by an act of repentance, but rather because of something he actually did he was punished.

"And he shall make no account of the god of his fathers, and he shall be engrossed in lust for women; nor shall he have regard for any of the gods, for he shall rise up against everything." Instead of our rendering, the Septuagint translates: "...and he will not be subject to the lusts of women." But because there is an ambiguity of position in the Hebrew original of the phrase we rendered by, "And he shall be engrossed in lust for women," Aquila renders it simply word for word (in Greek): "And he shall have no understanding with regard to the god of his fathers, and in regard to the desire of women and in regard to every god he shall have no understanding"; that is (in Latin): "And concerning the god of his fathers he shall not understand, and concerning the lust for women, and concerning every god he shall not understand." There are two interpretations current concerning these words, that he cherished lust for women, and that he cherished no lust for them. If we read it one way and understand it as an apo koinou: "And he shall have no knowledge concerning a lust for women," then it is more easily applied to the Antichrist; i.e., that he will assume a pretense of chastity in order to deceive many. But if we read it in this fashion: "And occupied with lust for women," understanding, "...he shall be," then it is more appropriate to the character of Antiochus. For he is said to have been an egregious voluptuary, and to have become such a disgrace to the dignity of kingship through his lewdness and seductions, that he publicly had intercourse with actresses and harlots, and satisfied his sexual passions in the presence of the people.

"And he shall also carry away captive into Egypt their gods and their sculptures and their precious vessels of gold and silver; he shall prevail against the king of the North." And then, when he heard that a rebellion was afoot in Egypt, he ravaged the kingdom of Seleucus and carried off as booty forty thousand talents of silver, and also precious vessels and images of the gods to the amount of two and a half thousand. Among them were the same images which Cambyses had brought to Persia at the time when he conquered Egypt. The Egyptian people were indeed devoted to idolatry, for when he had brought back their gods to them after so many years, they called him Euergetes (Benefactor).

"And he shall take measures to fortify Maozim, together with a strange god whom he has acknowledged. And he shall increase glory and shall grant them power over many and shall divide the land as a free gift." Theodotion has interpreted as follows: "And he shall conduct these affairs so as to fortify garrisons with a strange god, and with them he shall manifest and increase glory; and he shall cause them to bear rule over many and divide up the land as a free gift." Symmachus rendered it "refuges" instead of "garrisons." Porphyry explained this as meaning that the man is going to fortify the citadel in Jerusalem and will station garrisons in the rest of the cities, and will instruct the Jews to worship a strange god, which doubtless means Jupiter. And displaying the idol to them, he will persuade them that they should worship it. Then he will bestow upon the deluded both honor and very great glory, and he shall deal with the rest who have borne rule in Judaea, and apportion estates unto them in return for their falsehood, and shall distribute gifts. The Antichrist likewise is going to make lavish bestowal of many rewards upon those whom he has deceived, and will divide up the land to his soldiery. And those whom he will not be able to subject to himself by fear he will subject through their cupidity.

Verse 2. "And now I shall proclaim the truth to thee." And the meaning is this: "Because thou desirest to know what shall befall the kings of Persia, hearken thou to the order of events and hear the answer to thy request."

"And behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be enriched exceedingly above them all, and when he shall have grown mighty through his wealth, he shall stir up all men against the kingdom of Greece." He states that four kings shall arise in Persia after Cyrus, namely Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, and the Magus named Smerdis, who married Pantaptes, the daughter of Cambyses. Then, when he was slain by seven Magi and Darius had succeeeded to his throne, the same Pantaptes married Darius, and by him gave birth to Xerxes, who became a most powerful and wealthy king, and led an innumerable host against Greece and performed those deeds which are related by the Greek historians. For in the archonship of Callias he destroyed Athens by fire, and about that same time waged the war at Thermopylae and the naval battle at Salamis. It was in his time that Sophocles and Euripides became famous, and Themistocles fled in exile to Persia, where he died as a result of drinking the blood of a bull. And so that writer is in error who records as the fourth king that Darius who was defeated by Alexander, for he was not the fourth king, but the fourteenth king of the Persians after Cyrus. It was in the seventh year of his rule that Alexander defeated and slew him. Moreover it should be observed that after he has specified four kings of Persia after Cyrus, the author omits the nine others and passes right on to Alexander. For the Spirit of prophecy was not concerned about preserving historical detail but in summarizing only the most important matters.

