Week 15 - The End of the Greeks

Daniel 11:17 - 11:35

• 11:17 Having restored Judea to Seleucid rule, Antiochus aims to restore the Seleucid empire to the limits it had under Seleucus Nicator. He plans to enter Egypt with his whole strength, including Judea (the "upright ones" who like him now). But first, he makes an alliance with the freshly defeated Ptolemy by giving him his own daughter in marriage. I think "corrupting her" means that in aquiescing she betrays her own heart. The dowry is Clo-Syria and Judea, and in return, Ptolemy promised to remain neutral in any conflict with Rome which Antiochus might egage in. He hoped through his daughter to restore Syria, Cilicia, and Lycia to Seleucid rule - and finally Egypt itself. But his daughter sided with Ptolemy, and defeated his scheme.
• 11:18 Antiochus III then turned his attention to Asia Minor in 197 B.C. and Greece in 192 and "took many" of the Ægean isles from Rome, even crossing the Hellespont. However, Rome dispatched general Lucius Scipio Asiaticus (a "prince") to "cause the reproach to cease", which he accomplished "for his own behalf" (for his own glory) by routing Antiochus at Magnesia in 190 "without his own reproach" (untarnished reputation).
  Antiochus III the Great mounted the most vigorous military campaigns of any of Alexander’s successors, but his dream of reuniting the empire was never realized.
• 11:19 Antiochus returned to his own country in 188. The crushing taxes to support the exhorbitant cost of the war with Rome was compounded by tribute imposed by the victorious Rome, and furious citizens assassinated him a year later.
• 11:20 His son Seleucus IV Philopater (187-176 B.C., brother of Cleopatra) rules in his place. Rome must have its taxes, so Philopater sends Heliodorus through Judea to impose taxes. Meanwhile in Jerusalem, Simon the Benjamite hates Onias the High Priest. To spite him, Simon tells Apollonius the Governor about "hidden" temple funds (actually a belevolence fund for widows and orphans). Heliodorus soon returns under orders to appropriate the funds to reduce the national debt. 2 Maccabees 3 See Zech. 9:8, "No oppressor shall pass through any more."
  After a relatively short reign of twelve years. Heliodorus, the instrument of Seleucus' sacrilege, became the instrument of his punishment. Seleucus' brother Antiochus was a political hostage in Rome. The Romans decide that Seleusus' only son and heir, Demetrius, would make a better hostage, and exchange Antiochus for him. With Demetrius in Rome, Heliodorus poisons Seleucus, "neither in anger nor in battle". Heliodorus the tax collector, himself lasts only a few days as Antiochus Epiphanes, Seleucus' brother, by the help of Eumenes, king of Pergamos, seizes the throne in 175 as regent for the infant brother of Demetrius (whom he murders soon after).
• 11:21 Antiochus takes for himself the name Epiphanes which means “the Illustrious One.” But he was considered so untrustworthy that he was nicknamed Epimanes, "the Madman." The throne rightly belonged to Demetrius Soter, a son of Seleucus IV Philopator, but Antiochus IV Epiphanes seized the throne through intrigue,"flattering" Eumenes and Attalus of Pergamos to help him, and, as he had seen candidates at Rome doing, canvassing the Syrian people high and low, one by one, with embraces [LIVY, 41.20].
• 11:22 When young Ptolemy Philometer's guardians demanded that Epiphanes return Clo-Syria and Palestine promised by Antiochus III as Cleopatra's dowry, Antiochus Epiphanes preemtively invaded Egypt with overwhelming forces. The "prince of the covenant" is Ptolemy (but possibly the deposes of Onias), the son of Cleopatra, Antiochus' sister, who was joined in covenant with him. Philometer's generals were vanquished, and Pelusium, the key of Egypt, taken by Antiochus, 171 B.C. Young Ptolemy is captured, but allowed to continue ruling as a puppet king to avoid alarming Rome. Alexandria appoints Ptolemy VIII his brother as king, and they agree to rule Egypt jointly to avoid a civil war.
• 11:23,24 At this point Jason the Helenizer offers Antiochus 160 talents of silver to be appointed high priest instead of Onias. But when he sends Menelaus with the taxes, Menelaus outbids Jason by 300 talents, and is appointed high priest instead.
  After installing the young Ptolemy as a puppet king, Antiochus goes to Egypt, and feigning friendship with young Ptolemy, as if he wished to help order his kingdom for him, takes possession of Memphis and all Egypt ("the fattest places") as far as Alexandria with only a few people. His forces were small to throw off suspicion. Having gained a foothold, he now makes his plans to capture Alexandria and the strongholds of Egypt.
• 11:25,26 Antiochus gathers a great army for the conquest of Egypt. Ptolemy gathers an even greater army - but it is disorganized and is swept away with great losses in 170BC. Ptolemy's trusted advisers and dependents utterly fail him.
• 11:27 The Egyptians had a large army but were defeated and Antiochus professed friendship with Egypt. The victor and the vanquished sat at a table together as though friendship had been established, but the goal of both to establish peace was never realized for they both were deceptive.
• 11:28 Antiochus carried great wealth back to his homeland from his conquest. On his return he passed through the land of Israel. After his disappointment in Egypt (he had hoped to take all of Egypt but failed) he took out his frustrations on the Jews by desecrating the temple in Jerusalem. Evidently he opposed (set his heart against) the entire Mosaic system (the holy covenant). After desecrating the temple, he returned to his own country.

