Daniel 11:3
in Daniel 11Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
KJV
And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
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This verse in Daniel 11
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And a mighty king shall stand up - So far as the language here is concerned, it is not said whether this would be in Persia, as a successor of the “fourth king” Dan 11:2, or whether it would be in some other part of the world. The next verse, however, shows that the reference is to Alexander the Great - for to no other one is it applicable.
This site's exposition
the first year of Darius the Mede
on Daniel 11:1-4
The revealer of chapter 10 continues without a seam: the same messenger who fought beside Michael now shows the truth about kings to come. Three kings yet in Persia and a fourth far richer stirring up all against Grecia, then a mighty king with great dominion whose kingdom is broken toward the four winds, not to his posterity: the bench reads the corridor as history read it, Xerxes' invasion, Alexander, and the four-way division among generals none of them his heirs, and the precision here is the reason the date of the book has been disputed since Porphyry, a dispute the notes state as history with Jerome's answer beside it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
"And another mighty king shall arise and he shall enter into the strongholds of the king of Egypt." [Daniel 11:3] For one named Antiochus became king of Syria. This one reigned in the one hundredth and thirtieth and seventh year of the kingdom of Greeks. And at this point, then in those times he engaged in war with Ptolemy king of Egypt, and having prevailed over him he ruled. This one, returning from Egypt, went up to Jerusalem in the one hundredth and forty-third year and taking all the treasures which were in the house of the Lord he went to Antioch. After these things happened in this way, two years later the king sent his own tax collector to compel the Jews in the cities of Judea to transgress the laws of their fathers and to be subjected to the decrees and laws of the king. And at this point when he arrived in the city of Modein, he summoned a certain righteous and pious man by the name of Matthias, who was from priestly stock, to whom he, answering, said, "Come now, Matthias, sacrifice and do what is prescribed by the king, just as he made all nations, because you are a great chief and a ruler in the city and are established in children and you will be a friend of the king." [1 Maccabees 2:17-18] But he, answering, said, "Though all nations and every man marches behind the king to do according to his command, I myself and my house and the house of my father will never do according to the prescription of the king; may we never depart from the law and covenant of our fathers; we will not listen to the words of the king to turn from our way right or left!" [1 Maccabees 2:19-22] While he was still speaking these words, behold, a Jewish man, coming before his face, came to sacrifice upon the altar of Modein. […]
Verses 3, 4. "But there shall rise up a strong king and shall rule with great power, and he shall do whatever he pleases. And when he shall have arisen, his kingdom shall be broken." He clearly refers to Alexander the Great, king of the Macedonians, and son of Philip. For after he had overcome the Illyrians and Thracians, and had conquered Greece and destroyed Thebes, he crossed over into Asia. And when he had routed Darius's generals and taken the city of Sardis, he afterwards captured India and founded the city of Alexandria.
And so he says to him, "Behold, still three kings shall arise in Persia and the fourth will be rich with greater riches than all. And after he himself masters his riches he shall rise against all the kingdoms of the Greeks. And a mighty king shall arise, and he shall be lord of a great dominion and he shall do according to his will. And as his kingdom rises it shall be shattered and divided to the four winds of heaven." [Daniel 11:2-4] And so we have already described these things above when we made the account concerning the four beasts, but since now Scripture describes all these things again in detail, it is absolutely necessary also for us to make a second account, so that we do not forsake Scripture as idle and indemonstrable.
Alexander of Macedon rose against him, who was the son of Philip, and he seized his kingdom. And after he subjected the Persians, his kingdom was divided to the four winds of heaven. For while dying, Alexander divided his kingdom to four chiefs.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"And [Alexander] shall arise," he says, "and will kill [Darius] and will take action as he pleases," and nobody will rise against him. This Darius, son of Arshak, was the tenth king after Cyrus, and in his sixth year Alexander marches against him and kills …
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When Alexander, after he had conquered Asia, would be worshipped as a god, then this was fulfilled, that he shall do according to his will. That is God's prerogative, but was his pretension.
And a mighty king shall stand up,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A mighty king shall stand up - This was Alexander the great. It is not said that this mighty king shall stand up against Xerxes, for he was not born till one hundred years after that monarch; but simply that he should stand up, i.e., that he should reign in Greece.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָמַ֖ד | veamad | and he will arise | H5975 → | 521 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| גִּבּ֑וֹר | gibor | mighty | H1368 → | |
| וּמָשַׁל֙ | umashal | and he will have dominion | H4910 → | 81 times |
| מִמְשָׁ֣ל | mishal | dominion | H4474 → | |
| רַ֔ב | rav | great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וְעָשָׂ֖ה | veasah | and he will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כִּרְצוֹנֽוֹ׃ | kirtzono | according to pleasure his | H7522 → | 56 times |
וְעָמַ֖דand he will arise
veamadH5975 →521 times
מֶ֣לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
גִּבּ֑וֹרmighty
giborH1368 →
וּמָשַׁל֙and he will have dominion
umashalH4910 →81 times
מִמְשָׁ֣לdominion
mishalH4474 →
רַ֔בgreat
ravH7227 →454 times
וְעָשָׂ֖הand he will do
veasahH6213 →2628 times
כִּרְצוֹנֽוֹ׃according to pleasure his
kirtzonoH7522 →56 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 11:36Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the…
it leads to
- Revelation 13:5–6
The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4
He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- Isaiah 14:13
You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of…
- Deuteronomy 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
- Daniel 8:19
and said, “Behold, I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end.
- Revelation 13:5–6
Through
Daniel 7:6Next, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was…
it leads to
- Revelation 13:2
The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
- Daniel 8:5–8
As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 13:2
Through
Daniel 11:16The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.
it leads to
- Daniel 8:9
From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
- Daniel 8:9
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.42.1-10; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.41.2-3; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.41.6; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 11:3; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ELEVEN; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.