Verse 33. "And they that are learned among the people shall teach many and they shall fall by the sword and by fire and by captivity and by spoil for many days." The books of Maccabees relate the great sufferings the Jews endured at the hands of Antiochus and they stand as a testimony of their triumph; for they endured fire and sword, slavery and rapine, and even the ultimate penalty of death itself for the sake of guarding the law of God. But let no one doubt that these things are going to happen under the Antichrist, when many shall resist his authority and flee away in various directions. The Jews, of course, interpret these things as taking place at the destruction of the Temple, which took place under Vespasian and Titus, and they claim that there were very many of their nation who knew their Lord and were slain for keeping His law.

"And the galleys shall come upon him, and the Romans, and he shall be dealt a heavy blow." Or, as another has rendered it, "...and they shall threaten him with attack." Both the Greek and the Roman historians relate that after Antiochus had been expelled from Egypt and had gone back once more, he came to Judaea, that is, against the holy covenant, and that he despoiled the Temple and removed a huge amount of gold; and then, having stationed a garrison in the citadel, he returned to his own land. And then two years later he gathered an army against Ptolemy and came to the South. And while he was besieging his two nephews, the brothers of Ptolemy and sons of Cleopatra, at Alexandria, some Roman envoys arrived on the scene, one of whom was Marcus Popilius Laenas. And when he had found Antiochus standing on the shore and had conveyed the senatorial decree to him by which he was ordered to withdraw from those who were friends of the Roman people and to content himself with his own domain, then Antiochus delayed his reply in order to consult with his friends. But Laenas is said to have made a circle in the sand with the staff which he held in his hand, and to have drawn it around the king, saying, "The senate and people of Rome give order for you to make answer in this very spot as to what your decision is." At these words Antiochus was greatly alarmed and said, "If this is the good pleasure of the senate and people of Rome, then I must withdraw." And so he immediately set his army in motion. But he is said to have been dealt a heavy blow, not that he was killed but that he lost all of his proud prestige. As for the Antichrist, there is no question but what he is going to fight against the holy covenant, and that when he first makes war against the king of Egypt, he shall straightway be frightened off by the assistance of the Romans. But these events were typically prefigured under Antiochus Epiphanes, so that this abominable king who persecuted God's people foreshadows the Antichrist, who is to persecute the people of Christ. And so there are many of our viewpoint who think that Domitius Nero was the Antichrist because of his outstanding savagery and depravity.

"And he shall return and shall be angry at the covenant of the sanctuary, and he shall succeed; and he shall return and take thought concerning (Vulgate: against) those who have abandoned the covenant of the sanctuary." We read of these matters at greater length in the exploits of the Maccabees (1 Maccabees 1:20-64), where we learn that after the Romans expelled him from Egypt, he came in anger against the covenant of the sanctuary and was welcomed by those who had forsaken the law of God and taken part in the religious rites of the Gentiles. But this is to be more amply fulfilled under the Antichrist, for he shall become angered at the covenant of God and devise plans against those whom he wishes to forsake the law of God. And so Aquila has rendered in a more significant way: "And he shall devise plans to have the compact of the sanctuary abandoned."

Verses 3, 4. "But there shall rise up a strong king and shall rule with great power, and he shall do whatever he pleases. And when he shall have arisen, his kingdom shall be broken." He clearly refers to Alexander the Great, king of the Macedonians, and son of Philip. For after he had overcome the Illyrians and Thracians, and had conquered Greece and destroyed Thebes, he crossed over into Asia. And when he had routed Darius's generals and taken the city of Sardis, he afterwards captured India and founded the city of Alexandria. And then, when he had attained the age of thirty-two and the twelfth year of his reign, he died of poison.

