Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 11:20

"Then shall stand up in his place one that 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." — Daniel 11:20 (ASV)

A raiser of taxes.— The marginal version is preferable, as it gives the meaning of the word “exactor,” or “oppressor,” which it has in Exodus 3:7, and in every passage where it occurs, except perhaps Isaiah 9:4. The new king of the north causes the “oppressor” to pass through “the majesty of the kingdom” (a phrase occurring elsewhere only in Psalms 145:12; but compare to 1 Chronicles 29:25), meaning the “richest parts of his kingdom,” and not necessarily Palestine. The effect of this policy was that the king fell victim to a conspiracy in a few days. According to Saint Jerome, the person alluded to was Seleucus Philopator.

With this verse, the first part of the prophecy concludes. It should be observed that, up to this point:

1. Notes of time are very scarce; we only meet with indefinite expressions, such as “in the end of years” (Daniel 11:6), “certain years” (Daniel 11:13), “within few days” (Daniel 11:20), and vague terms expressing sequence of time.
2. There is nothing in the text that implies any change of sovereigns, except in Daniel 11:7 and Daniel 11:19.

It follows from a careful study of these verses that according to their natural and literal sense, they speak of only two southern kings and only one northern king. The southern king about whom we read most is apparently the offspring of the daughter of the first southern king, mentioned in Daniel 11:5, and it is he who engages in conflict with the first northern king and with his sons (Daniel 11:10).

The whole prophecy is eschatological, and refers to two opposing earthly powers that will affect the destiny of God’s people in the last times. It relates a series of wars and political intrigues between these two powers, all of which prove futile, and it concludes with the account of the death of the first northern king. Daniel 11:20 is a transition verse, in which another character is introduced who will mark the approach of the end; while Daniel 11:21 introduces the most prominent object of the prophecy—a person who remains before the reader until the end of the chapter, while the southern king gradually disappears (Daniel 11:25; Daniel 11:27; Daniel 11:40), and what is apparently his country is mentioned without its sovereign in Daniel 11:43.