What does Daniel 11:42 mean?

In this section of prophecy, Daniel seems to predict an attack on Israel from both the south and the north (Daniel 11:40–41). Based on the suggestion of a large army, and details from prophets such as Ezekiel and Joel, the northern forces appear to be a collection from many nations. In this chapter, "the south" has usually been a reference to Egypt. However, Egypt is mentioned very directly here, so it may or may not be the kingdom which attacked in the prior verses.

It's possible that this describes a broken alliance or competing invasions. Perhaps Egypt—or some other southern nation—will attempt to attack Israel before the north can, but the north invades anyway. Perhaps they will be part of a planned attack, only to be betrayed afterwards by the northern coalition. Isaiah 19:4 predicts the eventual fall of Egypt to an aggressor.

A large, confederated group moving from north to south could coerce nations to surrender and add their military to their own. Ezekiel 38:5–6 lists countries that fight alongside the northern invader: Persia, Put, Gomer, Beth-togarmah, and Cush. Modern interpreters typically associate these with Iran, Libya, Turkey, Armenia, and the region of Sudan and Ethiopia, respectively. Some of these are also mentioned in the following verse (Daniel 11:43). With an overwhelming force, the invader from the north will extend his might all the way to north Africa, likely by deploying his ships to that part of the Mediterranean Sea (Daniel 11:40).