The long chronicle of the kings — told in advance, kingdom by kingdom: three kings yet in Persia and a fourth far richer; the mighty king whose kingdom is broken toward the four winds of heaven; and then the generations-long war of the king of the south and the king of the north — alliances by marriage that do not stand, fortresses and floods of armies, the raiser of taxes, and the contemptible person who obtains the kingdom by blandishments. Ships of Kittim come against him; in his rage against the holy covenant he profanes the sanctuary, takes away the continual burnt-offering, and sets up the detestable thing that causes appalment. 'but the people who know their God shall show strength, and prevail' — and they that are wise shall make the many to understand, though they fall by sword and flame. He exalts himself above every god, honors the god of strongholds, plants his palace tents between the seas and the beauteous holy mountain — 'and he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.'
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to be a supporter and a stronghold to him.
verse value 2351
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (לֽוֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (לֽוֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Darius" (לְדָרְיָ֖וֶשׁ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "the·Mede" (הַמָּדִ֑י), "to·a·supporter" (לְמַחֲזִ֥יק), "and·to·a·stronghold" (וּלְמָע֖וֹז). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "my·standing" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "in·year·of" (root שנה, 38x in Daniel); "and·I" (root אני, 23x in Daniel). First appearance of the root מעוז ("and·to·a·stronghold") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Mede', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַאֲנִי֙ [and·I] (67) + בִּשְׁנַ֣ת [in·year·of] (752) + אַחַ֔ת [one] (409) + לְדָרְיָ֖וֶשׁ [to·Darius] (550) + הַמָּדִ֑י [the·Mede] (59) + עׇמְדִ֛י [my·standing] (124) + לְמַחֲזִ֥יק [to·a·supporter] (195) + וּלְמָע֖וֹז [and·to·a·stronghold] (159) + לֽוֹ [to·him] (36) = 2351.
Rashi
As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede when the kingdom of Babylon fell, and the rule of Media and Persia commenced, and the princes of Media and Persia entreated the Omnipresent to make the yoke of their frightful rule heavy upon you, I, Gabriel, stood as a supporter and as a stronghold for Michael, your prince.
Ibn Ezra
And as for me — There was a scholar in Spain named Ben ha-Yotzer, who wrote a book called Sefer HaKetz (“the Book of the End”) and interpreted “a time, times, and half a time” [12:7] as one thousand five hundred years, counted from the first year of Darius the Mede. But he erred, for he thought that this verse was Daniel’s own words, when in fact it is only the words of the angel, since it continues directly from what precedes it: “and there is none who holds strong with me against these, except Michael your prince” [10:21] — the meaning being: “If he helped me now in my battle with the prince of Persia, I in turn helped him against the prince of the Chaldeans, at the time Darius the Mede became king” — as it is written, “and Darius the Mede received the kingdom” [6:1]. This is the meaning of, “And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to be a supporter and a stronghold” — namely, to Michael. And the proof that these are the words of the angel is that immediately afterward it is written, “and now I will declare to you the truth” [11:2]. One might well wonder at this verse. And should an objector say, “Show me something comparable, where the text breaks off and then resumes with the word ‘to him,’” I have already shown him such cases in an earlier passage: “and Hashem appeared to him at the terebinths of Mamre” [Genesis 18:1], and “and Judah drew near to him” [Genesis 44:18]. And before I speak of the matter of Persia, I will speak of the matter of the angels — namely, that there is no jealousy among them; and it is written, “He makes peace in His heights” [Job 25:2]. Now these are deep secrets, which only one in a thousand can grasp. I speak of the secret of the origins of things, of the nature of the human soul (which is not physical), and of the wisdom of the celestial spheres and their motion, together with the matter of the ministering angels and the constellations. And now I will hint to you with allusions, for “it is the glory of God to conceal a matter” [Proverbs 25:2] — so set your heart to understanding, and Hashem will grant you wisdom. The words of Abraham the author: I have resolved to speak of the One who precedes number. From one aspect He is the cause of all number; from another, He is the sum of all number. He neither increases nor decreases, yet He is the cause of all increase and decrease; He admits of neither doubling nor division, yet He is the cause of both. This One is the first world, set over against the worlds that come after it. This world is incorporeal; it is called the vision of the Glory of Hashem Most High, and it does not change, either in its essence or in its arrangement; it has neither time nor place, and the glorious Hashem dwells within it.
The second world, the middle world, is where there dwell souls that are true forms without bodies, and also souls within bodies — beyond our reckoning in number, the bodies as well as the souls — and all of them are glorious, for they undergo no reversal, exchange, or change in their essence, but only, incidentally, in the arrangement of their motion. This world is called the Holy Sanctuary; it is also “the heaven of heavens”; there is the Throne of Glory, and there dwell Michael and Gabriel. This is why Targum Yonatan ben Uzziel renders [the threefold “holy” of Isaiah 6:3] as, “Holy — in the heights, the house of His Divine Presence.” And this is what was mentioned at first, “sitting upon a throne” — that being the Throne of Glory and its skirts; the meaning is that “the skirts of the throne fill the Sanctuary.” And it also renders, “Holy — upon the earth, the work of His might” — and behold, these two [worlds] are hidden — and afterward it says, “Holy — forever and for all eternity.” Know that the attribute [of holiness] does not change according to place; therefore the secret of its wording is “and one called to another” [Isaiah 6:3] — for the bodies of the middle world have neither beginning nor end. Of this world it is written, “Praise Him, all His angels” [Psalms 148:2], also “His hosts,” also “the ministers,” also “the two lights”; and of them all it says, “for He commanded, and they were created; He has established them forever and ever; He has set a law that shall not pass away” [Psalms 148:5–6]. Yet there is a reversal in their motions: some travel from east to west, and some the reverse; some northward, some southward, some along the equator; some run a straight course, some turn back; some stand still, some move swiftly, some move slowly, some ascend, some descend, some are visible, some are hidden; and the ministers alone combine among themselves in one hundred and twenty conjunctions. These upper beings are without limit, meeting sometimes face to face and sometimes with a loving glance. And I say: for all this [diversity], there is no strife among them — it is simply that through it, events are renewed in the lower world, on account of their motion and change, now for good, now for evil. These matters require a lengthy explanation, and a single book could not contain them, to make known their secret and its reason.
The third world is beneath the firmament, and it is entirely filled with bodies, both fine and coarse; some bodies contain souls (neshamot), some spirits (ruchot), some [animating] souls (nefashot); and man alone is the secret of this lower world, for whose sake it was created, his soul being bound to the souls above. And because the one who speaks is a man, and the one who listens is also a man, Scripture describes the beings above in the image of man, and the beings below likewise in the image of man. And behold, it exalts the beings above, even as it brings them down to human terms — for I could not speak of them at all, were it not to do so, and thereby raise up what is lowly. This is why our Sages, of blessed memory, said: The Torah speaks in the language of men. Take, for example, such expressions as: “the first of the dust of the world”; “and it covered the eye of the land”; “give ear, O earth” — “incline Your ear”; and, of the stone, “that it has heard the words of Hashem”; “and the earth opened its mouth”; “from the uttermost parts of the earth”; “in the heart of the seas”; “on the bank of the river”; “the bank of the Jordan”; “and a helmet of salvation on His head”; “the eyes of Hashem”; “in the ears of Hashem”; “for the mouth of Hashem has spoken”; “by the word of Your lips”; “indeed, My hand laid the foundation of the earth”; “and My right hand spread out the heavens”; “and Hashem said to His heart”; “therefore My heart yearns for him”; “and under His feet”; and in the same vein: “and the anger of Hashem burned”; “Hashem loves”; “and Hashem went”; “Hashem sat enthroned at the flood”; “behold, Hashem rides upon a swift cloud”; “awake, why do You sleep?”; “and Hashem awoke as one asleep”; “I have kept silent from of old”; “I will be silent, I will restrain Myself.”
Now, “the prince of Persia” is the officer appointed over the Great Conjunction or the Middle Conjunction, and Daniel refers to this officer by the term “angel.” And there is a further matter between them: a glance that stems from love; and the reason for the twenty-one days [10:13] corresponds to the officer appointed over Daniel himself — for just as there are officers appointed over every nation, so is there one appointed over every individual person, and the clash between this one and that one is what constitutes “war.” And behold, this lower world is a world of reversal and change — in essence, in configuration, and in motion; and the form that Daniel described appeared to him in visions of prophecy. I have already revealed to you the secret of the holy angels, briefly, by way of allusion; and there is proof for all of this from the words of the Prophets, as well as proofs from the external sciences. Know that decrees, both past and future, come from the heavens, and they are the words of Hashem; and it is written, “Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens” [Psalms 119:89]. And the secret of the [celestial] arrangements, from the beginning of their creation, governing all the arrangements of the heavens — these are “the books” [7:10]; this, then, is the secret of dreams. And now I will return to explaining the words of the angel.
Metzudat David
And as for me – These are still the words of the angel [speaking]. I stood up – I stood as a supporter and stronghold for Michael your prince, regarding the request that he made — though Scripture does not specify what the request was; perhaps he requested that Cyrus take the kingship and send Israel back to their land, and I supported him in this; and therefore he, in turn, now supports me in these matters.
Metzudat Zion
And a stronghold (ulma'oz) - From the root meaning strength and might.
Malbim
And as for me — Abarbanel explains: 'in the first year of Darius, I stood up to be a supporter and a stronghold to' Darius, who was well disposed toward Israel. And as is related in [Sefer] Yosippon, it became known to Darius, through the matter of the angel's writing and Daniel's interpretation of it, that Belshazzar had been punished for having laid hands on the vessels of the Temple; whereupon Darius vowed to grant permission to build the [Temple] house. And in this the angel served as a stronghold for him, to bring the matter from potential into actuality, through Cyrus his son-in-law.
Ibn Yahya
And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, etc. – Meaning: none stands firm against these except Michael your prince, and I. From the first year of Darius the Mede, I began my stand, to be a supporter and a stronghold for him — for Israel — and to stand opposed to those hostile princes.
And now I will declare to you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all; and when he has waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
verse value 6468
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 88 letters. Notable word values: "I·will·declare" (אַגִּ֣יד) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָ֑ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·fourth" (וְהָֽרְבִיעִי֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 140: behold·yet, kings. 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "behold·yet" (הִנֵּה־עוֹד֩), "kings" (מְלָכִ֜ים), "to·Persia" (לְפָרַ֗ס). The root עשר appears 3 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "kings" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "standing" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "than·all" (root כל, 41x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 16 words.
Rashi
Behold three more kings Our Sages of blessed memory in Seder Olam (ch. 28) said: “This refers to Cyrus, Ahasuerus, and Darius who rebuilt the Temple. Now what is the meaning of fourth’? The fourth, counting from Media.” In the book of Joseph Ben Gorion, however, it is written that Cyrus had a son who succeeded him before the reign of Ahasuerus, named Cambyses. and when he becomes strong i.e., Darius. with his wealth, he will arouse his entire kingdom to wage war against the kingdom of the heathens.
Ibn Ezra
And now — the Gaon said that the kings of Media and Persia were four, namely: Darius the Mede, Cyrus the Persian, also Ahasuerus, and Darius the Persian, whom Alexander killed; and he explained that “behold, yet three more kings” refers to those alongside Cyrus, and that the meaning of “and the fourth” is Darius the Persian, who is fourth counting from Darius the Mede, for this prophecy was given in the third year of Cyrus of Persia. And Rabbi Moshe HaKohen the Spaniard said that there were six kings: the first, Darius the Elder, who is the Mede; the second, Cyrus the Persian; the third, Ahasuerus; the fourth, Artaxerxes, who decreed that the holy city not be built; the fifth, Darius the Persian, who decreed that the House be built; and the sixth, Artaxerxes the Rich, whom Alexander killed — he is the one in whose days Ezra, and also Nehemiah, went up, as it is written. But in my opinion, the meaning of “behold, yet three more kings, and the fourth” is that Cyrus is not counted among them, for the verse says “yet,” meaning that they are still to come. Yet one could raise an objection against this: if that is the meaning of “yet,” why does it say “behold, yet three more kings” — which implies no more than three — and then say “and the fourth”? Surely it would have been proper to say “behold, yet four more kings”! And there is a further difficulty: behold, Cyrus reigned three years, for so it is written; and it is written in the Megillah that the deed of Haman occurred in the twelfth year of the reign of Ahasuerus, while in the Book of the Kings of Persia it is written that his entire reign was fourteen years — if so, when did the first Artaxerxes, who decreed that the House not be built, reign?! In my opinion, the kings of Media and Persia were in fact five: the first, Darius the Mede; the second, Cyrus the Persian; and the third is Ahasuerus — this name being in the Persian tongue, while in the Chaldean tongue he is called Artaxerxes — and he is the one who decreed that Jerusalem not be built. And thus it is written: “in the days of Ahasuerus, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem” (Ezra 4:6) — and the meaning of this accusation and this letter is in the Aramaic language, as it was written; and the sense is that the passage mentioned there, which took place in the days of Artaxerxes, was written entirely in Aramaic; and this accusation is not the affair of Haman, for it did not occur at the beginning of his reign, but rather when King Ahasuerus had already decreed that the Jews should go up and build the House. Therefore it is written, “for they came up from you” (cf. Ezra 4:12) — for they had gone up with his permission; but on account of the letter that was written to him, he retracted, just as had happened in the days of Cyrus — and this is the meaning of “and by the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia” (Ezra 6:14). And according to the plain sense, if it had been one king, it would have been written “Cyrus, he is Darius, he is Artaxerxes,” in accordance with the ordinary rule of the language. But in fact, after Cyrus there were three more by themselves: Ahasuerus, who is the first Artaxerxes; and second, Darius the Persian, who is the fourth from Cyrus — it is in his days that this prophecy occurred; he is the Artaxerxes who reigned many years, for behold, it is written in Ezra of “the thirtieth year of his reign,” and there it is written that he was king of Babylon, for so the Babylonians called him Artaxerxes, while in the Persian tongue his name was Darius — for it is written in the Book of the Kings of Persia that Darius was the name of the king whom Alexander killed. And the meaning of “he shall stir up all” — the men of his kingdom sent word to Alexander, and his own officers likewise killed him at night, in the place to which he had fled; this is the Ahasuerus who was also called Darius.
Metzudat David
The truth – Something that stands, never to be altered. Three kings – Including Cyrus, who reigns now, for this prophecy took place in the days of Cyrus, as stated at the beginning of this section: 'In the third year of Cyrus... in those days, etc.' And after Cyrus, Ahasuerus reigned, and after him Darius his son. And the fourth – This is Darius son of Ahasuerus, who is the fourth king counting from Darius the Mede — who took the kingdom from Belshazzar and was the first of the kings of Media and Persia. Than they all – That is, than all the kings of Persia who came before him. And when he has waxed strong – When he grows very powerful through great wealth. He shall stir up all – He will rouse all the inhabitants of the lands under his rule to fight against the kingdom of Greece.
Metzudat Zion
He shall stir up (ya'ir) - Meaning he shall arouse, as in "he stirs up zeal" (Isaiah 42).
Malbim
And now I will declare to you the truth — that which has yet been decreed concerning Israel. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia — besides Cyrus. And the fourth — is counted together with Cyrus [that is, Cyrus being the first, this is the fourth in that count]. And when he has waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all — he will rouse all his armies to fight against the kingdom of Greece, for at that time there was not yet a single king in Greece, only magistrates of the land.
Ibn Yahya
And now I will declare to you the truth – from what is recorded in the writing of truth: behold, there shall yet stand three more kings for Persia — that is, for the second beast — besides Darius the Mede, who received the kingdom from Belshazzar the Babylonian, who was the first beast. These are Cyrus; Artaxerxes, who is Ahasuerus; and Darius his son, the son of Esther. And the fourth of the kings of Persia — that is, Darius the son of Esther — shall grow far richer than all who preceded him. And with all his might and all his wealth he will be forced to expose and lay bare all that he has against the kingdom of Greece, which will take all that is his from his hand. And the word 'stir up' [ya'ir] is, in its grammatical form, related in root to he'arah (exposure, a laying bare).
And a mighty king shall stand up, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
verse value 2162
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "great" (רַ֔ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "like·his·will" (כִּרְצוֹנֽוֹ, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "mighty" (גִּבּ֑וֹר). The root משל appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·shall·stand" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "great" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). First appearance of the root משל ("and·shall·rule") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'mighty', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְעָמַ֖ד [and·shall·stand] (120) + מֶ֣לֶךְ [king] (90) + גִּבּ֑וֹר [mighty] (211) + וּמָשַׁל֙ [and·shall·rule] (376) + מִמְשָׁ֣ל [dominion] (410) + רַ֔ב [great] (202) + וְעָשָׂ֖ה [and·shall·do] (381) + כִּרְצוֹנֽוֹ [like·his·will] (372) = 2162.
Rashi
And a mighty king will arise in Greece, viz. Alexander of Macedon. and do according to his will with Darius the king of Persia, and he will slay him and receive his kingdom, and the Persians will be enslaved by the heathens [the Greeks.
Ibn Ezra
And a mighty king shall stand up — this is explicitly Alexander, before whom Darius grew weak.
Metzudat David
And a mighty king shall stand up – This is Alexander of Macedon, king of Greece. And do according to his will – For he will kill Darius and conquer Persia.
Malbim
And a mighty king shall stand up — this is Alexander of Macedon. who shall rule with great dominion — he speaks briefly of this matter, because the details had already been made known to him in the second vision [Daniel ch. 8].
