Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 11:23

"And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people." — Daniel 11:23 (ASV)

And after the league made with him - This refers to a treaty of peace and concord. The great subject of contention between the kings of Syria and Egypt was the possession of Coelo-Syria and Palestine. They often tried to settle this by conquest, as each of them claimed that in the original partition of Alexander's empire this portion of the empire fell to him; they also often tried to settle it by treaty. Consequently, this region was constantly passing from one to the other and was also the seat of frequent wars.

The “league” mentioned here seems to have been the one concerning this country—the successive promises made to the king of Egypt that Coelo-Syria and Palestine should be given to him. These provinces had been secured to Ptolemy Lagus by the treaty made in 301 B.C., and they had been pledged again by Antiochus the Great, as a dowry, when his daughter Cleopatra was to be made queen of Egypt (Jahn, “Hebrew Commonwealth,” p. 260).

Antiochus Epiphanes, however, was not at all inclined to confirm this grant, and therefore, he became involved in wars with the Egyptians.

He shall work deceitfully - This refers to the covenant or treaty mentioned above. He will try to evade its claims, refuse to comply with its conditions, and not surrender the provinces according to the terms of the agreement. History matches this exactly, for he did not intend to comply with the terms of the treaty but sought every means to evade it, finally waging a series of bloody wars with Egypt.

Regarding the terms of this treaty, and to secure their respective interests, both parties sent ambassadors to Rome to urge their claims before the Roman Senate (Polybius, “Legationes,” Sections 78, 82; Jerome, “Commentary in locum”).

As soon as Ptolemy Philometor reached his fourteenth year, he was solemnly invested with the government, and ambassadors from all surrounding countries came to congratulate him on his accession to the throne. On this occasion, Antiochus sent Apollonius, the son of Mnestheus, to Egypt, ostensibly to congratulate the king on his coronation, but with the real intention of discovering the purposes of the Egyptian court. When Apollonius, on his return, informed Antiochus that the Egyptians viewed him as an enemy, Antiochus immediately sailed to Joppa to inspect his frontiers toward Egypt and to put them in a state of defense (Jahn, “Hebrew Commonwealth,” p. 260).

Antiochus's purpose was undoubtedly not to surrender Coelo-Syria and Palestine according to the treaties that had been made. Yet, he intended to secure them if possible without an open conflict and, therefore, resorted to his diplomatic tactics or his efforts to evade compliance with the terms of the agreement.

Even when he had invaded Egypt and gained possession of the king, Ptolemy Philometor, he still “pretended that he had come to Egypt solely for the good of King Ptolemy, to set the affairs of his kingdom in order for him; and Ptolemy found it advisable to act as though he really thought him his friend. But he must have seen,” says Jahn, “that Antiochus, with all his professions of friendship, was intent on plunder, for he plundered Egypt in every quarter” (Jahn, “Hebrew Commonwealth,” p. 263).

For he shall come up - This means he would come upon Egypt. The result would be war. Rather than surrender the provinces according to the treaty, he would ultimately invade Egypt and carry war into its borders.

And shall become strong with a small people - The meaning of this seems to be that at first his own forces would be small. He would advance in such a way as not to arouse suspicion. Then, either by increasing his forces there, uniting with confederates, luring the people with promises of rewards, or gradually taking one town after another and adding them to his dominions, he would become strong.

Jahn (“Hebrew Commonwealth,” p. 263) says, “With a small body of troops he made himself master of Memphis, and of all Egypt as far as Alexandria, almost without striking a blow” (compare to Diodorus Siculus, Book 26, Chapters 75 and 77; Josephus, “Antiquities of the Jews,” Book 12, Chapter 5, Section 2).

The reality was that Antiochus, in his invasion of Egypt, pretended to be the friend of the Egyptian king, claiming he came to aid him and to establish him finally on the throne. Gradually, however, he took possession of one town after another and subdued one place after another, until he finally gained control of the king himself and had him entirely in his power.