Daniel 11:22
in Daniel 11Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
KJV
And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
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This verse in Daniel 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd with the arms of a flood - The arms which were overflown before him were his competitors for the crown. They were vanquished by the forces of Eumenes and Attalus; and were dissipated by the arrival of Antiochus from Athens, whose presence disconcerted all their measures. The prince of the covenant - This was Onias, the high priest, whom he removed, and put Jason in his place, who had given him a great sum of money; and then put wicked Menelaus in his room, who had offered him a larger sum.
This site's exposition
shall stand up a vile person
on Daniel 11:21-28
The vile person enters without the honour of the kingdom and obtains it by flatteries, and the bench is unanimous on the near identification: Antiochus Epiphanes, the self-styled Illustrious whom his subjects renamed Epimanes, the madman. The prince of the covenant broken, the deceitful league, the scattering of prey and spoil his fathers never practiced, the lies spoken at one table between two kings: the portrait is of power exercised as fraud. His heart against the holy covenant at verse 28 turns the corridor's camera where it will stay, on what this king does to the sanctuary and the saints.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Here again he hinted at the empire of the Egyptians, that though they too were very powerful, destroying their adversaries like an inundation, and rendering them totally undone, they themselves would be subject to an inundation from him and would be crushed—and not they alone …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken,....
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 Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shall they be overflown . . . before him--Antiochus Epiphanes shall invade Egypt with overwhelming forces. prince of the covenant--Ptolemy Philometer, the son of Cleopatra, Antiochus' sister, who was joined in covenant with him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And with the arms of a flood - The refercnce here is to some mighty invasion of some country by Antiochus, which would sweep everything before him. There seems to be some confusion of metaphor in the phrase, “the arms of a flood.” The idea in the mind of the writer appears to have been this: He saw an invasion of some country by hosts of men under the command of Antiochus. This it was not unnatural to compare with an “inundation of waters” spreading over a land. See Isa 8:8. Nor was it altogether unnatural to speak of an inundation as having “arms” extending far and near; sweeping everything to itself, or carrying it away. Thus we speak of an arm of the sea, an arm of a river, etc. In this manner the inundation - the invasion - seemed to spread itself out like waters, sweeping all away. Shall they be overflown, from before him - The prophet does not specify “who” they would be that would thus be overthrown. Some have supposed that the reference is to the Hebrews, but the more correct interpretation is what refers it to Egypt, See the notes at Dan 11:25. As a matter of fact, the forces of Heliodorus, the forces of the Hebrews, and the forces of the Egyptians, were alike broken and scattered before him. The eye of the prophet, however, seems rather here to be on the invasion of Egypt, which was one of the earliest and most prominent acts of Antiochus, and into the history of which the prophet goes most into detail. Yea, also the prince of the covenant - He also shall be broken and overcome. There has been some diversity of opinion as to who is meant by “the prince of the covenant” here. Many suppose that it is the high priest of the Jews, as being the chief prince or ruler under the “covenant” which God made with them, or among the “covenant” people. […]
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּזְרֹע֥וֹת | uzeroot | and [the] forces of | H2220 → | 91 times |
| הַשֶּׁ֛טֶף | hashetef | the flood | H7858 → | |
| יִשָּׁטְפ֥וּ | yishatefu | they will be swept away | H7857 → | 31 times |
| מִלְּפָנָ֖יו | milefanav | from to before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְיִשָּׁבֵ֑רוּ | veyishaveru | so they may be broken | H7665 → | 147 times |
| וְגַ֖ם | vegam | and also | H1571 → | |
| נְגִ֥יד | negid | a prince of | H5057 → | 45 times |
| בְּרִֽית׃ | berit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
וּזְרֹע֥וֹתand [the] forces of
uzerootH2220 →91 times
הַשֶּׁ֛טֶףthe flood
hashetefH7858 →
יִשָּׁטְפ֥וּthey will be swept away
yishatefuH7857 →31 times
מִלְּפָנָ֖יוfrom to before him
milefanavH6440 →2123 times
וְיִשָּׁבֵ֑רוּso they may be broken
veyishaveruH7665 →147 times
וְגַ֖םand also
vegamH1571 →
נְגִ֥ידa prince of
negidH5057 →45 times
בְּרִֽית׃a covenant
beritH1285 →284 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 9:26Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end…
it leads to
- Isaiah 53:8
By oppression and judgment He was taken away, and who can recount His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was stricken for the transgression of My people.
- Nahum 1:8
But with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh and pursue His enemies into darkness.
- Luke 24:26
Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?”
- Mark 13:2
“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
- Isaiah 53:8
Through
Daniel 8:25Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he…
it leads to
- Daniel 8:11
It magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host; it removed His daily sacrifice and overthrew the place of His sanctuary.
- Daniel 11:32–33
With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
- Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
- Job 34:20
They die in an instant, in the middle of the night. The people convulse and pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.
- Daniel 8:11
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 11:22.