Ibn Yahya
And a mighty king shall stand up, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will – This is Alexander of Macedon, who exercised a great and wondrous dominion, and did as he pleased in the world, so that all peoples came cringing before him.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
verse value 7457
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 85 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·his·posterity" (לְאַחֲרִית֗וֹ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 502: his·kingdom, his·kingdom. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·when·his·standing" (וּכְעׇמְדוֹ֙), "shall·be·broken" (תִּשָּׁבֵ֣ר), "and·shall·be·divided" (וְתֵחָ֕ץ). The root מלכות appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "besides·these" (root אלה, 57x in Daniel); "and·when·his·standing" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·heavens', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 11 words.
Rashi
And when he arises, his kingdom will be broken When he becomes very strong and reaches the height of his strength, his kingdom will be broken, meaning that he will die. and it will be divided to the four directions of the heavens It is written in the book of Ben Gorion (ch. 14) that he divided his kingdom between the four heads of his family; they are the four heads of the leopard that Daniel saw (above 7:6): “And behold another one, like a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had four heads.” He gave this one dominion in the east, this one in the west, this one in the north and this one in the south, and so in the first vision (8:8): “an appearance of four sprouted in its stead,” concerning the horns of the he-goat. but not to his posterity The dominion will not come to his sons but to his family members. [The word] אַחֲרִיתוֹ coincides only with the expression of sons, and so Scripture states (Amos 4:2): “and you shall be borne on shields and your posterity (אַחֲרִיתְכֶן) in fishing boats,” which Jonathan renders: and your sons (sic) and daughters in fishermen’s boats. and not like the dominion that he ruled but the kingdom of these will not be as strong as that of Alexander. for his kingdom will be uprooted to divide to these four heads and to others besides these.
Ibn Ezra
And when he shall stand up — the meaning of this phrase is that he died at about thirty years of age. And shall be divided — I have already explained it. But not to his posterity — its meaning is “and not to his son”; and similarly: “and their posterity approve their sayings. Selah” (Psalms 49:14). Nor according to his dominion — not one of the four who reigned in his place was like him in dominion. And the meaning of “even for others beside those” — Scripture joins “and also others” to the four kings who reigned in the four places, as I have explained. And now let me tell you a general principle: from the beginning of “and the king of the south shall be strong” [11:5] until “and forces shall stand up on his part and profane the sanctuary, the stronghold” [11:31] — which explicitly refers to the destruction of the Second Temple — these describe wars that have already passed; and to recall their details one must search the ancient books, in the book of Yosef ben Gurion. But even if we knew all his words, it would not now help us to know what has already passed. Therefore I will explain the words and their meanings in a general way, and after reaching the destruction of the House I will explain in a detailed way, up to “and at the time of the end” [11:40], for from there on are the future events that still remain, as I shall explain.
Metzudat David
And when he shall stand up – When he rises to become very powerful. his kingdom shall be broken – Alexander will die. and shall be divided – The kingdom will be divided into four kingdoms toward the four directions of the lands of Alexander's rule, namely Rome, Egypt, the Land of Israel, and Persia, as stated above. but not to his posterity – These kingdoms will not be divided among his sons. Sons are called “posterity” (acharit) because they remain after their father, as in “and your posterity with fishhooks” (Amos 4:2). nor according to his dominion, etc. – Those kingdoms will not rule with dominion as great as Alexander's dominion, for “his kingdom shall be plucked up” – since Alexander's kingdom will be divided into the four kingdoms mentioned above, and also into other, smaller kingdoms besides these; therefore they will not grow strong enough to be like him.
Metzudat Zion
Shall be divided (vetachatz) - An expression of division, as in "and he divided the children" (Genesis 33:1). Shall be plucked up (tinatesh) - An expression of uprooting, as in "to pluck up and to break down" (Jeremiah 1).
Malbim
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken — for he died young, his days cut short. And shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven — this was explained above (8:8). but not to his posterity — the kingdom did not remain with his sons after him. nor according to his dominion with which he ruled — for none of the four who succeeded him ruled with the same completeness of power that he had. And he explains what is meant by “but not to his posterity” through the words “for his kingdom shall be plucked up” — that the kingdom would be uprooted from his house (see what I wrote on Jeremiah 1:10). And regarding “nor according to his dominion,” he explains, “even for others beside those” — meaning that, besides the four kings, there would also be lesser rulers.
Ibn Yahya
In the very midst of his reign, while he still stood, his kingdom broke apart of its own accord, not through war — for the members of his own household gave him a fatal poison to drink. ‘And it shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven’ — for when he sensed that his strength was failing, while he was still alive, he divided his kingdom among four princes of his family, since at that time he had no son. As for the son whom his mother bore after his death, he was left stripped bare, without royal garb, because his father had already divided the kingdom during his own lifetime. ‘But not to his posterity’ — meaning, not in his final days: for he was not granted length of days, and this did not happen to him in the years of his decline, in his final days, but rather in the years of his ascendancy, while he stood in the full vigor of his years. ‘Nor according to his dominion with which he ruled’ — meaning that no other ruler would ever again rule as he had ruled. This is because his great kingdom, which had been his alone, would be torn away from him and divided among four rulers, as stated above, and also among other rulers besides these; for afterward matters grew confused, and these seized territory from those, and the king of Greece — that is, Antiochus — took the land of Egypt from the hand of its king; and likewise other kings reigned in his place thereafter.
And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
verse value 2944
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "great" (רַ֖ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "king·of·the·south" (מֶֽלֶךְ־הַנֶּ֖גֶב, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 131: and·shall·be·strong, and·shall·be·strong. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·from·his·princes" (וּמִן־שָׂרָ֑יו), "his·dominion" (מֶמְשַׁלְתּֽוֹ). The root חזק appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of·the·south" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "upon·him" (root על, 64x in Daniel); "great" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·from·his·princes', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְיֶחֱזַ֥ק [and·shall·be·strong] (131) + מֶֽלֶךְ־הַנֶּ֖גֶב [king·of·the·south] (150) + וּמִן־שָׂרָ֑יו [and·from·his·princes] (612) + וְיֶחֱזַ֤ק [and·shall·be·strong] (131) + עָלָיו֙ [upon·him] (116) + וּמָשָׁ֔ל [and·he·shall·rule] (376) + מִמְשָׁ֥ל [dominion] (410) + רַ֖ב [great] (202) + מֶמְשַׁלְתּֽוֹ [his·dominion] (816) = 2944.
Rashi
And the king of the south will overwhelm The head who will reign in the south will be stronger than the head opposite him who reigns in the north, and [stronger] than his officers.
Ibn Ezra
And the king of the south shall be strong — that is, the king of Egypt, who shall be stronger than the king of the north, who is the king of Aram, and than one of his officers. And he shall be strong above him — that is, over the king of the south.
Metzudat David
the king of the south – He is the one who reigns in Egypt; the meaning is that he will prevail over his adversary in war, namely the king of the north, who will be explained further below in this matter, and who reigns in Rome. and one of his princes – As if it said: over the king of the north and over his princes who wage war with him; this is elliptical wording and is understood on its own. and he shall be strong above him – Meaning, at the time of war he will prevail over him, and afterward he will rule over him and it will not leave him, and his dominion will last a long time.
Malbim
And the king of the south shall be strong — behold, the commentators have been utterly perplexed over the interpretation of this vision. In my opinion, this vision comes to explain the earlier visions: from here through verse 31 it shows him the particulars that would come about in the kingdom of Greece, down to Antiochus, the persecutor of the Jews, whose matter he had already seen in the second vision (chapter 8), in the words “and out of one of them a little horn came forth” (8:9) — recounting everything that would happen in the kingdom of Greece until the coming of that little horn. There he had stopped his account, for he had already made known its end there, in the words “even to the great prince of the host” (8:11). From verse 31 he began to recount the kingdom of Rome, explaining what he had seen in that same vision, in the words “and the place of his sanctuary was cast down” and “the host shall be given over together with the continual burnt-offering through transgression” (8:11–12), together with the rest of what had already been given concerning the fourth beast in the earlier visions; and this continues through verse 36. From verse 36 he began to recount from the vision he had seen in the first vision, chapter 7 (verses 8 and 20), and likewise in the second vision, chapter 8 (verses 23–26). In this first section I followed in the footsteps of Abarbanel, who explained it well on the basis of the ancient chronicles, and the later commentators followed this same path; only from verse 31 onward did I turn to a different approach. It is explained in the ancient chronicles that of the four kings who reigned after Alexander, afterward only two grew powerful: the king of the south, who is the king of Egypt, south of the land of Israel; and the king of the north, who is the king of Assyria and Babylon, north of the land of Israel. Seleucus, who reigned over Assyria and Babylon and built Antioch — he and his sons conquered Persia and most of Asia and Greece, and all of them came to be called by the name Antiochus — and from his line came the wicked Antiochus who oppressed Israel. The kings of the south, meanwhile, were called by the name Ptolemy (Ptolemaios), after Ptolemy the First, who reigned after Alexander and who dealt harshly with Israel; and his son, called Ptolemy Philadelphus, was the one who commanded that the Torah be translated by seventy elders — he loved Israel, and set captives free. Of Ptolemy the First it says, “and the king of the south shall be strong.” “And one of his princes” — the meaning of “and [one] shall be strong, [a king] from among his princes,” is Seleucus Nicator, who was at first a general under Ptolemy, and afterward took hold of the kingship for himself. “And he shall be strong above him” — he then grew strong over the king of the south. And he explains: corresponding to “and one of his princes,” “And have dominion” means that he ruled over the north; and corresponding to “and he shall be strong above him,” “his dominion shall be A great dominion” means that the dominion of the king of the north was greater than that of the king of the south.
Ibn Yahya
‘And the king of the south shall be strong’ etc. — Scripture comes to inform us of the particulars of the division of Alexander’s kingdom, and how the wars continued among those kings among whom the kingdom was divided. The matter is this: the king of the south, that is, Egypt, would be strong first in his kingdom, so that the other kings — the king of the north, that is, Greece, among them — would submit to him and become subjugated as his princes and servants. Afterward, one of his princes, namely the king of Greece, would grow strong over him and rule with a dominion greater than his own, for he would take most of his land from his hand; and instead of being one of the princes and servants of the king of the south, he would become his king and master.
And at the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and those who brought her, and he who begot her, and he who obtained her in those times.
verse value 7290
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 108 letters. Verse gematria: 7290 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "and·daughter·of" (וּבַ֣ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "king·of·the·south" (מֶֽלֶךְ־הַנֶּ֗גֶב, 7 letters). 14 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "they·shall·join·themselves" (יִתְחַבָּ֔רוּ), "shall·come" (תָּבוֹא֙), "to·king·of" (אֶל־מֶ֣לֶךְ). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of·the·south" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "he·shall·stand" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'an·agreement', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 12 words.
Rashi
to make a compromise a compromise of peace between him and her father. will not retain, etc. The king of the north will capture her, those who brought her, and her father who begot her and supported her in her time of trouble. will not retain The arm of those who brought her [will not retain] strength to stand, [and her father will not prevail] before him, neither he nor his arm, meaning his mighty men. will be surrendered into the hands of the king of the north, she and those who brought her, and he who begot her, i.e., her father.
Ibn Ezra
And the daughter of the king of the south — she is the Queen of Sheba; and this kingdom is called in the Ishmaelite tongue al-Yaman [Yemen]. To this day a woman rules over them, and she is under the authority of the king of Egypt to this day. And this Sheba lies to the south, opposite the land of Israel; this matter is known and recorded in books, but I have forgotten their names. And the meaning of “to make an agreement” — peace between the kings; and behold, the king of the north wished to take her for himself as a wife. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm — for the king of Egypt shall take her by force, and shall also take her mother and the astrologers who were with her; and this is the meaning of “and he who obtained her in those times.”
Metzudat David
And at the end of years – At the end of many years they will join together in love and peace, meaning, they will desire to be at peace. to make an agreement – to make peace between her father and the king of the north over their disputes. but she shall not retain – But she will not be able to restrain the strength of the arm, to prevent the roar and tumult of war and its victory from breaking out between them. neither shall he stand – But on that occasion the king of the south will not stand firm to prevail in war as he did before. nor his arm – The men of his forces and his helpers, they too will not stand firm in that war. but she shall be given up – into the hand of the king of the north. she – the daughter of the king of the south. and those who brought her – they are the officers who brought her and went with her before the war to the king of the north, to make an agreement. and he who begot her – he is her father, the king of the south. and he who obtained her in those times – these are the astrologers who support her by informing her of the workings of the times according to the course of the stars.
Metzudat Zion
To make an agreement (meisharim) - From the root meaning "straight" (yashar) - that is, a compromise that is fair and agreeable to both sides.
Malbim
And at the end of years they shall join themselves together — it is explained in the chronicles that afterward wars broke out in which the king of the north fought against the king of the south; and when the king of the north saw that a rebellion had risen against him within his own kingdom, he allied himself with the king of the south to make peace, in this way: Ptolemy Philadelphus gave his daughter (Berenice) to Antiochus Theos, on condition that he divorce his first wife (Laodice — who was his half-sister on his father's side, and by whom he already had two sons), and that the son to be born of the daughter of the king of the south would be heir to the kingdom. And this is the meaning of, “And the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement” — for by this they would settle the disputes between them. But after the daughter of the king of the south had borne him a son, Ptolemy her father died, and Theos then took back his first wife. And since she [Laodice] no longer trusted his faithfulness, and also knew that according to the terms of the covenant between them the kingdom was to pass to the son of Berenice, she gave her husband a deadly poison to drink, and she killed the daughter of the king of the south, and her son, and all her attendants who had come with her from Egypt; and her own son, Seleucus Callinicus, sat on the throne of the kingdom. And this is the meaning of, “but she shall not retain the strength of her arm” — that is, the daughter of the king of the south would not be able to withstand the power of the man of force: her husband had forced her, by sheer power (meaning, not by right but by force), to be separated from him. “neither shall he stand” — and afterward the king of the north himself would not stand, “nor his arm” — for he would be put to death by poison. “but she shall be given up” — the daughter of the king of the south would be handed over to death, “And those who brought her” — the officers who had escorted her; “And he who begot her” — that is, her tutor, the one who raised her (for he was to her like a father, as in the phrase “whom she bore to Adriel” (2 Samuel 21:8), where “bearing” is used of one who merely raised the child); “And he who obtained her in those times” — her counselor, who had supported her with his counsel in time of trouble.
Ibn Yahya
‘And at the end of years they shall join themselves together’ — the king of the south and the king of the north would once again become allies and friends, and this by means of a marriage-bond and match that would arise between them: for the daughter of the king of Egypt, the fairest of women, would come to the king of the north to be wed to him, so as to establish honest dealing and true peace between them. Yet for all the king of the north’s love for the daughter of the king of the south, she would not be able to withstand the force of arms and the subjugation which the king of the north imposed on her father, the king of the south — so that the king of the south would not be able to stand before his force and his harsh subjugation by the king of the north. Therefore ‘she shall be given up’ — meaning that she, the daughter of the king of the south, would flee back to her father, together with the men who had brought her to Greece, and with ‘she who bore her,’ that is, her nurse, who was always with her according to the practice of court attendants, and with ‘she who supported her in the times,’ that is, her astrologers, on whose word she would rely from time to time, they being the sages who know the [propitious] times.
But one of the shoots of her roots shall stand up in his place, and shall come to the army, and shall enter into the stronghold of the king of the north, and shall deal with them, and shall prevail;
verse value 2523
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "his·place" (כַּנּ֑וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·army" (אֶל־הַחַ֗יִל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 19: and·shall·come, and·shall·enter. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "from·a·shoot·of" (מִנֵּ֥צֶר), "her·roots" (שׇׁרָשֶׁ֖יהָ), "his·place" (כַּנּ֑וֹ). The root בוא appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·shall·stand" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "and·shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·place', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words. Full calculation: וְעָמַ֛ד [and·shall·stand] (120) + מִנֵּ֥צֶר [from·a·shoot·of] (380) + שׇׁרָשֶׁ֖יהָ [her·roots] (815) + כַּנּ֑וֹ [his·place] (76) + וְיָבֹ֣א [and·shall·come] (19) + אֶל־הַחַ֗יִל [to·the·army] (84) + וְיָבֹא֙ [and·shall·enter] (19) + בְּמָעוֹז֙ [into·stronghold·of] (125) + מֶ֣לֶךְ [king·of] (90) + הַצָּפ֔וֹן [the·north] (231) + וְעָשָׂ֥ה [and·shall·deal] (381) + בָהֶ֖ם [with·them] (47) + וְהֶחֱזִֽיק [and·shall·prevail] (136) = 2523.
Rashi
A scion of her roots will arise a son sitting on his position, on the throne of the kingdom. and he will come to the army to the king of the north. into the stronghold of the king of the north i.e., in the cities of his strength, in his fortresses. and he will succeed in them Heb. וְעָשָׂה בָהֶם, lit. and he will succeed against them. and take hold and he will conquer them.
Ibn Ezra
And he shall stand up ... the shoots of her roots — this refers to the roots of this daughter; and the prefixed letter mem serves to mean “one of” — one of the sons of the king of Egypt, for he was himself a son of a king. And shall come — to the king of the north, and into the fortresses of his stronghold.
Metzudat David
But one of the shoots of her roots shall stand up – And afterward there will arise, from a shoot sprung from her roots, one to take the place of her father – meaning, one of the sons of the daughter of the king of the south will sit upon the throne of her father's kingdom. and shall come to the army – of the king of the north. into the stronghold – into the fortified cities. and shall deal with them – as he wishes. and shall prevail – he will take hold of them and seize them and conquer them.
Metzudat Zion
One of the shoots (minetzer) - An expression of a branch, as in "a shoot shall grow out of his roots" (Isaiah 11:1). His place (kano) - From the root meaning a stand or base. Shall prevail (vehechzik) - An expression of seizing, as in "the man seized her" (Deuteronomy 22:25).
