Daniel 11:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand.

NIV: "Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated.

NASB: And the king of the South will be enraged and go out and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be handed over to the former.

CSB: Infuriated, the king of the South will march out to fight with the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but they will be handed over to his enemy.

NLT: Then, in a rage, the king of the south will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them.

KJV: And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.

NKJV: “And the king of the South shall be moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy.

This is part of a series of predictions given by an angel to the prophet Daniel in 536 BC (Daniel 10:1; 11:2). After accurately predicting the rise and fall of Alexander the Great, the angel described the conflicts between two succeeding nations (Daniel 10:5–9). Ultimately, a revived Seleucid Empire pushed back against Ptolemaic Egypt as far as the modern-day Gaza Strip in southern Israel (Daniel 11:10).

History depicts Ptolemy IV Philopator as lazy, ineffective, and uninspiring. However, as Antiochus the Great's army came closer to Egypt's home territory, Philopator assembled a massive collection of new troops. This seems to be the meaning of the "king of the south"—Philopator—being angry and moved to fight back. His newly trained forces met those of Antiochus in 217 BC in what is today called the city of Rafah. This "Battle of Raphia" or "Battle of Gaza" was among the biggest clashes of the era, and surprisingly ended in a decisive victory for Egypt. As further predicted, the result was many thousands of Seleucid troops killed (Daniel 11:12).

This would not end Antiochus's aggressions. Ptolemy IV Philopator continued to prefer pleasure over leadership, and the newly trained Egyptians who made up much of his recent army gained enough confidence to rebel. Eventually, Antiochus the Great would push Ptolemaic Egypt out of Judea entirely (Daniel 11:13).

For his part, Ptolemy seems to have let the victory go to his head, as following verses will also show.

Daniel 11:2–20 provides a political timeline beginning with Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:30–31). The history—given as prophecy to the prophet Daniel around 536 BC (Daniel 10:1)—involves military conflicts between Greeks and Persians and between empires ruling from Syria and Egypt. These accounts are given to Daniel by an angel, probably Gabriel (Daniel 10:18–21). Parts of these prophecies are unusually straightforward, relying much less on symbolism and plainly indicating the events which will occur.

This chapter is most easily understood in terms of the historical events which it predicts. These include the conflicts between Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Empire up through the second century BC. This mentions the infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes and what eventually became the Maccabean Revolt. The last portion of prophecy looks to the end times: blasphemous rulers, an invasion from the north, and a major defeat.

Daniel is receiving a prophecy, in an encounter which began in chapter 10. The substance of that prophecy is mostly given in chapter 11. This predicts the major events relating to Judea leading up to the conquest of the Roman Empire. It also begins to speak of end-times events. This leads to chapter 12 and the final prophetic remarks given to Daniel. Chapter 11 connects to other prophetic segments of Scripture such as Ezekiel 38 and Joel 2. Occurrences recorded here are also used by Jesus to depict end times events (Matthew 24:15).

The book of Daniel contains famous Old Testament stories and prophecies. Daniel was taken from the Israelite people and made an advisor for a conquering empire. He demonstrates faithfulness and wisdom during many years serving in this role. Though Daniel does not deliver a public message, Jesus refers to him as a "prophet" (Matthew 24:15). The first portion of the book mostly describes Daniel's interpretations of dreams and other events. The second portion looks ahead to the end times. Daniel is classified in English Bibles as a "major" prophet, meaning the book is relatively long and the content has broad implications. The book of Revelation echoes and expands on many of the same themes.