  “Moreover, King Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be one people, and everyone should leave his laws. So all the heathen agreed according to the commandment of the king. Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath. * * * Then many of the people were gathered unto them, to wit, every one that forsook the law; and so they committed evils in the land.”(1Ma 1:41-43,52)

• 11:29 "At the time appointed"—"the time" spoken of in Daniel 11:27, Ptolemy Philometer, suspecting Antiochus' designs with Physcon, hired mercenaries from Greece. Whereupon Antiochus in 168 advanced with a fleet and an army, demanding the cession to him of Cyprus, Pelusium, and the country adjoining the Pelusiac mouth of the Nile. This was not successful as was the former expedition.
• 11:30 Popilius Loenas, the Roman ambassador, met him at Eleusis, four miles from Alexandria, and presented him the decree of the senate; on Antiochus replying that he would consider what he was to do, Popilius drew a line round him with a rod and said, "I must have a reply to give to the senate before you leave this circle." Antiochus submitted, and retired from Egypt; and his fleets withdrew from Cyprus. This was a humiliating defeat for Antiochus Epiphanes (he will lose heart) but he had no alternative but to return in rage to his own land.
  For a second time (v 28) Antiochus took out his frustration on the Jews, the city of Jerusalem, and their temple. He vented his fury against the holy covenant, the entire Mosaic system (v 28), favoring any renegade Jews who turned to help him (v 32).
• 11:31 Antiochus sent his general Apollonius with 22,000 soldiers into Jerusalem on what was purported to be a peace mission. But they attacked Jerusalem on the Sabbath, killed many people, took many women and children as slaves, and plundered and burned the city. We covered the gory details in Daniel 8.
• 11:32 "In those days there went out of Israel wicked men who persuaded many, saying: Let us go and make a covenant with the heathen, that are round about us .... Then certain of the people were so forward herein that they went to the king, who gave them license to do after the ordinances of the heathen." I Mac 1:11
• 11:33 This description applies particularly to Mattathias and his family, who not only were priests by their birthright, and thus the divinely ordained teachers of Israel, but were true priests, faithfully performing their duty to God and to His people.
  Judas himself, and a great part of his army, were slain by the sword (1Ma 9:17,18). Jonathan also was slain with a thousand men (1Ma 12:48). The chief tax collector set Jerusalem on fire (1Ma 1:31; see also 2Ma 7). Forty thousand captives were carried away by Antiochus (2Ma 5:14).
• 11:34 Judas, time and again, defeated, with very small forces, large armies of Syrians, Idumeans, and others (1Ma 2:28; 3:9-11) etc. But later on, many did cleave to them by flatteries, professing friendship to them, etc. (1Ma 10). Thus Alexander Bala, successor to Antiochus Epiphanes, made with Jonathan a league of mutual assistance and friendship (1Ma 10:65).
• 11:35 The family of Mattathias continued for several generations to serve the people of Israel in the capacity of priests and teachers (1Ma 10:21; 14:35; 16:24); and (Josephus Ant. XIII 8, 1). Of these "some" fell by violent deaths and by captivity (1Ma 6:46; 9:18; 9:36, 42; 12:41-48); (Ant. XIV.4, 5; XIV 13, 10; XV 6, 2). And this continued to the very "end" of the Asmonean era; for the last of the family, Aristobulus, who held for a short time the high priesthood, was murdered at the command of Herod (Ant. XV 3, 3).