Malbim
But one of the shoots of her roots shall stand up — at that time, Ptolemy Euergetes, the brother of Berenice, reigned in Egypt; he was a shoot of her father's house. “in his place” — meaning, in place of his father's kingdom. “and shall come to the army” — it is explained in the chronicles that when Berenice sensed that they intended to kill her, she fled from her enemies, and they besieged her; then the peoples of Aram rose up to help her, and her brother Euergetes too came with an army to her aid — but in the meantime she had already been killed, and then all the peoples of the north turned about to help the king of the south, to avenge her blood. And this is the meaning of “and shall come to the army” — that is, to the army of the peoples of the north who had come to her aid; and he killed Laodice and her son. “and shall enter” — he also entered into the stronghold of the king of the north, and took from the hand of Seleucus Callinicus, son of Antiochus Theos, the whole land of Cilicia as far as the river Tigris, and, in the land of the south, all the fortified cities as far as Babylon.
Ibn Yahya
‘But one of the shoots of her roots shall stand up’ — this refers to the one who would restore the king of the south to his standing and to the foundation of his kingdom as at first: namely, that either the son of her son or the son of her daughter would come with force against the army which the king of the north had stationed in Egypt to guard the cities and subdue the people of the south. And after he had killed them and thrown off their yoke, he would go further, seeking out the king of the north in his own land, and would defeat him and enter his stronghold and his fortified cities, and take vengeance in them; and afterward he would hold them for himself and rule over them.
and also their gods, with their molten images, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, he shall bring into captivity into Egypt; and he shall desist some years from the king of the north.
verse value 2887
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 67 letters. Notable word values: "he·shall·bring" (יָבִ֣א) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "and·also" (וְגַ֣ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·their·molten·images" (עִם־נְסִֽכֵיהֶם֩, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "their·gods" (אֱֽלֹהֵיהֶ֡ם), "with·their·molten·images" (עִם־נְסִֽכֵיהֶם֩), "with·vessels·of" (עִם־כְּלֵ֨י). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "he·shall·desist" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "he·shall·bring" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel). First appearance of the root זהב ("and·gold") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Egypt', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
their princes [as translated,] their princes.
Ibn Ezra
And also their gods — they shall come in captivity to Egypt.
Metzudat David
and also their gods – their idols. and he shall desist – the new king of the south will remain in power many more years than the king of the north will remain.
Metzudat Zion
Their nobles (nesikheihem) - Meaning their princes, as in "the princes of Sihon" (Joshua 13).
Malbim
And also their gods, with their molten images — meaning, their rulers — he would carry off to Egypt. and he shall desist some years — he had two years of rest, undisturbed by the king of the north.
Ibn Yahya
‘And also their gods’ — together with the princes, officers, and priests dedicated to those deities, and with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he would carry off captive to Egypt, the city of the south — so that for many years the king of the south would rest free of subjugation by the king of the north; indeed, quite the opposite, he himself would rule over him.
And he shall come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.
verse value 1447
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "and·he·shall·come" (וּבָ֗א, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·his·land" (אֶל־אַדְמָתֽוֹ, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·his·land" (אֶל־אַדְמָתֽוֹ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·he·shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אדמה ("to·his·land") in Daniel. Full calculation: וּבָ֗א [and·he·shall·come] (9) + בְּמַלְכוּת֙ [into·kingdom·of] (498) + מֶ֣לֶךְ [king·of] (90) + הַנֶּ֔גֶב [the·south] (60) + וְשָׁ֖ב [and·he·shall·return] (308) + אֶל־אַדְמָתֽוֹ [to·his·land] (482) = 1447.
Rashi
And he will come into the kingdom of the king of the south Through the kingdom of the king of the south, who was her father’s father, he will return to his land, which is Egypt, as is stated above: “will bring in captivity to Egypt.”
Ibn Ezra
And he shall come into the kingdom of the king of the south — he shall return to his own land and his own kingdom, to Egypt.
Metzudat David
And he shall come, etc. – Meaning that he will attain the rank of the kingdom of the king of the south, his mother's father, so that his kingdom will be as great as his mother's father's kingdom was. but he shall return into his own land – After he acquires the honor of victory in the war, he will not remain in the land of the north, for he will return to his own land, to the land of the south.
Malbim
And he shall come — afterward the king of the north, Seleucus Callinicus, returned and brought the lands of Syria back under his rule, and came with a mighty fleet to conquer the islands under the dominion of the south. And this is the meaning of, “And he shall come” (that is, the king of the north shall come) “into the kingdom of the south” — but a storm wind wrecked the ships, and the king alone escaped, returning to his own land in disgrace.
Ibn Yahya
Afterward, the king of the north would again make war with the king of the south and enter his kingdom; but indeed he would return to his own land in shame, for he would be defeated in that war.
And his sons shall stir themselves up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, and he shall come on, and overflow, as he passes through; and he shall return and stir himself up, even to his stronghold.
verse value 3741
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "and·shall·come" (וּבָ֥א, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·shall·stir·himself·up" (וְיִתְגָּרֶ֖ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 9: and·shall·come, to·come. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·his·sons" (וּבָנָ֣ו), "shall·stir·themselves·up" (יִתְגָּר֗וּ), "and·shall·gather" (וְאָסְפוּ֙). The root גרה appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel); "great" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). First appearance of the root גרה ("shall·stir·themselves·up") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·shall·pass·through', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words.
Rashi
And his sons [i.e., the sons] of the king of the north will agitate. and he will come Heb. וּבָא בוֹא, like וְהוֹלֵךְ הָלוֹךְ. The son of the king of the north will come and pass to the land of the south. and he will return and agitate against the king of the south. until his stronghold his fortified city.
Ibn Ezra
And his sons shall stir themselves up — these are the sons of the king of the north, for it has already been mentioned that two, in succession, shall arise from the king of the north. And the word “stir themselves up” — is like the phrase “do not stir up war with them” (Deuteronomy 2:9). And he shall come on — this is the multitude of the king of the north. And overflow — that he shall bring ships up to the stronghold of the king of the south.
Metzudat David
And his sons – the sons of the king of the north will stir up war with the king of the south. and he shall come on – he will surely come; and “he” here refers back to the multitude [previously mentioned]. and overflow, as he passes through – He will pass swiftly, like a flood of water, over the land of the south. and he shall return – Afterward he will return and again stir up war. even to his stronghold – that is, the fortress of the royal city.
Metzudat Zion
Shall stir themselves up (yitgaru) - From the root meaning strife and contention.
Malbim
And his sons shall stir themselves up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces — the sons of the king of the north stirred themselves up and assembled a multitude of great forces; one of them died in battle, and Antiochus the Great, the remaining younger brother, was the one who fought against Ptolemy Philopator. Hence it says ‘and he shall come on’ — meaning that one of them came. ‘And overflow, as he passes through’ — when Ptolemy saw that he was stronger than himself, he sent envoys to make peace with him, and they made peace for four months. Afterward Antiochus saw that Ptolemy was scheming against him, and that the peace had been made in treachery, merely to gain time and prepare counsel and strength for war, so he came against him a second time. Hence it says ‘and he shall return’ — that he returned a second time; and this time he succeeded, and came as far as the fortress on the border of Egypt (called Raphia). Hence it says ‘and stir himself up, even to his stronghold’ — meaning the stronghold of the king of the south, for there his strength came to rest, as will be explained.
Ibn Yahya
And afterward, the sons of the king of the north, seeing that their father had been defeated in that war, would resolve to provoke the king of the south, and would gather a great multitude of forces from all the nations of the land. And their father, the king of the north, would come with those forces, coming on and overflowing and passing through — for he would make war against every place of the king of the south through which he passed, destroying and overflowing it, until he reached and turned back at the stronghold and fortress of the king of the south.
And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
verse value 2906
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "great" (רָ֔ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·shall·be·embittered" (וְיִתְמַרְמַר֙, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·shall·fight" (וְנִלְחַ֥ם), "with·king·of" (עִם־מֶ֣לֶךְ). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·shall·set·forth" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "great" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·north', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְיִתְמַרְמַר֙ [and·shall·be·embittered] (896) + מֶ֣לֶךְ [king·of] (90) + הַנֶּ֔גֶב [the·south] (60) + וְיָצָ֕א [and·shall·go·out] (107) + וְנִלְחַ֥ם [and·shall·fight] (134) + עִמּ֖וֹ [with·him] (116) + עִם־מֶ֣לֶךְ [with·king·of] (200) + הַצָּפ֑וֹן [the·north] (231) + וְהֶעֱמִיד֙ [and·shall·set·forth] (135) + הָמ֣וֹן [multitude] (101) + רָ֔ב [great] (202) + וְנִתַּ֥ן [and·shall·be·given] (506) + הֶהָמ֖וֹן [the·multitude] (106) + בְּיָדֽוֹ [in·his·hand] (22) = 2906.
Rashi
will wage war will fight against the people. and the multitude will be given into his hand [i.e., the multitude] of the king of the north [will be given] into his hand.
Ibn Ezra
And he shall be moved with choler — the word “yitmarmar” is from the root of “tamrurim” in “set yourself up waymarks” (Jeremiah 31:21). And fight with him — the meaning is that the pronoun “him” refers to the king of the north, similar to the construction in “and she saw it, the child” (Exodus 2:6), and “he — my brother — commanded me” (1 Samuel 20:29), where the pronoun’s referent is stated afterward, in apposition. And he shall set forth — the king of the south shall set forth a great multitude. And shall be given — namely, the multitude of the king of the north, into his hand. And it shall be taken away — that is, the multitude that had already been weakened. And he shall cast down tens of thousands — from the multitude of the king of the south. But he shall not prevail — that is, the king of the south.
Metzudat David
shall be moved with choler – he will act cruelly, with great bitterness. and fight with him – and the verse returns and specifies: with the king of the north. and he shall set forth – the king of the north. into his hand – into the hand of the king of the south.
Metzudat Zion
Shall be moved with choler (vayitmarmar) - From the root meaning bitterness.
Malbim
And the king of the south shall be moved with choler — the king of the south was wicked in his deeds and a lover of pleasures; but when he saw that the other had come into his territory, he was stirred to bitterness, and he went out and fought with him, with the king of the north, and set forth a great multitude against the king of the north; and the multitude of the king of the north was given into his hand.
Ibn Yahya
Then the king of the south would grow embittered and be filled with rage against the king of the north, and would go out from his stronghold and make war with him; and the king of the south would set forth a vast multitude from his whole kingdom, so that in that war the multitude of the king of the north would be given into his hand — so that in that victory—
and the multitude shall be carried away, and his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down tens of thousands; but he shall not prevail.
verse value 1875
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "and·shall·be·lifted·up" (וְרָ֣ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·multitude" (הֶהָמ֖וֹן, 5 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·shall·be·lifted·up" (וְרָ֣ם), "his·heart" (לְבָב֑וֹ), "and·shall·cast·down" (וְהִפִּ֥יל). The root רום appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·heart', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words.
Rashi
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. and he will fell myriads many of the army of the king of the south. but he will not prevail Nevertheless, the victory of the war will not be his.
Metzudat David
and the multitude shall be carried away – the king of the south will carry off the multitude for himself and bring it into captivity, and through this his heart will be lifted up. And he shall cast down – even though he will cast down several tens of thousands of the multitude of the king of the north, he will nevertheless not gain the strength to rule over him.
Metzudat Zion
Shall be carried away (venasa) - An expression of taking.
Malbim
And the multitude shall be carried away, and his heart shall be lifted up — by the king of the south; they thought they had already defeated him completely, and therefore did not pursue him to destroy him utterly, for the king went back to his pleasures. Therefore, although the multitude of the king of the south cast down tens of thousands of the army of the king of the north, nevertheless he shall not prevail, for the king of the north grew strong again, as will be explained.
Ibn Yahya
the multitude of the king of the south would be raised up greatly, and his heart would grow proud, and he would strike down tens of thousands of the king of the north’s troops. But for all his victory, the king of the south would not remain strong for very long over the king of the north.
And the king of the north shall again 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.
verse value 3727
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "great" (רַ֖ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·first" (מִן־הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 202: great, much. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "from·the·first" (מִן־הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן), "and·in·property" (וּבִרְכ֥וּשׁ). The root רב appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·shall·set·forth" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel). First appearance of the root רכוש ("and·in·property") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·first', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Ibn Ezra
At the end of the times — the meaning is that after some years, many helpers shall come to the king of the south; and in those days violent men shall arise from among Israel — and these were in the days of Shimon ben Shetach, and this is the truth.
Metzudat David
greater than the former – greater than the former [multitude] that fell in the war. at the end of the times, even of years – at the end of a period of many years. he shall come on – he will surely come, with a great army and with abundant wealth of silver and gold.
Malbim
And the king of the north shall again set forth — the king of the north, who is Antiochus the Great, set forth a multitude greater than the former, and won many battles. And he shall come on at the end of the times, even of years — after some years had already passed since the earlier wars, he came again to Syria and to the land of Egypt, which was under the hand of Ptolemy, to fight with Ptolemy Epiphanes, son of the aforementioned Ptolemy Philopator, who was still young in years, the kingdom being in the hands of guardians; and he came with a great army and with much substance needed for the war.
Ibn Yahya
For the king of the north would again set forth a multitude greater than the first, and at the end of a span of times, of years, in which he would grow strong, the king of the north would surely come against the king of the south with a great army and abundant wealth, enabling him to prolong his stay there as long as he wished.
And in those times there shall stand up many against the king of the south; also the children of the violent among your people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall stumble.
verse value 2807
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "those" (הָהֵ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·in·the·times" (וּבָעִתִּ֣ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 130: shall·stand·up, your·people. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·in·the·times" (וּבָעִתִּ֣ים), "and·sons·of" (וּבְנֵ֣י), "violent·men·of" (פָּרִיצֵ֣י). The root עמד appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "against·king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "shall·stand·up" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "many" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). First appearance of the root כשל ("and·shall·stumble") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·south', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וּבָעִתִּ֣ים [and·in·the·times] (528) + הָהֵ֔ם [those] (50) + רַבִּ֥ים [many] (252) + יַֽעַמְד֖וּ [shall·stand·up] (130) + עַל־מֶ֣לֶךְ [against·king·of] (190) + הַנֶּ֑גֶב [the·south] (60) + וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + פָּרִיצֵ֣י [violent·men·of] (390) + עַמְּךָ֗ [your·people] (130) + יִֽנַּשְּׂא֛וּ [shall·lift·themselves·up] (367) + לְהַעֲמִ֥יד [to·establish] (159) + חָז֖וֹן [vision] (71) + וְנִכְשָֽׁלוּ [and·shall·stumble] (412) = 2807.
Rashi
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.
Metzudat David
there shall stand up many – besides the king of the north, many others will also rise up against the king of the south. also the children of the violent among your people – meaning, the wicked of Israel. shall lift themselves up – they will exalt themselves to establish a prophecy, but they will stumble, for they will die and perish because of this; these are the emissaries who prophesied at that time concerning him that he was the true Messiah, and concerning whom the prophets had prophesied, and they were put to death because of this.
Metzudat Zion
The violent (peritzei) - Wicked men who breach the fence of truth and justice.
Malbim
And in those times there shall stand up many against the king of the south — for the king of Macedonia and others also warred against Egypt at that time, and many rebelled against him. Also the children of the violent among your people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision — for the Jews hated Ptolemy on account of his father, who had done them evil, and they said that according to the vision and the prophecy the king of the north was destined to prevail; so they allied themselves with Antiochus and received him with honor and helped him in his war. But they shall stumble — for in the end many of them were killed on account of this.
Ibn Yahya
And in those times many would rise up against the king of the south, for among his own princes, nobles, and great men of the kingdom there would be those who would rise against him to kill him and hand him over to the king of Greece. And the children of the violent among your people, who were under the king of Egypt, would join with the officers who rebelled against the king of the south, and would lift themselves up to establish the vision and to explain the prophecies — claiming that the king of the south would in the end fall into the hand of the king of the north — but they would fail, for the matter would become known to the authorities, and they would all be hanged on a tree.
And the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city; and the arms of the south shall not withstand; and as for his chosen people, there shall be no strength in them to withstand.
verse value 3496
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 71 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "fortifications" (מִבְצָר֑וֹת, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 60: and·shall·take, the·south. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·shall·cast·up" (וְיִשְׁפֹּךְ֙), "mound" (סֽוֹלְלָ֔ה), "fortifications" (מִבְצָר֑וֹת). The root עמד appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "shall·stand" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel). First appearance of the root מבצר ("fortifications") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'fortifications', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 9 words.
Rashi
and the people of his chosen ones will be in the war. will have no strength to stand before the king of the north, and although there is a superfluous “vav” here, it is customary for Scripture to speak in this manner as in, for example: “As for its nobles, there are none (וְאֵין) who proclaim the kingdom,” Isaiah (34:12).
Ibn Ezra
And he shall come — and as for “the arms of the south shall not withstand,” these are the helpers, together with his chosen troops.
Metzudat David
and cast up a mound – against the fortresses of the king of the south. and the arms of the south – the men of his forces and his helpers – will not stand firm in the war. and as for his chosen people – even though the choicest of his mighty men will be with him in that war, nevertheless they will not have the strength to stand firm and prevail in battle.
Metzudat Zion
A mound (solelah) - This is a heap of earth that is built opposite a city, to climb up on it in order to wage war against the city.
Malbim
And he shall come (this concludes the sense of verse 13) — for the king of the north's hand grew strong, and he captured fortified cities from the king of the south; and the arms of the south, meaning his armies, shall not withstand in war. And even though the king of the south later sent his elite troops against him — his “Cherethites and Pelethites,” so to speak — even so, as for his chosen people, there shall be no strength in them to withstand, for the king of the north captured the fortress of Sidon and Gath, which belonged to the king of Egypt, and the officers whom the king of the south sent could not save them from his hand.
