Daniel 11:17 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 11:17
He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
to do or make · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
give
יִתֶּןyi.ten-
H5414
to give · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
daughter
וּבַ֤תu.Vat
H1323
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
women
הַנָּשִׁים֙ha.na.Shim
H802
a woman · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
corrupting
לְהַשְׁחִיתָ֔הּle.hash.chi.Tah
H7843
to decay · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
stand
תַעֲמֹ֖דta.'a.Mod
H5975
to stand · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Kings 12:17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 4:3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall…
Ezekiel 4:7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
2 Chronicles 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Psalms 56:9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
Proverbs 19:21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
Ezekiel 17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off m…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 11:5-20
Here are foretold,
I. The rise and power of two great kingdoms out of the remains of Alexander's conquests, Dan 11:5. 1. The kingdom of Egypt, which was made considerable by Ptolemaeus Lagus, one of Alexander's captains, whose successors were, from him, called the Lagidae. He is called the king of the south, that is, Egypt, named here, Dan 11:8, Dan 11:42, Dan 11:43. The countries that at first belonged to Ptolemy are reckoned to be Egypt, Phoenicia, Arabia, Libya, Ethiopia, etc. Theocr. Idyl. 17. 2. The kingdom of Syria, which was set up by Seleucus Nicanor, or the conqueror; he was one of Alexander's princes, and became stronger than the other, and had the greatest dominion of all, was the…
set his face--purpose steadfastly. Antiochus purpose was, however, turned from open assault to wile, by his war with the Romans in his endeavor to extend his kingdom to the limits it had under Seleucus Nicator.
upright one--Jasher, or Jeshurun (Deu 32:15; Isa 44:2); the epithet applied by the Hebrews to their nation. It is here used not in praise; for in Dan 11:14 (see on Dan 11:14) they are called "robbers," or "men of violence, factious": it is the general designation of Israel, as having God for their God. Probably it is used to rebuke those who ought to have been God's "upright ones" for confederating with godless heathen in acts of violence (the contrast to the term in Dan 11:14 favor…
He shall also set his face to enter - Antiochus purposed to have marched his army into Egypt; but he thought it best to proceed by fraudulence, and therefore proposed a treaty of marriage between him and his daughter Cleopatra, called here the daughter of women, because of her great beauty and accomplishments. And this he appeared to do, having "upright ones with him." Or, as the Septuagint have it και ευθεια παντα μετ' αυτου ποιησει, "and he will make all things straight with him;" that is, he acted as if he were influenced by nothing but the most upright views. But he intended his daughter to be a snare to Ptolemy, and therefore purposed to corrupt her that she might betray her husband.
Bu…
The Church Fathers
"And he shall set his face to come and possess all his kingdom, and he shall make upright conditions with him. And he shall give him the daughter of women, that she may overthrow him" (Vulgate: it). That is to say, the intention is to overthrow him, that is, Ptolemy, or else to overthrow it, that is, his kingdom. Antiochus not only wished to take possession of Syria, Cilicia, and Lycia, and the other provinces which had belonged to Ptolemy's party, but also to extend his empire to Egypt. He therefore used the good offices of Eucles of Rhodes to betroth his daughter, Cleopatra, to young Ptolemy in the seventh year of his reign; and in his thirteenth year she was given to him in marriage, professedly endowed with all of Coele-syria and Judaea as her marriage-portion. By pleonasm she is called a daughter of women, just as the poet says: ...Thus she spake with her mouth... And with these ears did I drink in her voice. "And she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him." For he was unable to take possession of Egypt, because Ptolemy Epiphanes and his generals detected the strategem and followed a cautious policy. And besides, Cleopatra inclined more to her husband's side than to her father's.
