Daniel 11:4-6
New English Translation
4 Shortly after his rise to power,[a] his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky[b]—but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.
5 “Then the king of the south[c] and one of his subordinates[d] will grow strong. His subordinate[e] will resist[f] him and will rule a kingdom greater than his.[g] 6 After some years have passed, they[h] will form an alliance. Then the daughter[i] of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power,[j] nor will he continue[k] in his strength.[l] She, together with the one who brought her, her child,[m] and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time.[n]
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- Daniel 11:4 tn Heb “and when he stands.”
- Daniel 11:4 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Daniel 11:5 sn The king of the south is Ptolemy I Soter (ca. 323-285 b.c.). The following reference to one of his subordinates apparently has in view Seleucus I Nicator (ca. 311-280 b.c.). Throughout the remainder of chap. 11 the expressions “king of the south” and “king of the north” repeatedly occur. It is clear, however, that these terms are being used generically to describe the Ptolemaic king (i.e., “of the south”) or the Seleucid king (i.e., “of the north”) who happens to be in power at any particular time. The specific identity of these kings can be established more or less successfully by a comparison of this chapter with the available extra-biblical records that discuss the history of the intertestamental period. In the following notes the generally accepted identifications are briefly mentioned.
- Daniel 11:5 tn Heb “princes.”
- Daniel 11:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Daniel 11:5 tn Heb “be strong against.”
- Daniel 11:5 tn Heb “greater than his kingdom.”
- Daniel 11:6 sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 b.c.) and Antiochus II Theos (ca. 262-246 b.c.).
- Daniel 11:6 sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.
- Daniel 11:6 tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”
- Daniel 11:6 tn Heb “stand,” as also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.
- Daniel 11:6 tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.
- Daniel 11:6 tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yoledah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.
- Daniel 11:6 sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 b.c.), as the Seleucid king.
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