Ibn Yahya
And this king of the north — that is, Antiochus — would come and cast up a siege mound against Egypt, the cities of the south, and would capture its fortified city, that is, the royal city, so that the arms of the king of the south would not be able to stand before the king of the north, and even the choicest of his people would have no strength to stand.
But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the beauteous land, and in his hand shall be extermination.
verse value 1789
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "the·one·coming" (הַבָּ֤א, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·land·of·the·beauty" (בְּאֶֽרֶץ־הַצְּבִ֖י, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·shall·do" (וְיַ֨עַשׂ), "standing" (עוֹמֵ֖ד), "and·shall·stand" (וְיַעֲמֹ֥ד). The root עמד appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "standing" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "the·one·coming" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel); "before·him" (root פנים, 31x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'before·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְיַ֨עַשׂ [and·shall·do] (386) + הַבָּ֤א [the·one·coming] (8) + אֵלָיו֙ [to·him] (47) + כִּרְצוֹנ֔וֹ [like·his·pleasure] (372) + וְאֵ֥ין [and·there·is·no] (67) + עוֹמֵ֖ד [standing] (120) + לְפָנָ֑יו [before·him] (176) + וְיַעֲמֹ֥ד [and·shall·stand] (130) + בְּאֶֽרֶץ־הַצְּבִ֖י [in·land·of·the·beauty] (400) + וְכָלָ֥ה [and·extermination] (61) + בְיָדֽוֹ [in·his·hand] (22) = 1789.
Rashi
will do The king of the north, who comes to the king of the south, [will do] as he wishes. in the land of beauty in the land of Israel. and he will destroy it He will destroy the land with his army.
Ibn Ezra
And he shall do according to his own will — this is the king of the north, who comes against the king of the south, acting according to his own will. In the beauteous land — the land of Israel; and he shall destroy many of them.
Metzudat David
but he who comes against him – the king of the north who comes against the king of the south will do to him as he wishes, and no one will stand before him. and he shall stand – he will take his stand in war over the Land of Israel. and in his hand shall be extermination – he will destroy it by his power; he is Antiochus, king of Greece, and he is counted as one kingdom together with Rome, because after a time Rome took the kingdom of Greece.
Malbim
But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will — the king of the north, who came into the lands of the king of the south, did according to his own will, for he conquered from his hand all the districts of Syria that belonged to the king of Egypt, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the beauteous land — there he stood with his camp. And in his hand shall be extermination — and then he completed this conquest of the land of Syria, and the whole land was entirely in his hand and in his possession.
Ibn Yahya
And the king of the north who came against him into Egypt would do as he pleased, with none standing before him, for both king and people alike would be given into his hand of their own will. And afterward, Antiochus, having brought Egypt down to the dust, would resolve to take his stand in the beauteous land — that is, the land of Israel — and to destroy it, because Israel had at that time been on peaceable terms with, that is, allied to, Egypt.
And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, but shall make an agreement with him; and he shall give him the daughter of women, to destroy it; but it shall not stand, neither be for him.
verse value 5849
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "with·him" (עִמּ֖וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·his·kingdom" (כׇּל־מַלְכוּת֛וֹ, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·come" (לָב֞וֹא), "all·his·kingdom" (כׇּל־מַלְכוּת֛וֹ), "and·upright" (וִישָׁרִ֥ים). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "shall·stand" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "to·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·shall·make', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Rashi
And he will set his face i.e., the king of the north, to come into the strength of the entire kingdom of the king of the south. and the upright will be with him and Israel will be with the king of the south. Also with them will the king of the north battle in those days. and he will succeed Heb. וְעָשָׂה, lit. and he will do. Now the daughter of the women he will give him to destroy her This is the nation of Israel, [referred to in Song of Songs 1:8 as] “the fairest of women.” The king of the north will command the general of his army to destroy her. I say that he is Antiochus, the king of Greece, who issued decrees against Israel, and he commanded his general, Phillip, to kill whoever identified himself as a Jew, as is written in the book of Josiphon (ch. 18). but it will not stand this counsel of his. and she will not be for him the daughter of the women, for Mattathias the son of Johanan will rise and break off his [Antiochus’s] yoke from Israel.
Ibn Ezra
And he shall set his face to come with the strength — [that is, the strength] of the entire kingdom of Egypt, which is “the south.” But shall make an agreement with him — [meaning] they shall make peace with him. The daughter of women — she is a queen [the Hebrew reads “of Sheba,” which is unclear in this context] whom the king of the north shall give to him, [namely] to the king of the south, in order to destroy it [i.e., his kingdom]; for once she is in his domain she will turn disloyal — and this is [the meaning of] ‘it shall not stand, neither be for him’: that he shall not, in the end, take her for his own.
Metzudat David
And he shall set his face – the king of the north, who is Antiochus, will set his mind on coming into the Land of Israel with the strength of a great force from all the men of his kingdom. but shall make an agreement with him – and from the people of “the upright,” that is, Israel, some of them will be his helpers; they are the wicked of Israel who joined with him. and he shall deal – he will act in the Land of Israel with a strong force, as he wishes. the daughter of women – that is the congregation of Israel, who is called “the fairest among women” (Song of Songs 5). he shall give him – he will hand her over to the one who concluded the war with him, that is, Polyphus the general; to him he will hand over the congregation of Israel, to destroy it and to decree harsh decrees against them. but it shall not stand – but that evil decree will not stand, and the congregation of Israel will not become slaves to him, as will be said further below.
Metzudat Zion
With the strength (betokef) - Meaning with might, as in "his mighty deeds" (Esther 10).
Malbim
And he shall set his face — after he had conquered all the lands, other than Egypt, that had belonged to Seleucus Nicator, he set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, meaning to conquer the land of Egypt itself, where the strength of the kingdom of the king of the south lay. The chroniclers relate that he then feared the Romans would come to Egypt's aid, and so he chose to take the kingdom by cunning, and made as though he wished to come to terms with the king of Egypt; he betrothed his daughter Cleopatra to the king of Egypt, thinking that she would hold to his side and help him take Egypt from her husband's hand. This is the meaning of but shall make an agreement with him — he made terms by giving him the daughter of women, one of his daughters by his wives, to destroy it — thinking that through her he would destroy his kingdom, with his daughter's help. But his daughter remained loyal to her husband and did not follow her father's counsel in this. Hence it says but it shall not stand, neither be for him, for she was loyal to her husband.
Ibn Yahya
And he would set his face to come against the ‘upright ones,’ that is, the people of Israel, with the full strength of his entire kingdom, in order to destroy and humble them. And he did as he had resolved, for his intent came to pass, and he humbled Israel. As for ‘he shall give him the daughter of women, to destroy it’ — this refers to the decree he issued, that every daughter of Israel entering the marriage canopy must first be violated by his officer. Yet his kingdom would not endure for long, because of his sins, nor would the kingdom remain his, for it would be lost to him in just this way.
After this he shall set his face to the isles, and shall take many; but a captain shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; indeed, he shall cause his own reproach to return upon him.
verse value 4420
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 4420 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·shall·end" (וְהִשְׁבִּ֨ית, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 694: his·reproach, his·reproach. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·the·isles" (לְאִיִּ֖ים), "and·shall·end" (וְהִשְׁבִּ֨ית), "captain" (קָצִ֤ין). The root חרפה appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "many" (root רב, 34x in Daniel); "his·face" (root פנים, 31x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'many', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words.
Rashi
and the Prince will terminate his blasphemy to Him His reproach and his blasphemy, with which he blasphemed the Holy One, blessed be He, and Israel, as is written in the book of Josiphon (ch. 20), and He punished him, for He smote him with evil boils while he was in transit, for he went to besiege Jerusalem, and his flesh became putrid, his limbs fell off and he ordered his slaves to bring him back to Antioch, but he did not manage to get there before he died of evil illnesses.
Ibn Ezra
Indeed, he shall cause his own reproach to return upon him — the captain who had been doing the reproaching — his recompense shall be returned upon his own head, so that it comes back upon him; comparable to [saying], ‘his reproach shall not continue.’
Metzudat David
After this he shall set his face – Afterward he will turn his face to go to war against the isles of the sea, and he will capture many of them. but a captain shall cause the reproach to cease – Afterward the Prince of the World will put an end to his blasphemy which he uttered against the One on High, and will turn the reproach back upon him, as will be said further below. indeed, he shall cause his own reproach to return upon him – Besides the requital of punishment for the blasphemy, which will be returned to him, the requital of punishment for his other transgressions will be reserved for him after death.
Metzudat Zion
Shall cause to cease (vehishbit) - Meaning shall put an end to. A captain (katzin) - A noble and ruler, as in "you shall be our ruler" (Isaiah 3).
Malbim
And he shall set [his face] — afterward Antiochus set his face toward the isles, and captured many more islands that were allies of the Romans; he also entered the islands of the land of Greece, and thereby stirred up war with the Romans, on the advice of Hannibal, who incited him to this. But a captain shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease — for the captain whom the Romans appointed over that land defeated him in his wars. Hence it says that the captain (Lucius Scipio), the commander of the Romans, caused his reproach to cease by defeating him in war. Indeed, he shall cause his own reproach to return upon him — for when Antiochus sent to seek peace from the Romans, the Roman commander answered that the Romans' hearts do not grow faint when they are defeated, nor do their hearts grow haughty when they are victorious, and that even now they would ask of him only what they had asked before their victory: namely, that he withdraw his rule from a large part of Syria, and repay the expenses of the war — twelve thousand talents over twelve years. This is the meaning of the statement that they did not seek to take his whole kingdom, but only to make him repay his own reproach, and no more.
Ibn Yahya
For he shall set his face to subdue islands among the islands of the earth, and shall capture many of them. Meanwhile, the Hasmonean, a captain of Israel, shall put an end to the reproach that Antiochus cast upon Israel, by defeating him in battle — and with no help but the help of Heaven, he shall turn Antiochus's own reproach back upon him.
Then he shall turn his face toward the strongholds of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
verse value 1674
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Verse gematria: 1674 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "and·not" (וְלֹ֥א, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·strongholds·of" (לְמָעוּזֵּ֖י, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·strongholds·of" (לְמָעוּזֵּ֖י), "and·shall·stumble" (וְנִכְשַׁ֥ל), "and·shall·fall" (וְנָפַ֖ל). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "his·face" (root פנים, 31x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְיָשֵׁ֣ב [and·shall·turn] (318) + פָּנָ֔יו [his·face] (146) + לְמָעוּזֵּ֖י [to·strongholds·of] (163) + אַרְצ֑וֹ [his·land] (297) + וְנִכְשַׁ֥ל [and·shall·stumble] (406) + וְנָפַ֖ל [and·shall·fall] (166) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + יִמָּצֵֽא [shall·be·found] (141) = 1674.
Rashi
to the strongholds of his land to return to his fortified city.
Ibn Ezra
Then he shall turn his face — this one shall return to his own land.
Metzudat David
Then he shall turn his face – After he captures the isles of the sea, he will turn his face to go to the strongholds of his own land. but he shall stumble – He will stumble along his way, for he will be stricken with a severe, malignant boil, his flesh will rot, and his limbs will fall from him one by one, as is stated in Josippon. and shall not be found – he will no longer be found in the world, for he will have died and be no more.
Malbim
Then he shall turn his face toward the strongholds of his own land — Antiochus went back to the strongholds of his own land to collect the tribute he was obligated to pay the Romans; and he heard that a great treasure was to be found in a certain temple of idolatry, and he plundered it. Hence it says that the people's anger flared up greatly, and they killed him in secret, and his place was not known. Of this it says he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
Ibn Yahya
Antiochus shall turn his face to flee to the strongholds of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall in terror at the trumpeting of the elephant, and he shall no longer be found alive, but dead — his bones crushed, given over to death.
Then shall stand up in his place one who shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
verse value 2697
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "glory·of" (הֶ֣דֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·in·days" (וּבְיָמִ֤ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 37: not, not. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "causing·to·pass" (מַעֲבִ֥יר), "an·exactor" (נוֹגֵ֖שׂ), "glory·of" (הֶ֣דֶר). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "and·shall·stand" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "and·in·days" (root יום, 33x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'kingdom', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְעָמַ֧ד [and·shall·stand] (120) + עַל־כַּנּ֛וֹ [in·his·place] (176) + מַעֲבִ֥יר [causing·to·pass] (322) + נוֹגֵ֖שׂ [an·exactor] (359) + הֶ֣דֶר [glory·of] (209) + מַלְכ֑וּת [kingdom] (496) + וּבְיָמִ֤ים [and·in·days] (108) + אֲחָדִים֙ [few] (63) + יִשָּׁבֵ֔ר [shall·be·destroyed] (512) + וְלֹ֥א [not] (37) + בְאַפַּ֖יִם [in·anger] (133) + וְלֹ֥א [not] (37) + בְמִלְחָמָֽה [in·battle] (125) = 2697.
Rashi
And one who removes the oppressor will stand on his base and Mattathias the son of Johanan, who removed the oppressor from Israel, and who is the glory of the kingdom of Israel, will strengthen himself on his base on Mt. Modin, for he will be a prince and a mighty man, he and all his descendants after him, viz. the Hasmoneans. in a few days it will be broken In a few days, their kingdom will be broken. but not with anger of another nation. and not with war but from themselves and with themselves, that Hyrcanus and Aristobulus will be jealous over the throne.
Ibn Ezra
Then shall stand up in his place — [meaning] in his stead: a king who shall send a tax-collector through [the land], and who shall possess the glory of a kingdom. But he shall be destroyed — and not with honor; and another king shall arise, the opposite in character from the first, for this one shall be a contemptible person.
Metzudat David
Then shall stand up in his place – Upon his strength and foundation there shall stand up one who removes the harsh exaction from Israel; and this is the Hasmonean kingdom. The glory of the kingdom – Upon them shall be conferred the splendor of a kingdom, for they shall be eminent members of the priesthood, mighty and successful men. But within few days – Yet in a short time the kingdom shall be broken and weakened, not because of the wrath of any other nation, nor through war with an outside power, but from among themselves, through their own doing: for the brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus shall grow jealous of one another over the kingship, and shall bring the Romans upon themselves to rule over them, as is related in Yosippon.
Malbim
Then shall stand up in his place one who shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom — after Antiochus the Great, his son Seleucus Philopator reigned. The chroniclers relate that throughout the twelve years of his reign he waged no war at all, nor did anything noteworthy occur, except that he passed through the cities exacting the tribute he had to pay the Romans every year. For this reason the verse calls him one who causes an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom — for the whole glory of his reign consisted of his going about exacting the tribute (and, in a jesting manner, this is called the honor of the glory of his kingdom). But within few days he shall be destroyed — for he died through a conspiracy of his servants. Neither in anger, nor in battle — he met his end neither through an internal revolt nor through war with an outside enemy, but died by poison.
Ibn Yahya
Upon the foundation and base of his kingdom there shall stand, in his place, his son Eupator, who — he too — turns Israel from its faith and oppresses the glory of the kingdom, that is, Israel. Yet within a few days he shall be broken, and not through open confrontation in battle, for Demetrius son of Seleucus, a contemptible man not of royal lineage, shall strike down all his army and take the kingdom out of his hand—
And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person, upon whom had not been conferred the majesty of the kingdom; but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by blandishments.
verse value 3190
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "majesty·of" (ה֣וֹד, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·flatteries" (בַּחֲלַקְלַקּֽוֹת, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 496: kingdom, kingdom. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "contemptible" (נִבְזֶ֔ה), "not·given" (וְלֹא־נָתְנ֥וּ), "majesty·of" (ה֣וֹד). The root מלכות appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·him" (root על, 64x in Daniel); "and·shall·stand" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "and·shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel). First appearance of the root בזה ("contemptible") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'kingdom', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְעָמַ֤ד [and·shall·stand] (120) + עַל־כַּנּוֹ֙ [in·his·place] (176) + נִבְזֶ֔ה [contemptible] (64) + וְלֹא־נָתְנ֥וּ [not·given] (543) + עָלָ֖יו [upon·him] (116) + ה֣וֹד [majesty·of] (15) + מַלְכ֑וּת [kingdom] (496) + וּבָ֣א [and·shall·come] (9) + בְשַׁלְוָ֔ה [in·security] (343) + וְהֶחֱזִ֥יק [and·shall·obtain] (136) + מַלְכ֖וּת [kingdom] (496) + בַּחֲלַקְלַקּֽוֹת [in·flatteries] (676) = 3190.
Rashi
And a contemptible person will stand on his base Then the kingdom of Rome will strengthen itself on its stand, as it says (Obad. 1:2): “you are very despised,” and the Romans will rise and take the kingdom from the Greeks.
Ibn Ezra
And shall obtain the kingdom by blandishments — in darkness, without [proper] counsel.
Metzudat David
And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person – Upon his strength and foundation there shall stand a contemptible nation, that is, the great city [Rome], of which it is said, ‘You are exceedingly despised’ (Obadiah 1:2); for Edom is called the great city, since the descendants of Edom settled there and ruled within it, as stated above. Upon whom had not been conferred, etc. – Heaven did not confer upon the great city the majesty and splendor of a kingdom; that is, they were not granted the might to prevail by their own strength in war like the mighty men of old, the men of renown. But he shall come in time of security – Rather, he shall come with words of peace to deceive everyone, and shall gain hold of the kingdom through smooth talk and flattering words; for through this everyone will consider him a friend and reveal to him the secrets of their hearts, and by this he shall gain power over them.
Metzudat Zion
By blandishments (bechalaklakot) - From the root meaning smooth (chalak) - that is, flattery, soft and smooth words.
