Daniel's Rise and Fall of Empires

Daniel's Rise and Fall of Empires

Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:11"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."

king of the south... Ptolemy Philopater, "Lover of Father" or Tryphon, son of Euergetes, reigned 221-204 B.C. Antiochus the Great of Syria declared war on him about 219 B.C. Philopater defeated Antiochus in the battle of Raphia near Gaza, 217 B.C. He became greatly exalted destroying and oppressing many in his own land especially the Jews (Dan. 11:12). He was not to be strengthened by his victories due to the constant decline of his kingdom brought about by permitting favorites to rule or ruin (Dan. 11:12).

with choler... The word "choler" means bitter. His bitterness caused the king of Egypt to come against the king of Syria.

A great multitude... The army, spoken of as a multitude, was about 75,000. The multitude falls into enemy hands. They were defeated here. Ptolemy IV Philopator (222-203 B.C.) devastated the Syrian army under Antiochus III the Great (223-187 B.C.). Egypt’s advantage would be brief, v.12.