Daniel 11:13
in Daniel 11For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and he shall come on at the end of the times, even of years, with a great army and with much substance.
KJV
For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
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This verse in Daniel 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The king of the South
on Daniel 11:5-20
Verses 5 to 20 trace the wars of the South and the North, identified by Barnes and Gill as the Ptolemies and Seleucids. At verse 16 the invader stands in “the Beautiful Land,” and it ends with a king destroyed “though not in anger or in battle”.
This site's exposition
another army, larger than the first
Clarke dates the return about fourteen years later, when the king of the South was dead and his son Ptolemy Epiphanes a child. Clarke says the larger army and supplies came from a campaign in the east. Matthew Henry notes the boy king gave Antiochus the advantage.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
He will lead again an army greater than the earlier one and will set out against Egypt, and he will do this near the end of his own reign. That is what is meant by the sentence "at the end of the seasons he will …
Verses 13, 14. "And the king of the North shall return and shall prepare a much greater multitude than before, and in the end of times and years he shall come in haste with a large army and great resources. And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For the king of the north shall return,....
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 most powerful of all Alexander's successors. It was said that he had no fewer than seven-two kingdoms under him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The king of the north shall return - after certain years - In about fourteen years Antiochus did return, Philopater being dead, and his son Ptolemy Epiphanes being then a minor. He brought a much larger army and more riches; these he had collected in a late eastern expedition.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For the king of the north shall return - That is, he shall come again into the regions of Coelo-Syria and Palestine, to recover them if possible from the power of the Egyptian king. And shall set forth a multitude greater than the former - Than he had in the former war when he was defeated. The fact was, that Antiochus, in this expedition, brought with him the forces with which he had successfully invaded the East, and the army had been raised for that purpose, and was much larger than that with which he had formerly attacked Ptolemy.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the multitude will be raised up that of the king of the north, to become very haughty, for they planned in their hearts to be victorious in the war.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
and the sons of the renegades of your people will exalt themselves to bring about the vision I saw in the name of Rav Saadia Gaon that they were the renegades of Israel and their company.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׁב֙ | veshav | and he will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַצָּפ֔וֹן | hatzafon | the north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| וְהֶעֱמִ֣יד | veheemid | and he will raise up | H5975 → | 521 times |
| הָמ֔וֹן | hamon | a multitude | H1995 → | 83 times |
| רַ֖ב | rav | great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן | harishon | the first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| וּלְקֵ֨ץ | uleketz | and to [the] end of | H7093 → | 67 times |
| הָֽעִתִּ֤ים | haitim | the times | H6256 → | 296 times |
| שָׁנִים֙ | shanim | years | H8141 → | 877 times |
| יָ֣בוֹא | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| ב֔וֹא | vo' | certainly <come> | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בְּחַ֥יִל | bechayil | with an army | H2428 → | 246 times |
| גָּד֖וֹל | gadol | large | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וּבִרְכ֥וּשׁ | uvirkhush | and with equipment | H7399 → | 28 times |
| רָֽב׃ | rav | much | H7227 → | 454 times |
וְשָׁב֙and he will return
veshavH7725 →1056 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
הַצָּפ֔וֹןthe north
hatzafonH6828 →153 times
וְהֶעֱמִ֣ידand he will raise up
veheemidH5975 →521 times
הָמ֔וֹןa multitude
hamonH1995 →83 times
רַ֖בgreat
ravH7227 →454 times
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָרִאשׁ֑וֹןthe first
harishonH7223 →182 times
וּלְקֵ֨ץand to [the] end of
uleketzH7093 →67 times
הָֽעִתִּ֤יםthe times
haitimH6256 →296 times
שָׁנִים֙years
shanimH8141 →877 times
יָ֣בוֹאhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
ב֔וֹאcertainly <come>
vo'H935 →2568 times
בְּחַ֥יִלwith an army
bechayilH2428 →246 times
גָּד֖וֹלlarge
gadolH1419 →526 times
וּבִרְכ֥וּשׁand with equipment
uvirkhushH7399 →28 times
רָֽב׃much
ravH7227 →454 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 12:7And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever,…
it leads to
- Revelation 12:14
But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 7:25
He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for…
- Daniel 8:24
His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.
- Revelation 10:5–7
Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven.
- Revelation 13:5
The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
- Revelation 12:14
Through
Daniel 4:16Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the mind of a beast till seven times pass him by.
it leads to
- Daniel 4:23
And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying: ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and…
- Isaiah 6:10
Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
- Daniel 4:25
You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven,…
- Daniel 4:23
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ELEVEN; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 11:13.