Malbim
And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person — this is the wicked Antiochus [Epiphanes], who was contemptible in his character and in his deeds; and they did not confer upon him the majesty of the kingdom, for his elder brother had left behind him a son, the heir to the throne, as was written above (Daniel 8:9) of the ‘little horn that came forth.’ But he shall come in time of security — for at his brother's death he was in Rome, and he came from there. And he shall obtain the kingdom by blandishments — as is related in the chronicles, that through flattery and smooth talk he worked upon the officers and nobles of the land to help him gain the throne.
Ibn Yahya
He shall stand up in his own place within the kingdom, in this way: seeing that, despite all his victories, the people had not conferred royal majesty upon him — since he was contemptible and from a despised family — he came in a time of peace and seized the kingdom for himself, through smooth talk, enticements, and fine words, saying that he had no wish to be king, only a leader, and speaking so as to protect them from those who would harm them, and to establish peace among them.
And the arms of the flood shall be swept away from before him, and shall be broken; indeed, also the prince of the covenant.
verse value 2956
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "and·also" (וְגַ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·arms·of" (וּזְרֹע֥וֹת, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "the·flood" (הַשֶּׁ֛טֶף), "shall·be·swept·away" (יִשָּׁטְפ֥וּ), "from·before·him" (מִלְּפָנָ֖יו). The root שטף appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·before·him" (root פנים, 31x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·shall·be·broken', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּזְרֹע֥וֹת [and·arms·of] (689) + הַשֶּׁ֛טֶף [the·flood] (394) + יִשָּׁטְפ֥וּ [shall·be·swept·away] (405) + מִלְּפָנָ֖יו [from·before·him] (216) + וְיִשָּׁבֵ֑רוּ [and·shall·be·broken] (524) + וְגַ֖ם [and·also] (49) + נְגִ֥יד [prince·of] (67) + בְּרִֽית [covenant] (612) = 2956.
Rashi
And the arms of inundation And the mighty of the kingdom, who previously were inundating and powerful, will be inundated before the Romans and be broken. and also the king with whom they made a covenant Also the king of Israel, who will form a treaty with them, will ultimately be inundated from before him, for [the Romans] will violate the treaty and betray them, as our Sages of blessed memory said: “Twenty-six years they kept their trust with Israel, but later they subjugated them.”
Ibn Ezra
And the arms [of the flood] — [these are] ships. Indeed, also the prince [of the covenant] — [this is] one of the sons of Herod.
Metzudat David
And the arms of the flood – The men of might who used to sweep away and destroy the idolaters, that is, the multitude of the Greeks, shall in the end themselves be swept away before Rome and be broken and destroyed. And also the prince of the covenant shall be swept away before Rome; this is the king of Israel with whom Rome made the covenant, but in the end Rome profaned the covenant and swept him away.
Malbim
And the arms of the flood shall be swept away from before him, and shall be broken — these are the armies of the nations, broken before him. Indeed, also the prince of the covenant — the king of Egypt, who was bound to him in a covenant.
Ibn Yahya
And after he had strengthened himself in the kingdom, he turned cruel once again. 'The arms of the flood' are the mighty men of the kingdom who used to overwhelm others; they shall be swept away before him, for he shall subdue them and bring them down to the dust. And also the prince, from the people of the covenant — that is, Judah the Maccabee, chief of Israel — shall be swept away before him, for—
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; and he shall come up and become strong, with a little nation.
verse value 2291
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "to·him" (אֵלָ֖יו, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·after·uniting" (וּמִן־הִֽתְחַבְּר֥וּת, 10 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·after·uniting" (וּמִן־הִֽתְחַבְּר֥וּת), "shall·do" (יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה), "and·shall·come·up" (וְעָלָ֥ה). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "shall·do" (root עשה, 24x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'deceit', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּמִן־הִֽתְחַבְּר֥וּת [and·after·uniting] (1117) + אֵלָ֖יו [to·him] (47) + יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה [shall·do] (385) + מִרְמָ֑ה [deceit] (285) + וְעָלָ֥ה [and·shall·come·up] (111) + וְעָצַ֖ם [and·shall·become·strong] (206) + בִּמְעַט־גּֽוֹי [in·little·nation] (140) = 2291.
Rashi
And from the alliance with him he will work deceitfully And from the alliance that Rome will make with Israel, he will work deceitfully, for he will not reveal his evil plan. and he will go up from his place. and overpower in all places around the land of Judea: in Edom, in Ammon, and in Moab. with few people He will not require a massive army, for the king of Judea will aid him, and so it is written in the book of Josiphon (ch. 23).
Ibn Ezra
And after [the league made with him] — because many will join him, he will take their counsel and use them to rise up and seize a province; he will devise a plan that will not [succeed] for now — hence it is said [further on]: ‘and only at a different time shall they’ — his plans — ‘come to pass.’
Metzudat David
And after the league made with him – From the time that he [Rome] allied himself with the king of Israel by making a covenant, he dealt with him deceitfully. And he shall come up and become strong – He would go up to war against the idolaters surrounding Jerusalem, and would prevail over them with a small force of idolaters that he brought from among his own people; for by deceit he enticed the king of Israel to help him in that war with his own men, as is related in Yosippon.
Malbim
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully — now he explains how this came about: Antiochus went to Egypt to visit his sister Cleopatra, the queen mother of the king of Egypt; and through the alliance he had with the king of Egypt, whose uncle he was, he acted deceitfully. And he shall come up and become strong, with a little nation — he came with a small force, in the manner of allies, and grew powerful and strong there, for the people of the land were not on guard against him.
Ibn Yahya
He shall kill him by deceit, after entering into an alliance with him in war; he shall rise up against him and grow strong, since Judah the Maccabee had with him only a small force — and it seemed beneath Demetrius's dignity to rise up against him with a great army upon finding him with so small a force, so he acted through deceit instead.
In time of security he shall come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers: he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance; indeed, he shall devise his devices against fortresses, but only until the time.
verse value 6797
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 93 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֨ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·in·fat·places·of" (וּבְמִשְׁמַנֵּ֣י, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 419: his·fathers, his·fathers. 12 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·in·fat·places·of" (וּבְמִשְׁמַנֵּ֣י), "province" (מְדִינָה֮), "not·done" (לֹא־עָשׂ֤וּ). The root אב appears 3 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·against" (root על, 64x in Daniel); "shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel); "that" (root אשר, 40x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·scatter', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 5 words.
Rashi
plunder and spoils and belongings he will distribute to them He will distribute to those who accept their yoke upon themselves until they conquer all with flattery and smooth speech. will distribute Heb. יִבְזוֹר, like יִפְזוֹר. and so (Ps. 68:31): “he scatters (בִּזַר) peoples.” and about the fortresses of the nations he will devise in his plans—to station [in them] the heads of his troops until the time that all will be conquered under them.
Metzudat David
In time of security – By deceit he came with words of peace, and entered ‘the fattest places of the province,’ that is, the place where the gold and silver were, in order to spy it out; and they were not on guard against him, because he came with words of peace. And he shall do, etc. – There he did things that his fathers had not done, etc. Scripture then goes on to specify what these deeds were, saying, ‘he shall scatter prey, and spoil,’ etc.; that is, he squandered and gave away there a great sum of money such as no one had ever squandered before. This was so that people would not suspect he had come to spy, for he distributed there the plunder and spoil he had taken from the idolaters in war, to show that his hand had attained great wealth, and that silver and gold meant nothing to him. He shall devise his devices against fortresses – But in truth, in his thoughts, he was planning to capture those very fortresses where the gold was, for he had come to spy them out. But only until the time – He kept his plan to himself until the time would come when it would be within his power to conquer them.
Metzudat Zion
He shall scatter (yavzor) - Meaning he shall disperse (yefazer), as in "scatters the peoples" (Psalms 68); for the letters bet and peh interchange [i.e., "bazar" and "pazar" are variant forms of the same root].
Malbim
In time of security he shall come even upon the fattest places of the province — through this he entered there in a time of security, and came upon the fattest places of the province, and plundered great spoil and wealth from them. He also devised his plans for how to conquer their fortresses. But only until the time — for he went back to rest during the winter months, planning to return the following year; for he came to the land of Egypt three times in all.
Ibn Yahya
In a time of peace he shall come into the richest places of the province, and shall take possession of everything through his enticements and smooth words, doing what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers had done — seizing dwellings not his own by means of smooth talk. At first he shall scatter among them plunder, spoil, and wealth, in order to draw their hearts to love him; and he shall constantly plot to come and make war upon the fortresses of others — but only for a short time—
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall stir himself up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise devices against him.
verse value 3449
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 90 letters. The shortest word is "his·power" (כֹּח֨וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·army·great" (בְּחַֽיִל־גָּד֥וֹל, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 60: the·south, the·south. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·shall·stir·up" (וְיָעֵר֩), "and·king·of" (וּמֶ֣לֶךְ), "shall·stir·himself·up" (יִתְגָּרֶה֙). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "against·king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "against·him" (root על, 64x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'very', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Rashi
and he will not stand the king of the south. because they will devise plans against him They will plot against him to fell him through the bribery that they will bribe his officers to betray him, as he concludes: “and those who eat his food will break him.”
Ibn Ezra
And he shall stir up [his power and his courage] — [the meaning of] “ויער” is ‘he shall arouse,’ like “יקים,” [as in] ‘He turns a storm into a calm’ (Psalms 107:29). But he shall not stand — [this is] the king of the south, before the king of the north. For they shall devise devices against him — [namely] his own counselors and officers [shall devise] schemes [against him].
Metzudat David
And he shall stir up – He shall rouse his strength and steel his heart to go to war with a great army against the king of the south; and the king of the south too shall provoke him, going out to battle against him with a great army. But he shall not stand – Rather, the king of the south shall not prevail in the war, for the Romans, the king of the north, shall devise plans against the king of the south, bribing his army officers so that they betray their king and do not fight with valor.
Malbim
And he shall stir up his power and his courage — the second time, he came at once with a great army, and the king of the south (Ptolemy Philometor) stirred himself up to wage war against him. But he [Antiochus] bribed his [Ptolemy's] army officers. This is the meaning of, ‘and those who eat of his own food shall break him’ — and through this he overwhelmed his [Ptolemy's] army, and many fell slain.
Ibn Yahya
His strength and resolve were stirred to come against the king of Egypt with a great army, and the king of Egypt too provoked him to battle with an army very great and mighty, greater even than Demetrius's army. But despite all the might of his army, the king of the south shall not stand, for they shall devise evil designs against him—
Indeed, those who eat of his food shall destroy him, and his army shall be swept away; and many shall fall down slain.
verse value 2094
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "many" (רַבִּֽים, 4 letters) and the longest is "shall·destroy·him" (יִשְׁבְּר֖וּהוּ, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·those·eating·of" (וְאֹכְלֵ֧י), "his·food" (פַת־בָּג֛וֹ), "shall·destroy·him" (יִשְׁבְּר֖וּהוּ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "many" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·be·swept·away', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאֹכְלֵ֧י [and·those·eating·of] (67) + פַת־בָּג֛וֹ [his·food] (491) + יִשְׁבְּר֖וּהוּ [shall·destroy·him] (529) + וְחֵיל֣וֹ [and·his·army] (60) + יִשְׁט֑וֹף [shall·be·swept·away] (405) + וְנָפְל֖וּ [and·shall·fall] (172) + חֲלָלִ֥ים [slain] (118) + רַבִּֽים [many] (252) = 2094.
Rashi
his food Heb. פַּת־בָּגוֹ, his food; one who takes a portion from his table.
Ibn Ezra
Those who eat of his food — [this refers to the food] of the king of Egypt. And his army shall be swept away — [this is] the king of the north; and behold, it is Egypt's army that is swept away; and afterward the king of the south and the king of the north shall make peace.
Metzudat David
Indeed, those who eat of his food – That is, his officers, who eat at the king's table, shall destroy him, for they shall fight treacherously in order to be delivered into the hand of the king of the north. And his army shall be swept away – The king of the north shall sweep away the army of the king of the south, and many of them shall fall slain, for the king of the north shall slay among them.
Metzudat Zion
Of his food (pat bago) - [An idiom for] his food.
Ibn Yahya
In order to kill him, those who eat of his food shall break him and put him to death; therefore his army shall be swept away, and the king of the north shall destroy it, felling many of them slain.
And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper, for the end remains yet for the time appointed.
verse value 2743
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֖ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). Verse gematria: 2743 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "end" (קֵ֖ץ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·at·table" (וְעַל־שֻׁלְחָ֥ן, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·both·of·them" (וּשְׁנֵיהֶ֤ם), "the·kings" (הַמְּלָכִים֙), "their·heart" (לְבָבָ֣ם). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·kings" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "shall·speak" (root דבר, 40x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·speak', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּשְׁנֵיהֶ֤ם [and·both·of·them] (411) + הַמְּלָכִים֙ [the·kings] (145) + לְבָבָ֣ם [their·heart] (74) + לְמֵרָ֔ע [to·mischief] (340) + וְעַל־שֻׁלְחָ֥ן [and·at·table] (494) + אֶחָ֖ד [one] (13) + כָּזָ֣ב [lies] (29) + יְדַבֵּ֑רוּ [shall·speak] (222) + וְלֹ֣א [not] (37) + תִצְלָ֔ח [shall·prosper] (528) + כִּי־ע֥וֹד [for·still] (110) + קֵ֖ץ [end] (190) + לַמּוֹעֵֽד [to·the·appointed·time] (150) = 2743.
Rashi
As for the two kings the officer of the Romans and the king with whom they made to covenant, which is mentioned above. That is Hyrcanus, who will form an alliance to aid him so that he, too, will aid him against Aristobulus his brother, ruling in Jerusalem. their hearts are to do evil to the people of your nation, to harm Judea. and on one table They will murmur lies about the kingdom of Aristobulus. but it will not succeed for Israel will not be surrendered to destruction in those days. for there is still an end to the appointed time of the destruction, at the end of sixty two weeks [of years], stated in this Book (9:25), and that appointed time is in the days of Agrippa, the son of Agrippa of the seed of Herod.
Ibn Ezra
And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief — [meaning] to do harm to the land of Israel. And the meaning of ‘lies’ — [is] that their counsel shall not stand nor succeed, for there still remains an end for the appointed time — that Israel shall go into exile, and the king of the north shall return to his own land.
Metzudat David
And as for both these kings – The king of the north and the king of the south. Their hearts shall be to do mischief – Their hearts shall be set on doing harm to Israel. And they shall speak lies at one table – While reclining together to eat, they shall speak falsehood; that is, they shall talk of destroying Israel, and the angel calls it ‘falsehood’ because their plan was not fulfilled. But it shall not prosper – This plan of theirs shall not succeed. For the end remains yet for the time appointed – For there is still time left before the end appointed for them [Israel], since the measure [of sin] has not yet been filled, and the time has not yet come for their appointed destruction.
Metzudat Zion
For the time appointed (lamoed) - From the root meaning designation and the setting of a fixed time.
Malbim
And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief — then King Ptolemy [Philometor] fell into his hand, not as a captive in bondage, but through closeness [being kept near him]. And when the people of the country made his younger brother, [Ptolemy] Euergetes, king in his place, Antiochus declared that he had come only for his sister's sake, and that he would leave Egypt if they restored their former king to his throne. He and King Ptolemy ate at one table in apparent friendship, though in their hearts each intended harm to the other. And they shall speak lies at one table — for Antiochus promised to secure the kingdom in his [Ptolemy’s] hand, and this was false, since his true intention was to bring the land of Egypt under his own rule; and the king of the south promised to be subject to him [Antiochus], and this too was false. But it shall not prosper — for his plan was that through this the fire of strife would be kindled between the two brothers over the kingship, and that through this Egypt would come under his hand. But this scheme did not succeed, for upon his departure the two brothers made peace between themselves and bound themselves together. For the end remains yet for the time appointed — for this was only a preparation for his downfall.
Ibn Yahya
Now, these two kings, even though they hated one another — and precisely because of this mutual hatred — each of them would present himself as a friend to Israel, lest Israel be added to the strength of his enemy. But their hearts were not like their outward show: each of them, in his heart, intended harm to Israel, and at one table, as each of them ate together with Israel, they would speak falsely — appearing to be friends while in their hearts planning to harm them. Yet for all this, their evil intent would not succeed, for the great end and time had not yet come, or would come only once the appointed time counted from the exile of Jerusalem arrived.
And he shall return to his own land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do his pleasure, and return to his own land.
verse value 3364
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 43 letters. Verse gematria: 3364 = 58². The shortest word is "holiness" (קֹ֑דֶשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "against·covenant·of" (עַל־בְּרִ֣ית, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "in·substance" (בִּרְכ֣וּשׁ), "against·covenant·of" (עַל־בְּרִ֣ית), "to·his·land" (לְאַרְצֽוֹ). The root שוב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·shall·do" (root עשה, 24x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'holiness', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְיָשֹׁ֤ב [and·he·shall·return] (318) + אַרְצוֹ֙ [his·land] (297) + בִּרְכ֣וּשׁ [in·substance] (528) + גָּד֔וֹל [great] (43) + וּלְבָב֖וֹ [and·his·heart] (46) + עַל־בְּרִ֣ית [against·covenant·of] (712) + קֹ֑דֶשׁ [holiness] (404) + וְעָשָׂ֖ה [and·he·shall·do] (381) + וְשָׁ֥ב [and·he·shall·return] (308) + לְאַרְצֽוֹ [to·his·land] (327) = 3364.
Rashi
And he will return The Roman king [will return] to his land from [fighting] with the king of the south with many possessions. and his heart is on the covenant with the holy ones to abrogate his treaty with Israel. and he will succeed Heb. וְעָשָׂה, lit. and he will do, i.e., and he will succeed and return to his land.
