Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 11:5

"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." — Daniel 11:5 (ASV)

Shall be strong - This is in accordance with the well-known fact. One of the most powerful of those monarchies, if not the most powerful, was Egypt.

And one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him - The meaning of this passage is that there would be “one of his princes,” that is, of the princes of Alexander, who would be more mighty than the one who obtained Egypt, or the south, and that he would have a more extended dominion.

The reference is, doubtless, to Seleucus Nicator, or the conqueror. In the division of the empire, he obtained Syria, Babylonia, Media, Susiana, Armenia, a part of Cappadocia, and Cilicia, and his kingdom stretched from the Hellespont to the Indus. (See the notes at Daniel 8:8). Compare Arrian, “Exp. Alex.” vii. 22; Appian, p. 618; and Lengerke, on this passage.

The proper translation of this passage probably would be, “And the king of the south shall be mighty. But from among his princes (the princes of Alexander) also there shall be (one) who shall be mightier than he, and he shall reign, and his dominion shall be a great dominion.”

It was of these two dominions that the angel spoke, and hence follows, through the remainder of the chapter, the history pertaining to them and their successors. Seleucus Nicator reigned from 312 B.C. to 280 B.C.—or thirty-two years. In his time lived Berosus and Megasthenes, referred to in the Introduction to (Daniel 4:0).