Daniel 11.20-The Prophecy of the Murder of Antiochus III’s Son Seleucus IV Philopator By His Treasurer Heliodorus
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday May 13, 2014
Daniel: Daniel 11:20-The Prophecy of the Murder of Antiochus III’s Son Seleucus IV Philopator By His Treasurer Heliodorus
Lesson # 337
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 11:2.
Daniel 11:2 “Now, at this present time, I must reveal to you the truth. Behold, three future kings will ascend to power for Persia. Then, the fourth will cause greater riches to make him wealthier than each and every one of these in comparison. However, when he amasses power through his wealth, the entire nation will stir up the Greek kingdom. 3 Next, a powerful king will ascend to power so that he will rule with great authority with the result that he will do according to his desire. 4 However, after he ascends to power, his kingdom will be broken up. Then, it will be divided towards the heaven’s four winds but not for the benefit of his posterity and in addition, not according to his sovereign will which he sovereignly exercised. For his kingdom will be uprooted specifically, for the benefit of others, to the separation and exclusion of these. 5 Then, the king ruling the south as well as one of his subordinate commanders will be strong. In fact, he will become stronger than him because he will exercise authority over a dominion greater than his dominion. 6 Next, at the end of an unspecified number of years, they will form an alliance as the daughter of the king ruling the south will enter into marriage with the king ruling the north in order to secure a peaceful arrangement. However, she will by no means retain her powerful position likewise he will by no means endure, namely his power. For she will be delivered over as well as he who caused her to enter into marriage, as well as her child and in addition, her benefactor during those times. 7 But one of the branches from her roots will ascend to power in his place. Then, he will wage an attack against their army so that he will enter the fortress of the king ruling the north. Indeed, he will take action against them so that he will be victorious. 8 Consequently, he will also cause their gods to be transported into captivity to Egypt along with their cast images, as well as their valuable silver and gold articles. Furthermore, for some years he will withdraw from the king ruling the north. 9 Then, he will wage an attack against the king ruling the south but will return to his land. 10 Following this, his sons will initiate hostile military action. Specifically, they will muster a multitude of great military forces. Then, he will as a certainty wage a massive attack so that he will overflow, yes, pass through like a flood with the result that he will turn him back. Indeed, he will engage in hostile military action up to his fortress. 11 Then, the king ruling the south will cause himself to be enraged so that he will march out in order to wage war against him, against the king ruling the north. Consequently, he will cause a great multitude to be assembled. However, despite this, this multitude will be delivered into his power. 12 When this multitude will be defeated, his heart will become arrogant. Even though, he will cause ten thousand to fall in combat, he will by no means continue to prevail. 13 For he will return again since he will muster a multitude larger than the first in order to wage a massive attack with a great army as well as enormous logistical provision at the end of an interval of some years. 14 In fact, during those days, certain great ones will oppose the king ruling the south. Even violent persons belonging to your people will for their own benefit, rebel in order to fulfill the revelation but they will be overthrown. 15 And so, the king ruling the north will wage an attack. Specifically, he will construct a siege mound in order to capture a fortified city. However, the south’s armed forces will by no means stand their ground, not even their elite unit because there will be no strength. 16 Consequently, the one who waged the attack will do according to his desire because there will be absolutely no one standing against him. Furthermore, he will occupy the beautiful land so that it will be completely in his power. 17 Then, with the power of his entire kingdom, he will devise a plan to enter into an agreement. Indeed, equitable terms to injure him. Consequently, he will accomplish it. Namely, he will give in marriage a daughter from his harem for the purpose of destroying it. However, she will never remain loyal because she will never stay united for the benefit of him. 18 Then, he will turn his attention against the inhabitants of the coastal regions so that he will capture many. However, a military commander will, to his dismay, cause his shameful conduct to come to a stop. Furthermore, he will cause his shameful conduct to be turned back against him. 19 Consequently, he will turn his attention toward the fortifications of his own land. However, he will be overthrown, yes he will fall in combat so that he will never be encountered again.” (My translation)
Daniel 11:20 “Then in his place one will arise who will send an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle.” (NASB95)
“One will arise” is the verb ʿā∙mǎḏ (עָמַד) (aw-mad), which means “to ascend to power” referring to a person ascending to power in a particular nation and denotes coming to power over a nation.
Here it is used of a man who ascends to power after the death of the king of the north.