Ibn Ezra
And his heart shall be against the holy covenant — [meaning] to break the treaty that had existed between the kings of Aram and Judah the Hasmonean; and after he accomplishes his purpose and returns to his land, he shall return again at an appointed time, the following year.
Metzudat David
And he shall return – The king of the north shall return to his own land with the great wealth that he plundered from the king of the south. And his heart – His heart's intent shall turn to the covenant that he made with Israel, the holy people; that is, in his heart he shall plan to violate the covenant. And he shall do – As he planned, so he shall do: he shall violate the covenant and make war against them, and afterward return to his own land.
Malbim
And he shall return to his own land with great substance — he then returned a second time to his own land with great wealth. At that time a rumor spread in Jerusalem that Antiochus had died, and the former High Priest, whom Antiochus had removed from office and replaced with another, came there and sought to expel the second priest; because of this Antiochus regarded them as rebels. And his heart shall be against the holy covenant — to do harm to Israel. And he shall do his pleasure — and so he did: he killed many of them, and returned to his own land.
Ibn Yahya
The king of the north shall return to his own land with great wealth from the plunder of Egypt; and his heart shall be scheming and full of regret over the covenant he had made and concluded with Israel, the holy people, once he returns to his land.
At the time appointed he shall return, and come into the south; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former.
verse value 1863
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "and·he·shall·come" (וּבָ֣א, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·as·the·latter" (וְכָאַחֲרוֹנָֽה, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "he·shall·return" (יָשׁ֖וּב), "in·the·south" (בַנֶּ֑גֶב), "and·not·she·shall·be" (וְלֹֽא־תִהְיֶ֥ה). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel); "and·not·she·shall·be" (root היה, 23x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·south', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: לַמּוֹעֵ֥ד [to·the·appointed·time] (150) + יָשׁ֖וּב [he·shall·return] (318) + וּבָ֣א [and·he·shall·come] (9) + בַנֶּ֑גֶב [in·the·south] (57) + וְלֹֽא־תִהְיֶ֥ה [and·not·she·shall·be] (457) + כָרִאשֹׁנָ֖ה [as·the·former] (576) + וְכָאַחֲרוֹנָֽה [and·as·the·latter] (296) = 1863.
Rashi
After a time Heb. לַמּוֹעֵד, after a time. but this coming will not be as successful as the first one mentioned above (verse 7): “A scion of her roots will arise etc.,” in which the king of the north succeeded over the king of the south, or like the last, meaning this second time, about which we said: “and he will return to his land” with many possessions.
Ibn Ezra
And come into the south — that is, the region of Egypt. And the meaning of ‘but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former’ — for in the first coming he achieved his whole desire; and so too in the last coming, which is the third — in which he destroyed the [Second] Temple, and also [conquered] Egypt — whereas in the second coming, the middle one, he was as one weak; and so it is written elsewhere: ‘and they shall come into it’ — [meaning] ‘peoples came into it.’
Metzudat David
At the time appointed – At this same season, the following year, he shall return to come into the land of the south to make war upon it. But it shall not be, etc. – His path shall not succeed as it did the first time, that is, the previous year, of which it was said above, ‘and he shall return to his own land with great substance.’ In the latter time as it was in the former – Nor shall it be like the final war that shall take place after that war — the war spoken of further below, ‘and at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him,’ etc., of which it is said, ‘and the land of Egypt shall not escape.’
Malbim
At the time appointed he shall return, and come into the south — after he heard that the two brothers had made peace with one another, he removed the mask from his face and came a third time to Egypt. Hence it says, but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former — for this time he did not come with a divided heart [feigning goodwill], but came openly, with a high hand, to seize part of the province of Egypt for himself. It is related in the chronicles that at that time the people of Egypt sent to seek help from the Senate in Rome, and the Senate sent an envoy to him, demanding that he return at once to his own land, and warning that if he was stubborn they would go to war with him. This is what the next verse goes on to say.
Ibn Yahya
At that appointed time, in the following year, he shall return to Egypt, the land of the south. But this time shall not be like the first and the last war in which the king of the north was victorious, for now the king of the north shall be defeated.
For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be cowed, and he shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do his pleasure; and he shall return, and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant.
verse value 4240
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 60 letters. The shortest word is "against·him" (ב֜וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "against·covenant·of·holiness" (עַל־בְּרִֽית־ק֖וֹדֶשׁ, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 308: and·he·shall·return, and·he·shall·return. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·they·shall·come" (וּבָ֨אוּ), "ships·of" (צִיִּ֤ים), "Kittim" (כִּתִּים֙). The root שוב appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel); "and·he·shall·regard" (root בין, 32x in Daniel); "and·he·shall·do" (root עשה, 24x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·he·shall·do', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּבָ֨אוּ [and·they·shall·come] (15) + ב֜וֹ [against·him] (8) + צִיִּ֤ים [ships·of] (150) + כִּתִּים֙ [Kittim] (470) + וְנִכְאָ֔ה [and·he·shall·be·cowed] (82) + וְשָׁ֛ב [and·he·shall·return] (308) + וְזָעַ֥ם [and·he·shall·be·indignant] (123) + עַל־בְּרִֽית־ק֖וֹדֶשׁ [against·covenant·of·holiness] (1122) + וְעָשָׂ֑ה [and·he·shall·do] (381) + וְשָׁ֣ב [and·he·shall·return] (308) + וְיָבֵ֔ן [and·he·shall·regard] (68) + עַל־עֹזְבֵ֖י [to·forsakers·of] (189) + בְּרִ֥ית [covenant·of] (612) + קֹֽדֶשׁ [holiness] (404) = 4240.
Rashi
will come upon him to battle with him. companies Heb. צִיִים. Kittites Romans, troops from the kingdom of Rome who will rebel against him. and he will be crushed He will be slightly broken. and he will return and be wroth with the holy covenant And he will return to his land and abrogate the treaty he had made with Israel. and he will return and contemplate those who abandoned the holy covenant He will put his mind to it and contemplate that Israel has abandoned the holy covenant (and law), and unwarranted hatred and controversy will increase in the Second Temple [era], as is written in the book of Josiphon (ch. 45), and they will shed innocent blood, and he will rely on this and know that he will succeed, and he will abrogate his treaty with them and provoke them.
Ibn Ezra
Ships [of Kittim] — these are the vessels. And Kittim — these are the people of Aram. And he shall be cowed — this is the king of the north. And he shall return — to his own land, in shame. And have indignation against the holy covenant — this is Agrippa. And shall do his pleasure — [that is, he shall raise] a mighty army. And he shall return — to the south. And shall have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant — these are the people of Jerusalem who conspired against the king, killed his men, and profaned the Sanctuary — the stronghold that belonged to Israel — comparable to [the phrase] ‘the pride of your strength’ (Leviticus 26:19). And this word [i.e., ‘the stronghold of the covenant’] follows the pattern of ‘the ark of the covenant,’ whose sense is ‘the ark, [namely,] the ark of the covenant’ [an appositional doubling]; and likewise ‘the scroll, [namely,] the deed of purchase’ (cf. Jeremiah 32:12), [and] ‘the wine, [namely,] the wine of fury’ (cf. Jeremiah 25:15). Now [the verse] here is relating the destruction of the Second Temple, and it is astonishing that there are Karaite sages who interpreted this as referring to the future, saying that ‘the Sanctuary’ is Mecca, to which the Ishmaelites make pilgrimage, and that they removed the tamid, the continual offering — [replacing it with] the five daily prayers — and instituted the abomination of idolatry there. But it is these very interpreters who have gone astray! How could it be called ‘the Sanctuary,’ seeing that this name applies only to Jerusalem alone? Moreover, its own name, in the Arabic tongue, is ‘the House’ — so how could it be Mecca, ‘the holy’? Indeed, let these blind men open their eyes and see that there remains, in Mecca, an idolatrous abomination to this very day — namely, Merkolis (Mercury), to whom all of Ishmael, from east and west, make pilgrimage in order to throw stones there! It is these very commentators who have [truly] profaned the Sanctuary. Now the Gaon, of blessed memory, said that ‘and the king shall do according to his will’ refers to the Qedarite [i.e., the Arab ruler], the chief of the kingdom of Ishmael. But this cannot be, for it is written, ‘nor shall he regard the desire of women’ (Daniel 11:37) — yet this one was a lover of women! And [the Gaon] interpreted ‘women’ there as ‘lands, provinces’ — but this is closer to homiletical interpretation (derash) than to the plain sense (peshat). Furthermore, what will he do with the verse about ‘a god whom his fathers did not know’ (Daniel 11:38)? And furthermore, if that ‘god’ referred to idolatry, the answer still cannot be Merkolis, for that god was [already] known to their fathers; moreover, the people of Mecca did not submit to his authority until he swore to them that he would not abolish the worship of Merkolis. There is no need to elaborate further. Now, Ben ha-Yotzer wrote a book about the timing of the end, and I, too, have shattered his words like a potter's vessel (cf. Psalms 2:9) — even before his appointed time arrives — for he has pinned his hope on a time that will [simply] pass; and, in short, I count his words among all such End-of-Days speculations. So too the words of Rabbi Shlomo ibn Gabirol, of blessed memory, who sought to tie the end to the Great Conjunction of the two highest planets [Saturn and Jupiter]; and so too the words of Rabbi Avraham ha-Nasi in his Book of End-Times, and the words of ha-Yotzer [again], and the words of Rabbi Yitzchak ben Lev — and all who calculate [the end] by the numerical value of words or letters (gematria) — all of it is vanity and a chasing after wind (Ecclesiastes 1:14)! For even Daniel himself did not know the appointed end — how much more so those who came after him. Rather, the angel only hinted at something, as I shall explain, but did not specify when it would be. And now I shall return to my exposition.
Metzudat David
For ships of Kittim shall come against him – Into the land of the south the men of Rome shall come with great ships; and he [the king of the north] shall be cowed and broken, and shall not succeed. And he shall return, and have indignation – He shall turn back and grow angry over the covenant that he made with Israel, the holy people, and his desire shall be to violate the covenant. And shall do his pleasure; and he shall return, and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant – He shall gather a large force to make war against them. And [as for] ‘he shall return, and have regard’ — he shall turn back and give thought, considering that Israel had forsaken the holy covenant, that is, the holy Torah given at the covenant; and through this his heart shall be emboldened to move against them in war and to violate the covenant, as is related in Yosippon.
Metzudat Zion
Ships (tziyim) - Meaning ships, as in "a mighty ship" (Isaiah 33). Kittim (kittim) - This refers to [the line of] Romulus [i.e., Rome]; so too the Targum [renders it] in the Torah. He shall be cowed (venich'ah) - Meaning he shall be broken, as in "and broken of heart" (Psalms 109). Shall do his pleasure (ve'asah) - An expression of gathering and assembling, as in "and mustered a force" (I Samuel 14).
Malbim
For ships of Kittim shall come against him — the Romans came by ship. And through this, he shall return — he was forced to withdraw from Egypt. And he shall be cowed — and then he sought to vent his fury upon Israel. Hence it says, and have indignation against the holy covenant — meaning that he sought to make them abandon the covenant of their Torah, which is the holy covenant. And he shall return — that is, he came a second time, for he came against them several times to make them abandon their religion, and he destroyed all who kept to the religion of Israel. And have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant — for many from Israel who had forsaken the holy covenant and entered into his religion allied themselves with him, and he treated them well.
Here Scripture concludes its account of the deeds of the wicked Antiochus, without finishing the rest of the story — how afterward the hand of the Hasmoneans grew strong — for that has already been told in the second vision (ch. 8), which likewise prophesied concerning him that he cast down to the ground some of the host and some of the stars, and trampled them; and there it explains that this would continue until the prince of the host grew great — that is, Mattathias and his sons — through whom the continual offering was restored and the service of the Temple was reestablished in its place. This is also the conclusion of the account of Antiochus's deeds and his end, for in this vision the angel came only to tell him of the troubles that would come upon Israel, not to tell him of their salvation through Mattathias — which itself lasted only a short time, since afterward the Romans came. From here on, the text will begin to relate the full force of the troubles and the destruction that would come through the Romans.
Ibn Yahya
For many ships of the Romans shall come to the south to help, and so the king of the north shall be struck down in that battle; and the king of the south shall return and be enraged over the covenant he had made with Israel, the holy people. He shall then come to an understanding of alliance and friendship with the king of the north, who likewise is among those who abandon the covenant made with the holy people — for both kings would always speak fair words to Israel, though their tongue was not honest with them; and out of their mutual hatred for one another, both had made a covenant with Israel, and afterward conspired together to break their covenant with them and destroy them.
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the stronghold, and shall take away the continual burnt-offering, and they shall set up the detestable thing that causes appalment.
verse value 3435
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "from·him" (מִמֶּ֣נּוּ, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·arms" (וּזְרֹעִ֖ים, 6 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·arms" (וּזְרֹעִ֖ים), "from·him" (מִמֶּ֣נּוּ), "and·they·shall·profane" (וְחִלְּל֞וּ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·shall·stand" (root עמד, 46x in Daniel); "from·him" (root מן, 32x in Daniel); "and·they·shall·set·up" (root נתן, 21x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·shall·stand', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 8 words. Full calculation: וּזְרֹעִ֖ים [and·arms] (333) + מִמֶּ֣נּוּ [from·him] (136) + יַעֲמֹ֑דוּ [they·shall·stand] (130) + וְחִלְּל֞וּ [and·they·shall·profane] (80) + הַמִּקְדָּ֤שׁ [the·sanctuary] (449) + הַמָּעוֹז֙ [the·stronghold] (128) + וְהֵסִ֣ירוּ [and·they·shall·take·away] (287) + הַתָּמִ֔יד [the·continual·burnt-offering] (459) + וְנָתְנ֖וּ [and·they·shall·set·up] (512) + הַשִּׁקּ֥וּץ [the·detestable·thing] (501) + מְשֹׁמֵֽם [causing·appalment] (420) = 3435.
Rashi
And arms from him will stand He will send his officers and his mighty men to Jerusalem. and they will profane the stronghold of the Temple.
Metzudat David
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the stronghold – Men of war, men of might from among the Romans, shall grow strong and profane the sanctuary, which is the stronghold and strength of Israel; that is, they shall burn the sanctuary with fire. And shall take away the continual burnt-offering – They shall abolish the offering of the tamid through the destruction of the Temple. And they shall set up the detestable thing that causes appalment – In the place of the sanctuary they shall set up an idolatrous image, detestable, mute, and silent like a speechless stone.
Malbim
And arms shall stand on his part — now the text explains the conclusion of what was shown him in the second vision, there (ch. 8): ‘and the place of His sanctuary was cast down’; and likewise what is said in the third vision (ch. 9): ‘and the people of a prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.’ There shall stand up forces mightier still than he — that is, than Antiochus (the expression is from ‘a man of arm,’ meaning one who is powerful and mighty) — these are Titus and his soldiers, who were mightier still. And they shall profane the sanctuary, even the stronghold — because the Temple that stood in the days of the Romans was a strong and fortified stronghold, unlike the Temple that stood in the days of Antiochus, which dated from the time of Cyrus and was small and modest; but Herod's building was a lofty fortress, and they fought and held out from within it. For this reason the legions of Rome destroyed it; hence it says the sanctuary, even the stronghold, and so too it said above, ‘and the place of His sanctuary was cast down,’ which alludes to Herod's Temple. And shall take away the continual burnt-offering — as it said above, ‘and the host shall be given over together with the continual offering through transgression.’ And they shall set up the detestable thing that causes appalment — this happened afterward, in the days of Hadrian, when they set up a statue on the site of the Temple, as it said above, ‘and upon the wing, the detestable thing that causes appalment.’
Ibn Yahya
'And arms shall stand on his part,' etc. — meaning that, in the end, those who had been the arm and the help of the king of the south, namely the Romans, would rise up first to power in the kingdom and take possession of it; and this was the beginning of the fourth kingdom. That kingdom, at its end, profaned the sanctuary — the stronghold, meaning the strong and mighty structure that Herod had built — and took away and abolished the continual offering, so that it was no longer offered evening and morning. And they set up in the Temple the image, the detestable thing that causes appalment, which has no substance, for it is vanity, a work of delusions.
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupt by blandishments; but the people who know their God shall show strength, and prevail.
verse value 2727
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "and·people" (וְעַ֛ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·wrongdoers·of" (וּמַרְשִׁיעֵ֣י, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·wrongdoers·of" (וּמַרְשִׁיעֵ֣י), "he·shall·be·corrupt" (יַחֲנִ֖יף), "in·flatteries" (בַּחֲלַקּ֑וֹת). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "knowers·of" (root ידע, 43x in Daniel); "and·people" (root עם, 30x in Daniel); "and·they·shall·do" (root עשה, 24x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·flatteries', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּמַרְשִׁיעֵ֣י [and·wrongdoers·of] (636) + בְרִ֔ית [covenant] (612) + יַחֲנִ֖יף [he·shall·be·corrupt] (158) + בַּחֲלַקּ֑וֹת [in·flatteries] (546) + וְעַ֛ם [and·people] (116) + יֹדְעֵ֥י [knowers·of] (94) + אֱלֹהָ֖יו [his·God] (52) + יַחֲזִ֥קוּ [they·shall·be·strong] (131) + וְעָשֽׂוּ [and·they·shall·do] (382) = 2727.
Rashi
And those who deal wickedly against the covenant The renegades of Israel, who will join him and deal wickedly against their covenant with their fellows, he will flatter with smooth speech. but the people that knows its God but the devout of Israel, who will adhere to the fear of their God will grasp it and not abandon it. and perform their Torah.
