Daniel Chapter 11 Vs. 5

The Kings of the South and the North

Daniel 11:5 "And the king of the south shall be strong, and [one] of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion [shall be] a great dominion."




and the king... Represents the Ptolomies, the leaders of Egypt, contrasted often in verse 5 with the king of the north, the Seleucids leaders of Syria (v.6). South and North are in relation to Israel, for which the angel Gabriel, speaking in the passage, is so concerned. Verses 5 - 20 cover almost 200 years of wars between these bordering powers.

The conflict between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids (Dan. 11:5-20).

The strong king of the South was Ptolemy I Soter, a general who served under Alexander. He was given authority over Egypt in 323 b.c. and proclaimed king of Egypt in 304. Seleucus I Nicator, also a general under Alexander, was given authority to rule in Babylon in 321. But in 316 when Babylon came under attack by Antigonus, another general, Seleucus sought help from Ptolemy I Soter in Egypt.

shall be strong... He became strong, for he added Cyprus, Phoenicia, Caria, Corinth, etc. to his kingdom of Egypt. After Antigonus’ defeat in 312, Seleucus returned to Babylon greatly strengthened. He ruled over Babylonia, Media, and Syria, and assumed the title of king in 305. Thus Seleucus I Nicator’s rule was over far more territory than Ptolemy I Soter’s.

one of his... This was Seleucus I, called Nicator, the Conqueror, founder of the Seleucid Empire, 312-280 B.C. He lost out to Antigonus who conquered Babylonia in 316 B.C. Seleucus fled to Egypt and distinguished himself as one of the commanders of Ptolemy I, hence, he is called a prince of Ptolemy (Dan.11:5).

a great dominion... In the victory won by Ptolemy at Gaza, 312 B.C., the way was opened for Seleucus to return to Babylonia. In 9 years he won the whole of the eastern part of Alexander’s empire. In 301 B.C. he added Syria and part of Asia Minor to his empire. The Seleucid era was from 312-65 B.C. when the kingdom of Syria was reduced by Pompey to a Roman province.

The conflict between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids 

The Ptolemies who ruled over Egypt, were called the kings “of the South.” The Seleucids, ruling over Syria, north of Israel, were called the kings “of the North.” This section (Dan. 11:5-20) gives many details of the continuous conflict between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids during which the land of Israel was invaded first by one power and then by the other.

The strong king of the South was Ptolemy I Soter, a general who served under Alexander. He was given authority over Egypt in 323 b.c. and proclaimed king of Egypt in 304. The commander referred to in Dan. 11:5 was Seleucus I Nicator, also a general under Alexander, who was given authority to rule in Babylon in 321. But in 316 when Babylon came under attack by Antigonus, another general, Seleucus sought help from Ptolemy I Soter in Egypt. After Antigonus’ defeat in 312, Seleucus returned to Babylon greatly strengthened. He ruled over Babylonia, Media, and Syria, and assumed the title of king in 305. Thus Seleucus I Nicator’s rule was over far more territory than Ptolemy I Soter’s.