"And it shall be divided towards the four winds of heaven, but not unto his own posterity nor according to his power with which he had borne rule." After Alexander his kingdom was divided towards the four winds, namely to the east, the west, the south, and the north. In Egypt, that is in the south, Ptolemy the son of Lagos was the first to become king. In Macedonia, that is in the west, the Philip who was also called Aridaeus, a brother of Alexander, became king. The king of Syria and Babylon and the remoter regions, that is, the east, was Seleucus Nicanor. Antigonus was king of Asia Minor and Pontus and of the other provinces in that whole area, that is, in the north. So much for the various regions of the world as a whole; but from the standpoint of Judea itself, the north would be Syria and the south would be Egypt. And as for the statement, "But not unto his own posterity," the implication is that Alexander would have no children, but rather, his kingdom would be rent asunder and fall to others who were not of his family, except of course for Philip, who kept Macedonia. Nor would it be according to the power of him who had borne rule, for the kingdom became feebler by division into four parts, for they constantly fought among themselves and raged with internecine fury.

"For his kingdom shall be rent in pieces (variant: destroyed), and that too among strangers besides these." Besides the four kingdoms of Macedonia, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, the kingdom of the Macedonians was torn asunder among other rulers of less prominence and among petty kings. The reference here is to Perdiccas and Craterus and Lysimachus, for Cappadocia, Armenia, Bithynia, Heracleia, Bosphorus and various other provinces withdrew themselves from the Macedonian power and set up various kings for themselves.

Verses 25, 26. "And his strength and his heart shall be stirred up against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be aroused to war with many and very strong auxiliary forces; and they shall not stand, for they shall form designs against him. And they that eat bread with him shall destroy him, and his army shall be crushed, and many shall fall down slain." Porphyry interprets this as applying to Antiochus, who set forth with a great army on a campaign against his sister's son. But the king of the South, that is the generals of Ptolemy, were also roused to war with many and very powerful auxiliary forces, but they could not stand against the fraudulent schemes of Antiochus. For he pretended to be at peace with his sister's son and ate bread with him, and afterwards he took possession of Egypt. But those of our view with greater plausibility interpret all this as applying to the Antichrist, for he is to be born of the Jewish people and come from Babylon, and is first of all going to vanquish the king of Egypt, who is one of the three horns of which we have already spoken earlier.

Verse 6. "And at the end of the years they shall be leagued together (or, as Theodotion renders: And after his years they shall be united). And the daughter of the king of the South shall come to the king of the North in order to make friendship, but she shall not obtain strength of arm nor shall her seed endure. And she herself shall be handed over, as well as her young men (Vulgate: youths) who brought her and who were strengthening her in (these) times." As we have already said, it was Seleucus, surnamed Nicanor, who first ruled over Syria. The second king was Antiochus, who was called Soter. The third was Antiochus himself, who was called Theos, that is the Divine. He was the one who waged numerous wars with Ptolemy Philadelphus, who was the second ruler in Egypt, and he also fought with all the Babylonians and the men of the East, And so after many years Ptolemy Philadelphus wished to have done with this vexatious struggle, and so he gave his daughter, named Berenice, in marriage to Antiochus, who had already had by a previous wife, named Laodice, two sons, namely Seleucus, surnamed Callinicus, and the other, Antiochus. And Philadelphus conducted her as far as Pelusium and bestowed countless thousands of gold and silver by way of a dowry, from which circumstance he acquired the nickname of phernophoros or Dowry-giver (dotalis). But as for Antiochus, even though he had said he would regard Berenice as his royal consort and keep Laodice in the status of a concubine, he was finally prevailed upon by his love for Laodice to restore her to the status of queen, along with her children. But she was fearful that her husband might in his fickleness restore Berenice to favor once more, and so she had him put to death by her servants with the use of poison. And she handed over Berenice and the son whom she had born by Antiochus to Icadio and Genneus, princes of Antiochus, and then set up her elder son, Seleucus Callinicus, as king in his father's place. And so this is the matter referred to in this passage, namely that after many years Ptolemy Philadelphus and Antiochus Theos would conclude a friendship, and the daughter of the king of the South, that is Ptolemy, would go to the king of the North, that is Antiochus, in order to cement friendly relations between her father and her husband. And the text says that she will not be able to gain her end, nor shall her posterity remain upon the throne of Syria, but instead both Berenice and the men who had escorted her thither shall be put to death. And also the king, Antiochus, who had strengthened her, that is, through whom she could have obtained the mastery, was killed by his wife's poison.