Ibn Ezra
And such as do wickedly against the covenant — this speaks of [the time of] Titus, when many from Israel forsook their covenant. And the meaning of ‘by blandishments’ — like [the phrase] ‘speak to us smooth things’ (Isaiah 30:10); therefore, right after it, [the verse continues]: ‘but the people who know their God’ — that is, Hashem, the glorious Name — ‘shall hold their hearts firm.’ And prevail — [that is, they shall act] as He commanded them in His Torah.
Metzudat David
And such as do wickedly against the covenant – Whoever among Israel acts wickedly by abandoning the covenant of Hashem — him he shall flatter with smooth words. But the people who know their God – Yet despite this, the body of the people who know Hashem shall hold fast to the words of the covenant and fulfill them, and shall not turn toward the flattery and smooth talk.
Malbim
And such as do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt by blandishments — now he explains what was said in the earlier vision (ch. 9): ‘and he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week’ — that he would flatter the lawless ones who act wickedly against the covenant, and speak to them with smooth words, so that they would make a covenant with the Romans, as was said above there. But the people who know their God shall show strength, and prevail — and they acted to save the people, like Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and his colleagues.
Ibn Yahya
And Titus the Roman, who did all that has been related, would win over with smooth talk those among Israel who acted wickedly against the Torah and the covenant of their God — that is, the lawless ones, the Sadducees — whose hearts he drew to his service. And among Titus's own men were those who knew their god and worshiped him, who wished to return to their own land out of fear of Israel, who kept killing them in battle; Titus would encourage them with his persuasive words, so that they would wage war against Israel.
And those who are wise among the people shall cause the many to understand; yet they shall stumble by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, many days.
verse value 1996
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "people" (עָ֔ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·wise-ones·of" (וּמַשְׂכִּ֣ילֵי, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·wise-ones·of" (וּמַשְׂכִּ֣ילֵי), "in·sword" (בְּחֶ֧רֶב), "and·in·flame" (וּבְלֶהָבָ֛ה). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·the·many" (root רב, 34x in Daniel); "days" (root יום, 33x in Daniel); "they·shall·cause·to·understand" (root בין, 32x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·many', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּמַשְׂכִּ֣ילֵי [and·wise-ones·of] (416) + עָ֔ם [people] (110) + יָבִ֖ינוּ [they·shall·cause·to·understand] (78) + לָֽרַבִּ֑ים [to·the·many] (282) + וְנִכְשְׁל֞וּ [and·they·shall·stumble] (412) + בְּחֶ֧רֶב [in·sword] (212) + וּבְלֶהָבָ֛ה [and·in·flame] (50) + בִּשְׁבִ֥י [in·captivity] (314) + וּבְבִזָּ֖ה [and·in·spoil] (22) + יָמִֽים [days] (100) = 1996.
Rashi
And the wise of the people the wise among them, such as the household of Rabbi [Judah Hanasi] and the sages of the generations. will allow the public to understand They will preach the Torah to the common people and encourage them to adhere to it. will stumble in their exile by the sword and by flames, etc.
Ibn Ezra
And those who are wise among the people — this is the generation of the sages of the Mishnah, of blessed memory. And the meaning of ‘yet they shall stumble’ — [this refers to] the persecutions that befell them.
Metzudat David
And those who are wise among the people – The sages among them. Shall cause the many to understand – By teaching them the words of the covenant. Yet they shall stumble – Those wise ones shall stumble and fall by the sword and by flames of fire, etc., over a long period of many days.
Malbim
And those who are wise among the people shall cause the many to understand — these are the sages of the generation, who gave the many understanding so that they would stand firm in their faith; and they stumbled by the sword, for many were killed after the destruction [of the Temple].
Ibn Yahya
And the wise of the people of Israel, and their sages, would then teach the Torah and the commandments to the multitude, so that they would not abandon their faith. But afterward Israel would stumble, being killed by their enemies — some by the sword, some by the flame of fire, some led away captive, and some plundered of all they owned and left naked, without clothing — and this for many days.
Now when they shall stumble, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves to them with blandishments.
verse value 2273
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "help" (עֵ֣זֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·flatteries" (בַּחֲלַקְלַקּֽוֹת, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·in·their·stumbling" (וּבְהִכָּ֣שְׁלָ֔ם), "they·shall·be·helped" (יֵעָזְר֖וּ), "help" (עֵ֣זֶר). The root עזר appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·them" (root על, 64x in Daniel); "many" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'little', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבְהִכָּ֣שְׁלָ֔ם [and·in·their·stumbling] (403) + יֵעָזְר֖וּ [they·shall·be·helped] (293) + עֵ֣זֶר [help] (277) + מְעָ֑ט [little] (119) + וְנִלְו֧וּ [and·they·shall·join·themselves] (98) + עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם [to·them] (155) + רַבִּ֖ים [many] (252) + בַּחֲלַקְלַקּֽוֹת [in·flatteries] (676) = 2273.
Rashi
they will be helped with a little help Through bribes and the money that they will pay tribute to their enemies, they will be helped.
Ibn Ezra
Now when they shall stumble — the meaning is that Hashem will not permit their name to be blotted out. But many shall join themselves to them — among the believers.
Metzudat David
Now when they shall stumble – At the time of their stumbling they will be helped by Hashem with a little help, and they will not be consumed by the hand of the enemy. But many shall join themselves to them – But many from Israel will leave the faith to associate with them, on account of the smoothness of their words.
Metzudat Zion
Shall join themselves (venilvu) - An expression of attaching oneself, as in "this time [my husband] will join himself [to me]" (Genesis 29).
Malbim
Now when they shall stumble, they shall be helped with a little help — in the days of Bar Kochba (Ben Koziva), when many joined them to throw off the yoke of the Romans, and even some of the wise stumbled, such as Rabbi Akiva, who bore Bar Kochba's weapons. This served to refine them, for through it the sins of Israel were refined, purified, and clarified; and so it will continue until the time of the end, that the pious ones of the Most High are killed and thereby atone for the sins of the generations — for this shall happen again, many times, before the appointed time of the redemption arrives: in every decree of persecution the holy ones of the Most High were killed, and [Israel] was always helped with a little help, so that Israel would not be destroyed entirely.
Ibn Yahya
After Israel stumbled through the destruction of the Temple by Titus, they were given a little help in the kingdom of Betar, which stood for fifty-two years; and many of Israel joined them at Betar with blandishments, for they were afraid to go there, sensing what would happen afterward — that they would all be killed by the Romans.
And some of those who are wise shall stumble, to refine among them, and to purify, and to make white, even to the time of the end; for it is yet for the time appointed.
verse value 2920
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "end" (קֵ֑ץ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·from·the·wise·ones" (וּמִן־הַמַּשְׂכִּילִ֣ים, 11 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·from·the·wise·ones" (וּמִן־הַמַּשְׂכִּילִ֣ים), "to·refine" (לִצְר֥וֹף), "and·to·purify" (וּלְבָרֵ֥ר). 10 unique roots are used. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'end', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 2 words. Full calculation: וּמִן־הַמַּשְׂכִּילִ֣ים [and·from·the·wise·ones] (551) + יִכָּֽשְׁל֗וּ [they·shall·stumble] (366) + לִצְר֥וֹף [to·refine] (406) + בָּהֶ֛ם [among·them] (47) + וּלְבָרֵ֥ר [and·to·purify] (438) + וְלַלְבֵּ֖ן [and·to·make·white] (118) + עַד־עֵ֣ת [until·time·of] (544) + קֵ֑ץ [end] (190) + כִּי־ע֖וֹד [for·yet] (110) + לַמּוֹעֵֽד [to·the·appointed·time] (150) = 2920.
Rashi
will stumble to clarify some of them They will stumble in the calculations of the end, for they will put their mind to refine them and to resolve them to know them, but they will err concerning them.
Ibn Ezra
And some [of those who are wise shall stumble] — in every generation. Even to the time of the end — [until] the Redeemer of Israel comes.
Metzudat David
And some of those who are wise shall stumble – Then many of the wise will stumble in calculation, at the time they seek to work out through reckoning the time of the redemption and to know the matter with certainty and clarify its calculation; that is, they will stray from the path of truth in calculating the redemption. Even to the time of the end – That is, so it will be from then on, in every generation, until the time of the end, many will calculate and err in it; but at the time of the end the eyes of all will be opened to understand the hints of the time of the redemption. For it is yet for the time appointed – For there is still a long time until the appointed time of the redemption, and the inclination of those who calculate leans toward a near time, because the intellect follows desire, and they desire it to be near rather than far off; therefore they err in their calculation.
Metzudat Zion
To refine (litzrof) - Its meaning is to clarify the matter, separating falsehood from truth; the term is borrowed from the refining of silver, to remove the dross. And to make white (ulalben) - Its meaning is to establish the matter in its clarity and truth, [likened] to the brightness of whiteness. Yet (od) - This is an expression of increase, as in "and he wept upon his neck still" (Genesis 46).
Ibn Yahya
And some of the wise and the sages of Israel would stumble and perish, so as to refine, purify, and cleanse the sins of Israel through them — for they are like an altar of atonement for Israel's sin, as it is said, 'Through those near to Me I will be sanctified' (Leviticus 10:3). And this shall continue until the time of the end, of the messiah, which shall come only at the appointed time known to Him, may He be blessed.
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak strange things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.
verse value 4782
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 77 letters. The shortest word is "the·God·of" (אֵ֣ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·he·shall·exalt·himself" (וְיִתְרוֹמֵ֤ם, 7 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·he·shall·exalt·himself" (וְיִתְרוֹמֵ֤ם), "and·he·shall·magnify·himself" (וְיִתְגַּדֵּל֙), "above·every·god" (עַל־כׇּל־אֵ֔ל). The root אל appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·king" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "and·against" (root על, 64x in Daniel); "he·shall·speak" (root דבר, 40x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'strange·things', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 6 words.
Rashi
And the king will do as he wishes the kingdom of Rome. and he will succeed until the fury is spent until the wrath of the Holy One, blessed be He, returns from Israel. when it will be finished and executed when His decree will be finished. כִּי is like כַּאֲשֶׁר, when.
Ibn Ezra
And the king shall do according to his will — this is Constantine, who was a great king over Babylon, Persia, Egypt, and Africa, and who turned Babylon to his religion; his successors, too, turned the Persians, the Sabians, Egypt, and Africa to his religion, and set aside the religion of Aram [paganism]. And the meaning of ‘and he shall exalt himself’ is in his heart; and concerning Hashem, who is ‘God of gods,’ he shall speak strange things. And behold, the angel said of him, ‘and he shall prosper’ — and these matters, which lay in the future in Daniel's own day, have already come to pass; and now [the account] begins to speak of the future events that still remain. And know that Aram is northwest of the land of Israel, and Constantinople, too, lies to the north; and at the time of the end, when the end of the king of the north — of whom it is said, ‘and he shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished’ — arrives, then the time of the Redeemer shall come, as I shall explain. But it did not state when this would be, only that it is this king [that is meant]. And the meaning is: his son shall go forth and wage war with the king of Egypt, and shall conquer Egypt, and shall go into the [Holy] Land, and shall then be killed; and after a known number of days from the day of his death, the Redeemer shall come to Israel.
Metzudat David
And the king shall do according to his will – He returns to his earlier words, and says that King Titus will do whatever he pleases in every matter, with none to protest. Above every god – Above all strength and every man of power. And against the God of gods – Against the God who rules over all the mighty he will speak wondrous things, that is, blasphemous words the like of which no one has ever spoken. And he shall prosper – And despite this he will succeed, until the indignation of God against Israel is spent. For that which is determined shall be done – When the great destruction has been carried out, then the sin will be purged, the indignation will be spent, and he will no longer succeed.
Metzudat Zion
Every god (kol el) - An expression of might and strength, as in "it is in the power of my hand" (Genesis 31). Strange things (nifla'ot) - Hidden matters, meaning things never heard before. That which is determined (necheratzah) - Meaning has been decreed, as in "the decreed desolations" (above, ch. 9).
Malbim
And the king shall do according to his will — now [the angel] comes to explain to him what he had told him in the second vision: ‘and in the latter time of their kingdom a king of fierce countenance shall stand up’ (Daniel 8:23) — who is the kingdom and dominion of the little horn. Hence it says ‘the king,’ with the definite article — the already-known king, whom he had already seen in the first and second vision. He shall do according to his will, as is stated there (Daniel 7:25), ‘and he shall think to change the times and the law.’ And he shall magnify himself above every god — that he will abolish the idol-worship that they had practiced before this. And he shall speak strange things against the God of gods — that he will implant certain root doctrines in belief in his god that are beyond the grasp of reason, and will call them wonders. And he shall prosper — in this belief — till the indignation be accomplished, that is, until Hashem's indignation against His people is spent. For that which is determined shall be done — the evil that was decreed against Israel had already been determined long before, by the decree of the Most High.
Ibn Yahya
'And the king shall do according to his will' — this is the well-known king, namely King Constantine of Rome, who turned to the religion of Jesus the Nazarene, and gave to his priests Rome and all the region of Campania Romana and the province of Avignon. 'And he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god' — this king rose up and made himself great above every god, and grew stronger than the other princes and nobles of the land. 'And shall speak strange things against the God of gods' — that is, against God, blessed be He, he would speak wondrous claims: that He has a body, even though He is non-composite; and that He is threefold, even though He is One — these being great matters, along with other wonders, all bound up together in that religion. 'And he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished' — that religion prospered until the indignation was spent and wrath came upon Israel; 'for that which is determined shall be done' — for a decree of destruction and excision was carried out against them.
Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers; and neither the desire of women, nor any god, shall he regard; for he shall magnify himself above all.
verse value 2560
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·concerning·every·god" (וְעַֽל־כׇּל־אֱל֖וֹהַּ, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 72: he·shall·regard, he·shall·regard. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·concerning·the·gods·of" (וְעַל־אֱלֹהֵ֤י), "and·concerning·the·desire·of" (וְעַל־חֶמְדַּ֥ת), "women" (נָשִׁ֛ים). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "above·all" (root כל, 41x in Daniel); "he·shall·regard" (root בין, 32x in Daniel). First appearance of the root אלוה ("and·concerning·every·god") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'he·shall·regard', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְעַל־אֱלֹהֵ֤י [and·concerning·the·gods·of] (152) + אֲבֹתָיו֙ [his·fathers] (419) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + יָבִ֔ין [he·shall·regard] (72) + וְעַל־חֶמְדַּ֥ת [and·concerning·the·desire·of] (558) + נָשִׁ֛ים [women] (400) + וְעַֽל־כׇּל־אֱל֖וֹהַּ [and·concerning·every·god] (198) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + יָבִ֑ין [he·shall·regard] (72) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + עַל־כֹּ֖ל [above·all] (150) + יִתְגַּדָּֽל [he·shall·magnify·himself] (447) = 2560.
Rashi
And he will not contemplate the God of his fathers he will not put his mind to the Holy One, blessed be He, Who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, his [i.e., Israel’s] forefathers. the most desirable of women the nation of Israel, [called] fairest of women.
Metzudat David
Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, etc. – He will not pay heed to worshiping the god of his fathers, whom they had worshiped since ancient times – the planet Jupiter. Nor the desire of women – That is, he will not consider the greatness of Israel, who is called "the fairest among women" (Song of Songs 5). Nor any god shall he regard – He will take no care to honor any god, not even the true God; as if to say: if he will not regard even the true God, how then would he regard the greatness of His people Israel? Above all – Over all of them he will exalt himself.
Malbim
Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers — for his fathers worshiped Tzedek (Jupiter) and Nogah (Venus); nor shall he regard any god — for he will worship none but the First Cause; for he shall magnify himself above all — he will claim to be God's prophet on earth, inspired by Him and empowered by His power.
Ibn Yahya
'Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers' — Constantine's ancestral god, which was Jupiter among the stars of heaven, he will no longer regard, for he will rebel against it once he enters into the new religion. 'Nor the desire of women' — in [the author's] view this refers to Mary, the Nazarene. And as for 'any god,' meaning any of the gods of the other lands, he likewise will not regard them, 'for he shall magnify himself above all' — for in his own estimation he will make himself great above them all.
But in his place he shall honor the god of strongholds; and a god whom his fathers knew not he shall honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and costly things.
verse value 2637
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 69 letters. Notable word values: "he·shall·honor" (יְכַבֵּ֑ד) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "whom" (אֲשֶׁ֧ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "not·they·knew·him" (לֹא־יְדָעֻ֣הוּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 36: he·shall·honor, he·shall·honor. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·god" (וְלֶאֱלֹ֙הַּ֙), "and·god" (וְלֶאֱל֜וֹהַּ), "not·they·knew·him" (לֹא־יְדָעֻ֣הוּ). The root אלוה appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not·they·knew·him" (root ידע, 43x in Daniel); "whom" (root אשר, 40x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'he·shall·honor', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 10 words. Full calculation: וְלֶאֱלֹ֙הַּ֙ [and·god] (72) + מָֽעֻזִּ֔ים [strongholds] (167) + עַל־כַּנּ֖וֹ [in·his·place] (176) + יְכַבֵּ֑ד [he·shall·honor] (36) + וְלֶאֱל֜וֹהַּ [and·god] (78) + אֲשֶׁ֧ר [whom] (501) + לֹא־יְדָעֻ֣הוּ [not·they·knew·him] (126) + אֲבֹתָ֗יו [his·fathers] (419) + יְכַבֵּ֛ד [he·shall·honor] (36) + בְּזָהָ֥ב [with·gold] (16) + וּבְכֶ֛סֶף [and·with·silver] (168) + וּבְאֶ֥בֶן [and·with·stone] (61) + יְקָרָ֖ה [precious] (315) + וּבַחֲמֻדֽוֹת [and·with·costly·things] (466) = 2637.
Rashi
But the god of the strongholds the god of the cherubim who will make a treaty with him. on its base he will honor for he will flatter the nations to be subservient to him.
