John Calvin 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)

Here the angel begins to speak about the kings of Egypt and Syria. He does not mention the king of Syria yet, but will do so in the next verse; however, he begins with the king of Egypt, the neighboring monarchy to that of Israel. He says, the king of the south, meaning, the king of Egypt, would be brave.

He next adds, and one of his princes. Many take this in one context, but I think the angel transfers his discourse to Antiochus the son of Seleucus. And one of his princes, he says, meaning, one of Alexander’s princes, will strengthen himself against him. For the letter ו, vau, is taken in the sense of opposing and implies an opposition between Ptolemy the son of Lagus and Antiochus king of Syria. Hence the king of the south shall grow strong—another of Alexander’s chiefs will grow strong against him and will have dominion.

We know how much larger and wealthier the kingdom of Syria was than that of Egypt, especially when Asia Minor was added to it. Without doubt, the angel was aware of the future superiority of Antiochus to Ptolemy when these two kings are compared with each other. But the rest tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, since you not only deigned to unfold future events to your servant Daniel and to the pious who waited for the advent of your only-begotten Son, so that they might be prepared for all sufferings and might perceive the Church to repose under your care and protection, but also wished these prophecies to profit us today and to confirm us in the same doctrine: Grant that we may learn how to cast all our cares and anxieties on your paternal providence. May we never doubt your oversight of the cares of your Church in these days, and your protection against the fury of the ungodly who try all means of destroying it. May we repose in peace under that guardianship which you have promised us, and struggle on under the standard of the cross; and possess our souls in patience, until at last you will appear as our Redeemer with outstretched hand, at the manifestation of your Son, when he returns to judge the world.—Amen.