Verse 1. "And from the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up that he might be strengthened and confirmed." Daniel implies, "From the first year of the reign of Darius, who overthrew the Chaldeans and delivered me from the hand of my enemies to the extent of his ability (for even his sealing of the pit of lions with his signet ring was for my protection, lest my adversaries should slay me), I for my part stood before God, and I besought God's mercy upon him, in view of the man's love for me, in order that either he or his kingdom might be strengthened and confirmed. And since I persevered in my prayer, I was answered by God and given to understand the following information. After all, it is a customary thing with the prophets to bring in new speakers abruptly and without warning. So it is in Psalm Thirty-one: for when the prophet has petitioned God and said: "Thou art my refuge from my tribulation which compassed me about; O Thou, who art my rejoicing, deliver me from those who now encompass me," then God is abruptly brought in as the speaker, replying, "I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this way in which thou shalt go; I will fasten Mine eyes upon thee" (Psalm 32:7-8). So also here, as the prophet relates, "From the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up and interceded that he might be strengthened and that his rule might be confirmed," God suddenly responds:

We have often said that the ten horns that appeared on the fourth beast represent ten kings who would reign at the same time at the end of the Roman Empire. From these kings the king of the south will wage war against this one, who is called the king of the north. "For from the north he will set ablaze all troubles against the inhabitants of the land." Antiochus, who happened to be a type of the antichrist, also was called the king of the north. When the king of the south engages him in fight, he will march out against him with a multitude and with strong forces both on land and on sea and acquire the victory. The Lord in the holy Gospels foretold these wars: "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, plagues and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginnings of the birth pangs." Now that we have seen that the prediction of the Lord corresponds with this prophecy, we will be able to understand the verses before us.

He is talking about Ptolemy Philopator, who was not satisfied with the kingdom of Egypt but who added also Phoenicia, Samaria and Judea. When he says, "one of his princes will grow strong," he is talking about Scopas, whom also Josephus the Hebrew historian mentions. Scopas was an outstanding general and placed under Ptolemy's power many of the nations that were outside of the kingdom of Ptolemy. He speaks of this one enigmatically: "And he will rule with much power beyond his authority," that is, he will rule over many nations beyond the realm that had been allotted to him.

Whereas all his ancestors acknowledged their natural limitations and did not presume to name themselves as god over all things, he gives himself the title God mighty and strong (the sense of Maozeim)—hence his putting "in his place," meaning himself.

Many of those who seem to be godly will turn to the other direction. "So that they may be refined." … These things will not harm the people of this time; they will learn not to have confidence in their previous successes.… For the vicissitudes in the situation will purify them as if by fire and test them and will separate the false from the tried and true.… These things take place partly in the present life, but in the time to come a complete testing of the people will occur. Once he said these things concerning Antiochus Epiphanes, he changes the remainder of the passage from the type to the archetype.

Although all his fathers and forefathers had honored the Jewish nation, he does everything to the contrary. He steals, plunders and enslaves—and bestows all these things on his troops. "And he shall make plans against Egypt, and yet only until a certain time." That is to say, he will not rule for long.

The first book of the Maccabees relates this assault on Egypt: "Antiochus came to Egypt with a mighty host and with chariots, elephants, horses and a great expedition and battled against Ptolemy, king of Egypt. Ptolemy fled, and many of his soldiers were wounded and fell. Antiochus captured the fortresses of Egypt and plundered Egypt."

As the historian Josephus teaches us, the Romans learned about this army of his and commanded him to depart from Egypt. Then he made a peace treaty and shared a table with Ptolemy. The angel who addressed Daniel explained the festering wound underlying the friendship when he said, "Their hearts will turn to evil, and they will speak lies at the same table and will not set it right." That is, the peace will not be secured: "Because the end will be at the appointed time." That is, once this time has passed, they will engage again and march out in battle array.

Here he foretells the revolt against Onias the high priest by Joshua, also called Jason, and by Onias, son of Menelaus. The former, Jason, had recourse to Antiochus and threw his own brother out from the high priesthood. Menelaus, who was commissioned to bring tributes and gold to Antiochus, appointed himself high priest and drove out Jason.

But nonetheless he will then return to his own kingdom with much wealth and great abundance. "And his heart will be against the holy covenant." At last, he will have one endeavor, namely, to destroy the law given by God to the Jews. Because he desires this, he puts his plans into effect. "And he will act and return to his land." The book of the Maccabees and the history of Josephus explain this.

He speaks enigmatically here about those around the blessed Mattathias, who was the first to oppose the decrees of Antiochus and to seek solitude with his sons; he took the field with few soldiers and prevailed against Antiochus's generals.

