John Calvin Commentary Daniel 11:40

"And at the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with 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 and pass through." — Daniel 11:40 (ASV)

Regarding the time mentioned here, it is a certain or predetermined period. We have already shown that the kings of the south and the north refer to Egypt and Syria, as this was their position relative to Judea. The word נגח, neech, confliget, literally means he shall “push with the horns,” while the word translated “he shall rush as a whirlwind” is derived from שער, segner, meaning “to be stormy.” The angel here predicts the numerous victories by which the Romans would extend their empire far and wide, although not without great difficulties and dangers.

He states, The king of the south should carry on war with the Romans for a definite period. I dare not fix the precise time intended by the angel. So great was the power of Egypt that if the kings of that country had relied upon their native resources, they might have summoned courage to make war upon the Romans.

Gabinius the proconsul led his army there to restore Ptolemy. He expelled Archelaus without much trouble, and then, like a mercenary, risked his life, his fame, and his army there. Caesar was in danger there after vanquishing Pompey. Then Antony made war upon Augustus, assisted by the forces of Cleopatra. Egypt then put forth all her strength, and upon Antony's failure, was herself reduced to a Roman province.

The angel did not intend to mark a continuous series of times, but only briefly to admonish the faithful to stand firm amidst those most grievous upheavals that were then imminent. Whatever the precise meaning may be, the angel undoubtedly signified the difficult nature of the struggle between the Romans and the Egyptians.

I have already stated that history attests to the fact that the Egyptians never made war against the Romans in their own name. Sometimes events were so confused that the Egyptians allied with the Syrians, and then we must read the words jointly—thus: the king of the south, assisted by the king of the north, would carry on war with the Romans.

The angel thus shows us how the king of Syria would furnish greater forces and supplies than the Egyptian monarch, and this really happened at the beginning of the triumvirate. He next states that The king of the south should come with chariots and horses and many ships. Nor is it necessary here to indicate the precise period, since the Romans carried on many wars in the East, during which they occupied Asia, while a part of Libya fell to them by the will of its king without arms or force of any kind.

Regarding these two kingdoms that have been so frequently mentioned, many rulers governed Syria within a short period. First one of the natives was raised to the throne and then another, until the people grew tired of them and transferred the sovereignty to foreigners. Then Alexander rose gradually to power and ultimately acquired very great fame; he was not of noble birth, for his father was of unknown origin.

This man came from an obscure family and at one time possessed neither authority nor resources. He was made king of Syria because he pretended to be the son of Seleucus, and was slain immediately, while his immediate successor reigned for only a short period. Thus Syria passed to the Romans on the death of this Seleucus.

Tigranes, the king of Armenia, was then sent for, and he was made ruler over Syria until Lucullus conquered him, and Syria was reduced to a province. The vilest of men reigned over Egypt. Physcon, who was restrained by the Romans when attempting to seize Syria from the power of its sovereign, was exceedingly depraved both in body and mind, and thus he obtained this disgraceful appellation.

For the word is a Greek one, equivalent to the French andouille; for physce means that thicker intestine into which the others are usually inserted. This deformity gave rise to his usual name, signifying “pot-bellied,” implying both bodily deformity and a resemblance to beasts, while he was not endowed with either intellect or ingenuity.

The last king, who made the Romans his son’s guardians, received the name Auletes, and Cicero uses this epithet of “flute-player” because he was excessively fond of this musical instrument. In each kingdom, then, there was horrible deformity, since those who exercised royal authority were more like dogs or swine than human beings.

Tigranes, it is well known, gave the Romans much trouble. On the other hand, Mithridates occupied their attention for a very long time, with varied and mixed success. The Romans throughout all Asia were at one time put to the sword, and when a close battle was fought, Mithridates was often superior. He later united his forces with those of Tigranes, his father-in-law.

When Tigranes held Armenia, he was a king of other kings and later added a portion of Syria to his dominions. Eventually, when the last Antiochus was placed over the kingdom of Syria by Lucullus, he was removed from his command by Pompey’s orders, and then, as we have stated, Syria became a Roman province.

Pompey crossed the sea and subdued all of Judea as well as Syria. He later entered the Temple and took away some of its possessions but spared the sacred treasures. Crassus succeeded him—an insatiable whirlpool, who longed for this province for no other reason than his unbounded eagerness for wealth.

He despoiled the Temple at Jerusalem. Lastly, after Cleopatra was conquered, Egypt lost its royal line and became a Roman province. If the Romans had conquered a hundred other provinces, the angel would not have mentioned them here, for I have previously noted his special regard for the chosen people.

Therefore, he dwells only on those slaughters that had more or less relation to the wretched Jews. First of all, he predicts the great contest that would arise between the kings of Egypt and Syria, who should come on like a whirlwind, while the Romans should rush upon the lands like a deluge, and pass over them. He compares the king of Syria to a whirlwind, for at first he would rush on impetuously, filling both land and sea with his forces.

Thus he would possess a well-manned fleet, and thus excite fresh terrors, and yet vanish away rapidly like a whirlwind. But the Romans are compared to a deluge. The new king of whom he had spoken should come, he says, and overflow, burying all the forces of both Egypt and Syria, implying that the entire foundations of both realms would be swept away when the Romans passed over them.

He shall pass over, he says, meaning that wherever they come, the way will be open for them and nothing closed against them. He will repeat this idea in another form. He does not speak now of one region only, but says, they should come over the lands, implying widespread desolation, while no one would dare to oppose them by resisting their fury.