“Who will send an oppressor” is composed of the the verb ʿā·ḇǎr (עָבַר) (aw-bar´), “who will send” and then we have the verb nā·ḡǎś (נָגַשׂ) (naw-gas´), “an oppressor through.”
The verb ʿā·ḇǎr is in the hiphil stem and literally means “to cause to pass through” indicating that the successor of the king of the north will cause an oppressor to pass through the splendid kingdom.
However, idiomatically, it means that the successor to the king of the north “will dispatch” an oppressor “throughout” the splendid kingdom.
The verb nā·ḡǎś means “one who exacts tribute from” since it pertains to a tax collector who has authority to collect taxes from a particular nation or group of people to gain income for his government.
“Through the Jewel of his kingdom” is composed of the noun hě·ḏěr (הֶדֶר) (heh´-der), “the Jewel of” and then we have the noun mǎl∙ḵûṯ (מַלְכוּת) (mal-kooth), “kingdom.”
The noun hě·ḏěr means “ornament” since it is a figurative extension of the land of Israel and is modified by the noun mǎl∙ḵûṯ which means “kingdom” in the sense of the territorial sphere of authority or control over the inhabitants of a particular group of people.
The term refers to the boundaries of this authority and control, which were determined by the extent to which the king exercises His authority.
Some interpret this expression differently.
First of all, some interpret the noun hě·ḏěr to mean “splendor” and the noun mǎl∙ḵûṯ to mean “royal” since they interpet the genitive relation as one of being attributive.
They interpret the entire expression to be a reference to the kingdom of the successor to the king of the north.
This would indicate that the successor to the king of the north will send out a tax collector who will maintain the royal splendor.
This verb would then be interpreted as in construct with hě·ḏěr mǎl∙ḵûṯ.
However, the verb nā·ḡǎś pertains to someone who oppresses others or someone who exacts tribute from people of a nation.
To interpret it to contain the idea of a tax collector to maintain his kingdom treasuries is adding an idea to the meaning of the verb that it does not possess, namely “to maintain.”
The root of the verb connotes the exertion of demanding oppressive pressure for payment.
In the qal, it can mean “to oppress, to exploit” others and cause them hardship and trouble and it can mean “to exact payment” or “to exact tribute from” another.
It is better to interpret the successor to the king of the north exacting tribute from the ornament of his kingdom rather than sending out a tax collector to maintain the splendor of his kingdom since the emphasis with the verb nā·ḡǎś is what one does which does not benefit others rather what one does for the benefit of oneself.
“Yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle” presents a contrast with the previous statement that the successor to the king of the north will dispatch one who will exact tribute from the ornament of the kingdom.
Therefore, the contrast is between the successor to the king of the north exacting tribute from the ornament of the kingdom and no longer doing so because he will be killed by another.
“Within a few days” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), “within” and its object is the noun yôm (יוֹם) (yome), “a days” which is modified by cardinal number ʾě∙ḥāḏ (אֶחָד) (ekh-aw), “few.”
The noun yôm refers to an indefinite period of time ranging from relatively short to very long, years and beyond and is modified by the cardinal number ʾě∙ḥāḏ which literally means “one” but figuratively it means “a brief, a short.”
The noun yôm is also the object of the preposition bĕ, which means “within” since it is a temporal marker used to indicate a situation in the limits of a period of time and this indicates that “within” a brief period of time the successor to the king of the north will be killed.
Daniel 11:20 “Then, in his place, will ascend to power one who will dispatch one who will exact tribute from the kingdom’s ornament. However, within a brief period of time, he will be killed though not in anger or in war.” (My translation)
History records the fulfillment of this prophecy as well.
This verse speaks of the successor to Antiochus III the Great who was his eldest son, Seleucus IV Philopator (187-176 B.C.).
Antiochus III had two sons with the other being Antiochus IV Epiphanes who the angel begins to prophecy about in Daniel 11:21.
History records that upon succeeding his father, Seleucus IV Philopator heavily taxed the people in his kingdom in order to pay Rome who forced him to pay a thousand talents annually.
He inherited this debt from his father.
Consequently, Seleucus IV Philopator had to tax all the lands in his kingdom including exacting special taxes from the Jews through a tax collector named Heliodorus.
Seleucus IV Philopator did not reign very long since it appears he was poisoned by his treasurer Heliodorus.
Therefore, he reigned for only a brief time, twelve years to be exact, in comparison to his father who reigned thirty-seven years.
According to Appian, Heliodorus’ plot was designed to put him in control of the government but he was driven out by Eumenes and Attalus.