"And he will return at his appointed time," that is, he will not conquer and prevail in the same manner as before, but he will return in defeat. The phrase "at his appointed time" indicates the time suitable for warfare.

He calls the generals who assist him his "arms," since after the manner of arms they fulfill the commands of the king. Therefore, he will send some to profane the sanctuary of the kingdom, that is, the temple dedicated to almighty God. He will erect an altar to an idol inside of it; he refers to it as the "desolating abomination." The second book of the Maccabees teaches us this when it says, "And about this time Antiochus sent a second expedition to Egypt." … Then he relates how the slaughter proceeded against all his comrades. The dead were numbered at eighty thousand. Shortly thereafter he says again, "Since Antiochus had a hostile disposition against the Jews, he sent the most loathsome Apollonius with an army of twenty thousand against two thousand and ordered them to slaughter everyone in every company they met." And a little later he says again, "Soon thereafter the king sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to depart from their ancestral laws and not to conduct themselves any longer by the laws of God but to defile the temple in Jerusalem and to swear by Olympian Zeus."

These things do not fit at all with Antiochus. He never gained power over Libya or Ethiopia, or even Egypt itself. He was ordered by the Romans to leave, which he did. Therefore, the three horns that the little horn uprooted must refer to these three nations. The antichrist will destroy three great nations [Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya] governed by three kings, and he will subject them to himself.

Antiochus will enjoy success, but not forever: "until his wrath has been spent," that is, until he kindles and draws out God's exceedingly great wrath. He calls the retribution God inflicts "his wrath," for the divine nature has no passion.

But we find that Antiochus filled Jerusalem and all Judea with altars dedicated to idols and sacrificed to Zeus in the temple of God and called the temple in Jerusalem after Olympian Zeus and the temple on Mount Gerizim after Zeus Xenios. How, then, could it be said that this so superstitious man, this man so entranced by idols, "will not hearken to the gods of his fathers"? Antiochus spent all his time doing the opposite of the antichrist: he revered his fathers' gods, while he rejected the God worshiped by the Jews. These prophecies do not fit Antiochus in the least, but rather the archetype of Antiochus, of whom Antiochus was a type and a foreshadowing, who will vie to outdo all the kings before him in his ungodliness.

He is talking about Antiochus Epiphanes, who on his return from Rome succeeded his brother Seleucus. Seleucus (called Philopator) succeeded Antiochus the Great, since he was his son. When Seleucus died, Antiochus Epiphanes received the throne. He says about the latter, "From his root kingship will sprout, and he will put aside his readiness." That is to say, he will imitate his father's power and will be adequate to lay hold of the kingdom readied by his father.

He was in fact not glorious, seeming instead to be an insignificant figure, because he was kept under guard in Rome. "And he will return, and he will gain mastery over a kingdom by his cunning." But, nonetheless, especially since he had been brought down to nothing, he will come with great advantage and a very large army, and he will overpower the kingdom with deceit as its helper, and he will use gross deceit all the more. The blessed Daniel saw this fact also in the second vision, and he heard holy Gabriel saying, "Guile is in his hand, and he will become arrogant in his heart. He will destroy many, and he will prevail as many are destroyed." Thus, he says here words to the same effect: "He will gain mastery over a kingdom by his cunning."

He says that he will raise temples for himself and adorn them with silver, gold and precious stones and subject many people to them; that is, he will subject the many people who have been deceived by his signs or who have been weakened by his punishments. But he will also "divide the land in exchange for gifts," that is, he will bestow the largest portion of the land on those who have obediently chosen to be godless.

When, as we have already mentioned, Alexander joined together the whole known world, so to speak, into his kingdom and then suffered the fate common to all humankind, the kingdom was divided into four parts.

He does not spend much time on the ruler of Asia Minor or Macedonia, especially since no grief befell the Jews through them. He mentions only the two through whom the Jews would be tested with grievous misfortunes. These are the king of Egypt and the one entrusted with the rule of the nations that lay to the east. The latter held palaces in both Antioch and Babylon.

