The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 336

1he f<>w troops with which, llftcr the battle the M1u1soretio: at the end of the voree the nf I~ Rzo.. he rc<'over!'d possession of Be.by- ditforencc is considerable, "But power shl\ll lonill. He <'.ertRinh became br fe.r the most not be in her, from the fear whioh she pnwerful of tbe e·U('CCSSO!'B of A lexRnder. fmrcd : and she shall be betrayed, and her ln•l<>ed, he mll'I' be sRid to hR'l'e hRd all the youths, l\nd thoeo occompauying her, and dominions of ·Ah,x,rndcr BRVe Egypt and those supporting her in this time." The 1-<~'l'in on the south, o.nd Macedonia and Vulgate agrees pretty closely with this. t, reeee on the west ; for he had overthrown The reference here ie genemlly understood J,~·simaclms, and absorbed hie dominion. to be to the affinity mo.de by the Lagids Hi, dominion ~hall l,e a grBat dominiOII with the Seleucids, when Berenice, the Ftat.ee Rc,euratelv the extent of the dominions daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus, mo.rried of S,•leucue. Rosenmiiller would refer the Antiochus II. (Theos), who repudillted hia pronominal suffix \ "his," to Alexander, first wife, Laodiko, in order to do so. The Rnd uuden,tRnd Ptolemy as the prince in lea.p over a spa.cc of approximo.tely sixty q ucstion ; but this is improbable. It is years is not so trying as Professor Fuller impossible not to observe the abrn11t intro• imagines: but the uncertainty as to the duction of this prince. Grii.tz would suggest text is great, and the mee.ning of even the thllt a clause has dropped out here, which Massoretic is by no means fixed. Still, the declared that one of his (Alexander's) princes e.greement with the oourse of events is so stood up in the north. Had tbis a.ny manu- marked acoording to the oommon interpreta- script authority, it would be plausible. More, tion,, that one feels inclined to adopt it. however, would seem to be wanting. After the death of Philadelphus, father of Ver. 6.-And in the end of yea.r1 they Berenice, Antiochus Theos took back Lao- sha.lljoin themselves together; for the king's di.ke, who, in order to escape the risk of being daughter of the south &hall oome to the king age.in dismissed, unceremoniously poisoned of the north to make an agreement : but lhe her rival and her son, and then her hUBband shall not reta.in the power of the arm; .Antiochus. Yet this transaction seems some- neither &hall he stand, nor bill arm: but she what dubiously set forth in the Me.ssoretio &he.ll be given up, and they that brought text. Theodotion is closer to fa.cta, though it her, and he that begat her, and he that is possible that the text has been altered &treugthened her in these times. The LXX. to suit what were known to be facts. differs in a. remarkable wa.y from this, ".And Ver. 7.-But out of a branoh of her roots at the end of years he shell lead them, and lihe.ll one stand up in his estate, which shall the King of Egypt shall enter into the come with an army, e.nd shall enter into kingdom of the north to ma.ke covenants: the fortress of the king of the north, and but he sha.11 not prevail, because his arm shall deal against them, and shell prevail. shell not establish strength ( oi, <T'T,jo-,, 1ux6v): The version of the LXX. is very difi'erent and hie arm shell become stiff, e.nd that of here also, ".And a plant shall arise out of those o.ccompanying him, and he sho.11 re- his root against himself, and the king of main for e. seaeon C••• Cipas)." It is certainly the north sha.11 come against his power in difficult to see the ree.ding from which this his might, and shall cause disturbance, and rendering came. It is noticeable that there prevail." The Hebrew text would bear the is no reference to "the king's daughter of translation here given of the last clause, the south." History confirms the statement save "canee disturbance." The nominative in the Massoretic text, but there is no ex- may be the "king of the north." History pedition related in the history of J>hi.ladel- confirms the ordinary interpretation. Theo- phus underta.ken against the kingdom of dotion, as usual, is in closer agreement with Syria. It ill true om records of the reign of the Maseoretic. Yet even he difi'ers con- Philadelphus are somewhat scanty. Theo- siderably : he connect.& the last words of dotion is nearer the Ma.ssoretic text, though the preceding verse, "In those times, one not quite in accordance with it, ".And after shall a.rise out of the flower of her root of his days they shall mingle with one another his preparation, and shell enter into the ( <TUJJ-JJ.l"/1/0"ov-ra.,) ; e.nd the daughter of the strongholds of the king of the north, a.nd king of the sonth shall enter unto the king sho.ll do in them (according to his will), of the north to make treaties with him: but and prevail." The Peshitta. is somewho.t she shall not retai.u the power of the arm ; like thie, ".And there spring from the stem and hie seed shall not stand : and she shall of her seed against his place, and he sho.11 be betrayed, and those that brought her, conie in might, and he shall come in hoth the damsel e.nd he that did violence to strength against the king of the north. her." TLe last words are separated from and he shall pe.ss over age.inst them, and thi,; verse and conjoined to the following prevail." The Vulgate rendering seems to verse. TLe text behind thie seems, in many have a relation to tha.t just given," .And a. ways, superior to tLe Maseoretic. The Pe- plant shall stand from the seed of his roots, shitta agrees i.u the openi.ug claUBes witll and he shall come with an army, and shall en. xr. 1-15.] TIII◄: TIOCJK 011' fJ,\NH:f,.