After these things happened Scripture says again, "And another king shall arise and he shall prevail over the earth and the king of the south shall arise and he shall take his daughters to wife." For it happened that a certain Alexander, the son of Philip arose. And in that time he rose up against Antiochus and, having made war with him, he killed him, and he ruled the kingdom. Then he sent to Ptolemy king of Egypt, saying, "Give to me your daughter Cleopatra to wife. For behold, I sit upon the throne of the kingdom of my fathers." [1 Maccabees 10:51-58] And then Ptolemy took his daughter and brought her into Ptolmaeus and gave her to Alexander to wife. And Scripture was fulfilled as it says, "and he shall take his daughters to wife." [Daniel 11:17] But it says, "And he shall corrupt her, she shall not be for him." [Daniel 11:17] And truly this was fulfilled. For when Ptolemy gave him his own daughter, he turned and saw the wondrous and glorious kingdom of Alexander, of which he was very eager to have, so he spoke deceitfully to Alexander. But Scripture says, "And the kings shall speak lies to one another at one table." [Daniel 11:27] For Ptolemy desired the kingdom of Alexander and ate with him at his table, but he thought evil and did not have agreement with him. And so Scripture was fulfilled. And at this point Ptolemy, having come to Egypt and having levied a great army, came to the country when Alexander had gone to Cilicia. For it happened at that time that Tarsus and Mallus were thrown into confusion. He wished to repress them and came against them in haste, having left his own wife Cleopatra there. Accordingly, Ptolemy went up to the country and mustered a watch guard against the city. Having conquered Judea, he came to his own daughter and sent a letter to Demetrius in the islands saying, "Come out and come here and I will give to you my daughter Cleopatra to wife because Alexander sought to kill me." [1 Maccabees 10:58] But he pretended these words wishing to lay blame upon Alexander. Accordingly, Demetrius came and Ptolemy received him and gave his daughter to wife, who was the wife of Alexander. And what was spoken was fulfilled, "He shall corrupt her and she shall not be to him nor remain with him," [Daniel 11:17] because "The kings, their hearts set on evil, even spoke lies to one another at one table." [Daniel 11:27]
Dictionary and topics
Antiochus — The name of several Syrian kings from B.C. 280 to B.C. 65. The most notable of these were, (1.) Antiochus the Great, who ascended the throne B.C. 223. He is regarded as the “king of the north”…
Macedonian Empire, The · Predictions respecting: History of its four divisions — Predictions respecting: History of its four divisions
Syria · Prophecies respecting: Its history in connection with the Macedonia empire — Prophecies respecting: Its history in connection with the Macedonia empire
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom,.... Antiochus, having conquered Coelesyria, Phoenicia, and Judea, should set his face towards the land of Egypt, having a greedy desire after it, and bend his mind and forces that way; form a design of invading it, and for that purpose determine to bring all the forces he could master together throughout his dominions. So Justin (b) says, that upon the death of Ptolemy Philopator, Antiochus king of Syria determined to seize on Egypt. The Vulgate Latin version is, "that he might come to lay hold on his whole kingdom"; to seize the whole kingdom of the king of Egypt:
and upright ones with him: meaning, as many think,…
Daniel 11:17
17. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
17. Et ponet faciem suam [166] ad veniendum cum potentia totius regni, et rectitudines cum eo: [167] et faciet, et filiam mulierum dabit illi ad perdendum eam, sed non stabit ipsa, et non erit ipsa ei. [168]
He here describes the second war of Antiochus against Epiphanes, who was then growing old; and so he gave, him his daughter Cleopatra in marriage, hoping in this way, by subtle contrivances, to subdue the kingdom of Egypt. For he tho…
This verse has been very differently expounded. According to the example of Jerome, who translates it: et ponet faciem suam ut veniat ad tenendum universum regnum ejus, and adds to this the explanatory remark: ut evertat illum h. e. Ptolemaeum, sive illud, h. e. regnum ejus, many translate the words וגו בּתקף לבוא by to come in or against the strength of his whole (Egyptian) kingdom (C. B. Michaelis, Venema, Hvernick, v. Lengerke, Maurer), i.e., to obtain the superiority over the Egyptian kingdom (Kliefoth). But this last interpretation is decidedly opposed by the circumstance that תּקף means strength not in the active sense = power over something, but only in the intransitive or passive sen…
Antiochus III formed an alliance with Ptolemy V by giving his daughter, Cleopatra I, to Ptolemy V in marriage. Antiochus hoped to overthrow Egypt from within, but his plan failed when his daughter became loyal to Egypt, and Egypt formed an alliance with Rome.
Rashi on Daniel 11:17
And he will set his face i.e., the king of the north, to come into the strength of the entire kingdom of the king of the south.
and the upright will be with him and Israel will be with the king of the south. Also with them will the king of the north battle in those days.
and he will succeed Heb. וְעָשָׂה, lit. and he will do.
Now the daughter of the women he will give him to destroy her This is the nation of Israel, [referred to in Song of Songs 1:8 as] “the fairest of women.” The king of the north will command the general of his army to destroy her. I say that he is Antiochus, the king of Greece, who issued decrees against Israel, and he commanded his general, Phillip, to kill whoever id…