Metzudat David
But in his place he shall honor the god of strongholds – The god presiding over the mighty fortress-cities he would honor while it remained in its place; that is, when he was in that god's dwelling-place, he would honor it before the people, to deceive the hearts of its worshipers, so as to subjugate them under him. And a god..., etc. – This is what they are presently occupied with. He shall honor – Namely, the site of its dwelling place. And costly things – Cherished and beautiful objects.
Metzudat Zion
In his place (kano) - From the root meaning a stand or base.
Malbim
But in his place he shall honor the god of strongholds — nevertheless, he shall honor a god of strongholds, meaning that he will claim to possess strength from his Father who is in heaven. ‘In his place’ — meaning that he stands in his Father's stead and place: he will claim to be His envoy on earth, standing in His name and in His place, in the kingdom of heaven. And a god — [Scripture] now specifies who this god of strongholds is: a god whom his fathers knew not, for his fathers did not believe in him, and he was not of their people or their tribe; and they shall honor him with gold and silver.
Ibn Yahya
'But in his place he shall honor' only the god who, in his view, gave him strength and established him in his seat and his kingdom — namely, Jesus the Nazarene. 'And a god whom his fathers knew not he shall honor' — this god, whom his fathers did not know, he will honor 'with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and costly things,' in a house of prayer that he will build for him, for glory and splendor, in Rome and Constantinople.
And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god; whom he shall acknowledge, shall increase glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.
verse value 3716
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 69 letters. The shortest word is "foreign" (נֵכָ֔ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·he·shall·cause·them·to·rule" (וְהִמְשִׁילָם֙, 7 letters). 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "to·fortresses·of" (לְמִבְצְרֵ֤י), "with·god" (עִם־אֱל֣וֹהַּ), "foreign" (נֵכָ֔ר). The root נכר appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "whom" (root אשר, 40x in Daniel); "over·the·many" (root רב, 34x in Daniel); "and·he·shall·do" (root עשה, 24x in Daniel). First appearance of the root נכר ("foreign") in Daniel. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'glory', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
And he will construct buildings. for the fortresses of the strongholds with a foreign god i.e., in honor of a foreign god. whomever he will recognize, he will honor increasingly He will increase the honor [and greatness] of those princes whom he will see fit to recognize their faces and to flatter. and he will apportion to them. for a price for little money.
Metzudat David
And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god – That is, to the men of the mighty fortresses he will show honor together with honor to the idol-god and its like; all this in order to flatter them and win their favor, so as to subjugate them under him. Whom he shall acknowledge – Whoever he recognized as one who could be won over by flattery, for him he would multiply honor. And he shall cause them to rule over many – Such men he would appoint to rule over a great population, so as to win their favor; and he would divide his land among them as payment for maintaining his good name and deceptively winning the people's trust – this, for him, was the price he received in exchange for his land.
Metzudat Zion
For a price (bimchir) - The monetary value of a thing, as in "the price of a field" (Proverbs 27).
Malbim
And he shall deal [with the strongest fortresses] — he shall build strongholds of fortresses, very high and lofty, and shall lavish glory upon these fortresses with gold and silver, and shall set them to rule over the many, so that all shall pay tribute to these fortresses.
Ibn Yahya
'And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god' — he will multiply honor there to this god whom he has newly acknowledged, for in every single city there will be a great house of prayer, called a 'duomo' [cathedral] — a 'vescovato' [bishopric] — led by a bishop (called an 'hegemon,' that is, a 'vescovo'), one for each and every city. 'And he shall cause them to rule over many' — the bishops and priests, over the rest of the great mass of the people, for they are the ones who rule within the Christian nation. 'And shall divide the land for a price' — in exchange for the priests' service, the land will be divided among them, for each of them will be given a portion of land and its revenues, called in their language 'beneficio spirituale' [a spiritual benefice].
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow, as he passes through.
verse value 6154
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 78 letters. The shortest word is "end" (קֵ֗ץ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·with·horsemen" (וּבְפָ֣רָשִׁ֔ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 116: with·him, upon·him. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "he·shall·push" (יִתְנַגַּ֤ח), "and·he·shall·storm" (וְיִשְׂתָּעֵ֨ר), "with·chariots" (בְּרֶ֙כֶב֙). The root מלך appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "king·of" (root מלך, 187x in Daniel); "upon·him" (root על, 64x in Daniel); "and·he·shall·enter" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'many', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Rashi
And at the time of the end when our redemption draws near. and the king of the north will storm over him over the king of the south.
Ibn Ezra
Shall the king of the south push at him — this is Egypt; and there is no need to be concerned as to what religion Egypt might hold [at that time] — [the designation remains geographic]. And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind — against the king of Egypt; comparable to [the phrase] ‘in whirlwind and in storm’ (cf. Nahum 1:3). And if it is written with a sin, it is like the word “השירו” — but I do not know [why], and there are many examples like this.
Metzudat David
And at the time of the end – At the time when the end and completion of the days of redemption arrives. Shall the king of the south push at him, etc. – The king of the south will fight with Rome, as if goring with a horn. Shall come against him like a whirlwind – And the king of the north, who is Rome, will likewise fight against him like a storm-wind, that is, with strength and might. And with many ships – And in them, men of war. And he shall enter – The king of the north will enter the countries of the king of the south, sweep away their people, and pass on from there.
Metzudat Zion
Shall push (yitnageach) - An expression of striking and shoving. Shall come...like a whirlwind (veyishta'er) - Equivalent to "veyista'er," with a samech; the word relates to "stormwind" (ruach se'arah).
Malbim
And at the time of the end — now [the angel] prophesies what shall happen in the End of Days: at that time the king of the south shall push and make war with him, and the king of the north shall storm against him. Indeed, the king of the north shall press his own cause and storm forth to rescue him. It has already been explained that the king of the south will then have to wage war with Gog and Magog, who comes from the north to conquer Jerusalem, and the king of the south shall stand against him. And he shall enter into the countries — afterward he shall enter into the lands of Ishmael, and shall overflow and pass through there with his armies.
Ibn Yahya
'And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him' — the head of the nation of Edom, the king of the south — that is, the Turk who now rules over Egypt — will clash with him. 'And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind' — this refers to that same aforementioned head of the nation of Edom, the Turk, who is also the king of the north, since the entire land of Greece is under his dominion. He will come against him by land, 'with chariots, and with horsemen,' and by sea, 'with many ships'; 'and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow, as he passes through' — he will enter the lands of Edom and overflow and pass through, for he will suddenly sweep over them all, overwhelming and conquering them.
He shall enter also into the beauteous land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
verse value 2837
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "and·he·shall·enter" (וּבָא֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·chief·of" (וְרֵאשִׁ֖ית, 6 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "the·beauty" (הַצְּבִ֔י), "and·many" (וְרַבּ֖וֹת), "they·shall·be·delivered" (יִמָּלְט֣וּ). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·these" (root אלה, 57x in Daniel); "and·he·shall·enter" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel); "and·many" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·shall·be·overthrown', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 8 words. Full calculation: וּבָא֙ [and·he·shall·enter] (9) + בְּאֶ֣רֶץ [into·land·of] (293) + הַצְּבִ֔י [the·beauty] (107) + וְרַבּ֖וֹת [and·many] (614) + יִכָּשֵׁ֑לוּ [they·shall·be·overthrown] (366) + וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ [and·these] (42) + יִמָּלְט֣וּ [they·shall·be·delivered] (95) + מִיָּד֔וֹ [from·his·hand] (60) + אֱד֣וֹם [Edom] (51) + וּמוֹאָ֔ב [and·Moab] (55) + וְרֵאשִׁ֖ית [and·chief·of] (917) + בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (62) + עַמּֽוֹן [Ammon] (166) = 2837.
Ibn Ezra
He shall enter — this is the king of the north, who is the king of Constantinople — into the beauteous land. The meaning is that those who dwell in the place where Edom, Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon once were will escape his hand; and there are many years between the days of Sennacherib and this prophecy.
Metzudat David
Into the beauteous land – That is the cherished land of Israel. And many – Many countries will stumble and perish before him. Edom – They are those who dwell on Mount Seir. And the chief, etc. – That is, the choicest of their cities.
Metzudat Zion
The chief of (vereishit) - An expression of "the best," as in "the chief of their might" (Jeremiah 49).
Malbim
He shall enter also — until he comes to the beauteous land to conquer it. And many countries shall be overthrown — many countries of the East shall stumble and be too weak to stand before him; only Edom and Moab shall escape from his hand.
Ibn Yahya
'He shall enter also into the beauteous land' — that is, the land of Israel, which is under his dominion, and whose inhabitants will rebel against him while he is subduing the lands of Edom. 'And many countries shall be overthrown' — many of the cities of the beauteous land will fall, for he will destroy and annihilate them. 'But these shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon' — he will not destroy some of the cities that had belonged from ancient times to Edom, Moab, and the chief of the land of the children of Ammon; but the rest he will destroy in his fury, because of the rebellion they raised against him, for—
He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
verse value 2365
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·lands" (בַּאֲרָצ֑וֹת, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·he·shall·send" (וְיִשְׁלַ֥ח), "his·hand" (יָד֖וֹ), "and·land·of" (וְאֶ֣רֶץ). The root ארץ appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 74x in Daniel); "his·hand" (root יד, 26x in Daniel); "it·shall·be" (root היה, 23x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·lands', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְיִשְׁלַ֥ח [and·he·shall·send] (354) + יָד֖וֹ [his·hand] (20) + בַּאֲרָצ֑וֹת [upon·lands] (699) + וְאֶ֣רֶץ [and·land·of] (297) + מִצְרַ֔יִם [Egypt] (380) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תִהְיֶ֖ה [it·shall·be] (420) + לִפְלֵיטָֽה [for·escape] (164) = 2365.
Ibn Ezra
He shall stretch forth his hand — the king of the north.
Metzudat David
He shall stretch forth his hand – To strike and destroy. Upon the countries – That is, upon many countries. Shall not escape – That is, he will not leave even a small remnant in it; all will be destroyed.
Metzudat Zion
Escape (lifleitah) - Rescue and remnant.
Malbim
He shall stretch forth his hand — to take plunder and seize spoil. And the land of Egypt — for he shall conquer the land of Egypt as well, as was prophesied about this in Ezekiel chapter 32, as is explained there. ‘And the Libyans and Cushites shall be at his steps’ (Daniel 11:43) — for the men of Cush, that is, the Abyssinians (Ethiopians), shall help the children of Edom. And it appears, from Ezekiel chapter 38, that the word ‘at his steps’ refers to all of them, meaning: ‘and he shall rule, at his steps, over all the treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans, and the Cushites’ (cf. Daniel 11:43) — that he shall plunder all of them, and they [Libya and Cush] shall be aided by the peoples of the East.
Ibn Yahya
—'he shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries'; 'and the land of Egypt shall not escape' — for it too had a hand in the rebellion.
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
verse value 2310
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "and·he·shall·rule" (וּמָשַׁ֗ל, 4 letters) and the longest is "at·his·steps" (בְּמִצְעָדָֽיו, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 376: and·he·shall·rule, and·Ethiopians. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "over·treasures·of" (בְּמִכְמַנֵּי֙), "the·gold" (הַזָּהָ֣ב), "and·the·silver" (וְהַכֶּ֔סֶף). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·over·all" (root כל, 41x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Egypt', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּמָשַׁ֗ל [and·he·shall·rule] (376) + בְּמִכְמַנֵּי֙ [over·treasures·of] (162) + הַזָּהָ֣ב [the·gold] (19) + וְהַכֶּ֔סֶף [and·the·silver] (171) + וּבְכֹ֖ל [and·over·all] (58) + חֲמֻד֣וֹת [precious·things·of] (458) + מִצְרָ֑יִם [Egypt] (380) + וְלֻבִ֥ים [and·Libyans] (88) + וְכֻשִׁ֖ים [and·Ethiopians] (376) + בְּמִצְעָדָֽיו [at·his·steps] (222) = 2310.
Ibn Ezra
He shall have power over the treasures (makhmanei) — the Targum renders it ‘that which was not stored’ and ‘that which was not hidden for him’; perhaps the word is of the same root as darkemonim (drachmas, i.e., coins). As for the Ethiopians — being close to Egypt, they will be at the marching-steps of the king of the north, in that they will turn to submit to him.
Metzudat David
At his steps – They will be trampled beneath the tread of his feet.
Metzudat Zion
Over the treasures (bemikhmanei) - Its meaning is hidden stores; it is similar [in root] to the Aramaic Targum's rendering, in "but he did not lie in wait" (Exodus 21), as "ve-dela kaman" [he did not lurk in ambush]. The Libyans and the Ethiopians (velubim vekhushim) - Names of idolatrous nations. At his steps (bemitz'adav) - From the root meaning stepping and pacing.
Ibn Yahya
'But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt' — for he will take all their wealth. 'And the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps' — for he will also march into their land and subdue them.
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall affright him; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to take away many.
verse value 2587
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 52 letters. Verse gematria: 2587 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "and·he·shall·go·forth" (וְיָצָא֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·to·ban" (וּֽלְהַחֲרִ֖ים, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·tidings" (וּשְׁמֻע֣וֹת), "they·shall·affright·him" (יְבַהֲלֻ֔הוּ), "from·east" (מִמִּזְרָ֖ח). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "many" (root רב, 34x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·from·north', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּשְׁמֻע֣וֹת [and·tidings] (822) + יְבַהֲלֻ֔הוּ [they·shall·affright·him] (58) + מִמִּזְרָ֖ח [from·east] (295) + וּמִצָּפ֑וֹן [and·from·north] (272) + וְיָצָא֙ [and·he·shall·go·forth] (107) + בְּחֵמָ֣א [with·fury] (51) + גְדֹלָ֔ה [great] (42) + לְהַשְׁמִ֥יד [to·destroy] (389) + וּֽלְהַחֲרִ֖ים [and·to·ban] (299) + רַבִּֽים [many] (252) = 2587.
Ibn Ezra
But tidings ... shall affright him — [this is] the king of the north. Out of the east and out of the north is Babylon and Persia. The meaning is the little horn that he mentioned in his prophecy. And he shall go forth — the king of the north.
Metzudat David
But tidings – He will hear that war has come against him from the east; that is the little horn, which is the kingdom of Ishmael mentioned above; and he will also hear that war has come against him from the direction of the north. These tidings will terrify him, and he will go forth to meet them with great fury, to destroy those idolaters.
Metzudat Zion
Fury (bechema) - Equivalent to "bechemah," spelled with a heh.
Malbim
But tidings shall affright him — for afterward armies shall arise to avenge their brethren, as is stated in Ezekiel; and he shall go forth with fury to destroy, and shall fight against them.
Ibn Yahya
'But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall affright him' — meanwhile, reports will alarm him, from the east, from the land of Turkey, and from the north, the land of Greece, that they have rebelled against him. 'And he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to take away many' — many of them as well, just as he did in the south.
And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the beauteous holy mountain; and he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
verse value 1850
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 47 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (לֽוֹ) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 1850 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "to·him" (לֽוֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·mountain·of·beauty·of·holiness" (לְהַר־צְבִי־קֹ֑דֶשׁ, 9 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Daniel. Unique to this verse in Daniel (hapax): "and·he·shall·plant" (וְיִטַּע֙), "tents·of" (אׇהֳלֵ֣י), "his·palace" (אַפַּדְנ֔וֹ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·shall·come" (root בוא, 42x in Daniel); "between" (root בין, 32x in Daniel). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·mountain·of·beauty·of·holiness', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְיִטַּע֙ [and·he·shall·plant] (95) + אׇהֳלֵ֣י [tents·of] (46) + אַפַּדְנ֔וֹ [his·palace] (141) + בֵּ֥ין [between] (62) + יַמִּ֖ים [seas] (100) + לְהַר־צְבִי־קֹ֑דֶשׁ [to·mountain·of·beauty·of·holiness] (741) + וּבָא֙ [and·he·shall·come] (9) + עַד־קִצּ֔וֹ [until·his·end] (270) + וְאֵ֥ין [and·there·is·no] (67) + עוֹזֵ֖ר [helper] (283) + לֽוֹ [to·him] (36) = 1850.
Ibn Ezra
He shall come to his end — there he will die; and this is [the fulfillment of] ‘and he shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished’ (Daniel 11:36).
Metzudat David
And he shall plant – He will pitch the tents of his palace between the seas, by the mountain of the cherished and holy land of Israel. And he shall come to his end – There he will come to his end, for his kingdom will cease, and there will be none to help him rise and grow strong again.
Metzudat Zion
He shall plant (veyita) - We find the term "planting" used of tents, as it is written, "like tents that Hashem has planted" (Numbers 24:6). His palace (apadno) - Its meaning is a palace; and in the words of our Sages, "I saw the palace (apadna) of Abaye, that it fell" (Berakhot 58) - meaning [Daniel is describing] his tents, which were as beautiful and magnificent as palaces.
Malbim
And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas — as is explained regarding this in Ezekiel (ch. 39): ‘the valley of the passers-by, east of the sea, which blocks the passers-by’ (Ezekiel 39:11). And there he shall come to his end, for there the multitude of Gog shall fall, as is stated there: ‘and they shall bury Gog there, and all his multitude,’ etc. (Ezekiel 39:11).
Ibn Yahya
'And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the beauteous holy mountain' — so that the inhabitants of the beauteous land will not rebel against him again, he will pitch the tents of his pavilion and palace between the seas, near the beauteous holy mountain — that is, Mount Moriah, the site of the Temple — in order to frighten the people, so that they will think he is stationed there. And then, after the Turk becomes king of the whole earth, 'he shall come to his end, and none shall help him' — for at that time the fifth kingdom, that of Israel, will begin.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim
Ibn Yahya