This does not apply to Antiochus either. I mean that the disturbances did not drive him out of Egypt, but rather the decree of the Romans, which came from the west, not from the east. But as far as the antichrist is concerned, the prophecy says that once he takes Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia and subjugates them to himself, he will return, because he will be troubled by a certain rumor, and he will come in great anger "to curse and to obliterate many." This is a hendiadys: "to obliterate" is to be stripped naked of godliness, and "to curse" is to declare that godliness is foreign to oneself.

Here again he hinted at the empire of the Egyptians, that though they too were very powerful, destroying their adversaries like an inundation, and rendering them totally undone, they themselves would be subject to an inundation from him and would be crushed—and not they alone but "the prince of the covenant as well."

He will lead again an army greater than the earlier one and will set out against Egypt, and he will do this near the end of his own reign. That is what is meant by the sentence "at the end of the seasons he will make his entrance with great power and with much wealth." This doubling is a Hebraism; he wished to say that he would make a great entrance. This is the idiom of both the Hebrews and the Arameans, for they are accustomed to say, "entering he entered" and "departing he departed" and "eating he eats," and so forth. The translators were rather accurate and followed Hebrew usage.

Those who properly use the knowledge supplied by God will utterly despise that fellow's laws and will prefer death for the divine law to a life of godlessness. To suggest as much, he went on, "they will fall to the sword" … the impious one employed all kinds of different punishments in an attempt to move the godly, inflicting them untimely death and as it were robbing them of the remainder of their life.

"And those who arrive from Kittim will come to him, and they will be brought low." He will ally himself with many Cypriots and other islanders (Kition to the present day is the main city of Cyprus); then he will set out against Egypt but return defeated and humiliated. "And he will return and become angry at the holy covenant." He will spew forth against the holy covenant all his anger that came about because of his defeat. And he will show this anger in action, for he says, "and he will act." At his second coming he will slaughter many, and he will make a treaty with those who had abandoned the holy covenant. He will accomplish every plan of the transgressors, that is, those who wish to deny that they are Jews and who wish instead to act as Greeks.

After Ptolemy Philpator died, his son Ptolemy (surnamed Epiphanes) reigned. That is what he means, "After his years, they will make an alliance." And he explains how they will make an alliance. By the king of the north he means Antiochus—not Antiochus Epiphanes but Antiochus the Great, who was the father of Antiochus Epiphanes. It was Antiochus the Great who was the contemporary with those Ptolemies.

But the marriage will not suffice to bring about an alliance. She will be returned to the one who had given her through those who brought her, along with the things that had been presented by her (for he says, "the one supporting her during those times"). Wealth was what had accomplished the strong and desired marriage.

[The divine angel says,] As soon as Cyrus came to the throne and the end of captivity had been reached, I took my place until I had secured release and liberation for the people.

When the priests, who give scandal, that is, the wise ones with regard to evil … are overturned and fall, they will become a furnace of testing before everybody's eyes, and it will be recognized that because of their evil actions punishment has come over them and more evils are forthcoming. "And may understand until the time of the end," that is, everybody will consider and understand, with regard to the evils that will befall them, that they come according to justice until the time of the end, because evilness has "still an interval" to gain its successes.

"And [Alexander] shall arise," he says, "and will kill [Darius] and will take action as he pleases," and nobody will rise against him. This Darius, son of Arshak, was the tenth king after Cyrus, and in his sixth year Alexander marches against him and kills him. Alexander, when he came to Jerusalem, enters the temple, worships God and honors the temple with many gifts.

"He shall pitch his palatial tents in a plain, between the sea of Soph and the mountain," where Moses ascended; "he shall pitch his tent there," that is, he will die there.

After Cyrus, who reigned first, there were numerous kings in Persia until those three. But the angel indicates by "three kings" those who were called with the name Darius, because there were only three kings who had the same name Darius. And by revealing through whom the kingdom of the Persians would have ceased, he says, "The fourth shall be far richer than all of them," that is, Darius, who became more powerful than all his predecessors; "and when he has become strong," this Darius, he means, "in his homeland," in power and riches, "he shall stir up," that is, he will cause Alexander, of the house of the Greeks, to march against him.

In the fourth mystery, that is, the giving of the law, the Antichrist is symbolized by Balaam, who offered the worst advice, was an idolater, and although he said many good things, yet raised pagan altars and consulted auguries. And in this it is shown that he was the worst idolator and worshiper of evil spirits. "Instead, he shall give glory to the god of strongholds."