John Calvin Commentary Daniel 11:29-30

"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. For ships of Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do [his pleasure]: he shall even return, and have regard unto them that forsake the holy covenant." — Daniel 11:29-30 (ASV)

First of all, the angel says, Antiochus would return a short time afterwards and take possession of Egypt. This was the fruit of that pretended peace and treacherous friendship which has already been mentioned. For the uncle and nephew banqueted together in mutual distrust, as the angel has already stated, and as we found in verse 27 of this chapter.

This deception was shortly afterwards dissolved when Antiochus, without any reasonable impulse, returned to Egypt. In this way he showed that he lacked nothing but an opportunity for breaking the truce, and he only delayed it for a time because he had no wish to oppress his nephew in haste. This, then, is one point.

We may take the word מועד mogned, “time,” for a period divinely predetermined; but as this explanation may seem too forced, I am content with the common one. He shall return, then, for a time, and shall come, he says, to Egypt; but the latter expedition shall not be like the former, for the whole preparation for war which had struck such terror into Egypt would lose its effect.

He had seized on a portion of the kingdom, and King Ptolemy Philometor was besieged when Publius Popilius arrived, of whom the angel will soon speak. For the cause of his return is added—

Ships shall come from Chittim. We have explained this word elsewhere. By comparing all the passages of Scripture in which the word occurs, we will find all the Gentiles denoted by it, from Macedon through the whole of Greece, as far as Illyricum and Italy. The ancients used another term for the Macedonians; they call them Maketoe, and some think the letter M is a useless addition.

But whether this is so or not, the circumstances show the Macedonians, Greeks, and other overseas nations to have been called Chittim. If anyone still disputes about this word, let us desist from all contention; still, we cannot help observing what the perpetual tenor of Scripture enables us to discover—that the Macedonians, Greeks, and Italians are included under this term.

This passage is free from all doubt, because Antiochus was restrained not by the Greeks but by the Romans. Ambassadors were sent by them, not for this purpose alone, but to investigate the whole state of Greece and Asia Minor. The affairs of Greece were then very unsettled, and the Romans were turning their attention towards Achaia, for they thought the Achaean league would become too powerful.

Among these ambassadors was P. Popilius, a stern man, as we may venture to conjecture, but austere and barbarous. When he met Antiochus, who was then besieging Alexandria and held the boy-king in captivity, he addressed him in his own manner. King Antiochus received him graciously, mildly, and even blandly, and wished even to salute him, for, as we have already stated, his disposition was naturally servile.

Popilius rejected all these advances and ordered him to keep his familiarities for private interactions, for Antiochus had been well-acquainted with him when a hostage at Rome during his father’s lifetime. He rejected all these acts of courtesy, explained to him the commands of the Senate, and ordered him instantly to depart from Egypt.

The king said he would consult with his friends. But Popilius was unable to lay aside his accustomed sternness; he drew a circle with the wand he held in his hand and ordered the king to summon his counselors and deliberate on the spot, otherwise Popilius would declare war at once.

When the king perceived this barbarian acting so decisively, he dared no longer hesitate or dissemble, but threw himself at once into the power of the Senate and suddenly retired from the country. This history is now described by the angel. All these events were as yet unperformed, but God set before the eyes of the pious what was then entirely concealed and contrary to the expectation of mankind.

The angel therefore states the reason why that expedition of Antiochus would be quite unlike the last one: There shall come against him, he says, ships of Chittim, meaning Italy, and he shall grieve and return. That is, he would obey, although he would feel indignant at such imperious treatment and be compelled to retreat with every mark of disgrace. It was unworthy of a king to demean himself so humbly at the mere word of his adversary.

This accounts for his indignation: But he shall return and be indignant against the covenant of holiness; meaning, he would turn his rage against the temple and city of God. This second return involved the Jews in a far longer period of slaughter than the former one. Antiochus was then unwilling to return home unless laden with spoil after pretending to establish peace; but now he was compelled to retreat with great disgrace, and this only exasperated and enraged him.

Hence he acted most outrageously towards both the people and the temple of God. Thus the angel says, He shall be indignant against the holy covenant, and shall do so and return. He repeats the same language twice as if he had said, Antiochus would return to Syria without achieving his object, by obeying the Roman Senate, or rather his old friend whom he had known at Rome.

We have already stated the reason, which we will afterwards more fully explain, why the angel predicted the fury of the king as turned against the holy covenant. It is this—the confidence of the pious would naturally be injured by observing the divine permission granted to the tyrant for spoiling the temple.

He next adds, And he shall act with intelligence towards the forsakers of the holy covenant. The angel here points out the manner in which secret agreements would take place between Antiochus and those apostates who would desert God’s holy covenant. It is quite clear that he was summoned to Jerusalem, first by Jason, and then by Menelaus .

I will touch only briefly on events recorded in history. Secular authors inform us accurately of these occurrences, and besides this, a whole book of Maccabees gives us similar information and places clearly before us what the angel here predicts. Everyone who wishes to read these prophecies with profit must make himself familiar with these books and must try to remember the whole history.

Onias the elder was a holy man; his son has been previously mentioned . For, with the aim of escaping from snares, he set out for Egypt and built a temple, as Josephus informs us, and pretended to fulfill that passage in Isaiah which says, There shall be an altar to God in Egypt.

But Onias the elder, who discharged faithfully and sacredly the office of high priest, was put to flight and eventually put to death. Then Jason, whom he had sent to appease Antiochus, assumed the high priesthood and betrayed the temple and the whole nation, as well as the worship of God (2 Maccabees 4:35-37 and 2 Maccabees 7).

He afterwards met with the reward he deserved, for he was slain, and then Menelaus succeeded him and conciliated the favor of Antiochus (2 Maccabees 5:9 and 2 Maccabees 4:27). The authority of the priesthood prevailed so far as to enable him to draw with him a great portion of the people.

Here, then, the angel predicts how Antiochus, on approaching the city, would have deserters and apostates as his companions. The words are, He shall apply his mind to the forsakers of the holy covenant, and the sense is by no means obscure. Antiochus would not make open war against the Jews, but one faction would go forth to meet him and ingratiate themselves with him.

I run through these events briefly because when I later arrive at a general summary, it will be far more convenient to derive the practical lessons. The angel says next: