Diving into Daniel: Kings of the North and South
Daniel 11:5-6 - Human history, as prophesied to Daniel in this chapter, shows that nothing has changed since the Fall.
““Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed. After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out a peaceful arrangement. But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he remain with his power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times.”
Daniel 11:5-6 NASB1995
The prophecies from Daniel 11:5-35 focus on two of the four kings who divided up Greece. I am taking this in small bites to get an idea of the players involved in this prophecy. The AI image was created looking at the words in Daniel 11:5-6, which will be discussed further in this devotional (it is supposed to be Berenice).
The four divisions of Greece after Alexander are under these four kings and successors, as noted in Precept Austin:
FOUR DIVISIONS of the Grecian Empire (After Alexander's Death)(And after Battle of Ipsusca 301BC)
Northern Kingdom (Syria) Seleucus I Nicator
Southern Kingdom (Egypt) Ptolemy I Soter
Western Kingdom of Cassander
Eastern Kingdom of Lysimachus
Since the “Beautiful Land” (Israel) was between the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom geographically, those are the two regions that are the focus of part of the prophecy told to Daniel by the heavenly messenger. Here’s a map from Wikipedia showing these kingdoms:
Map created by Diadochi PT.svg (Luigi Chiesa) - See Creative Commons License 4 link below
This is a complicated history, like something out of a Greek tragedy or a Shakespeare play (war, betrayal, war, murder, betrayal again and more war!). I liked this explanation from Enduring Word best:
Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion.
The king of the South shall become strong: One of the four inheritors of the empire of the mighty king would become stronger and greater than the others.
He shall gain power over him and have dominion: This was fulfilled in Ptolemy I of Egypt, who exerted his control over the Holy Land. Soon after the division of Alexander’s Empire, the Ptolemies dominated this region.
Ptolemy I had a prince named Seleucus, who rose to power and took dominion over the region of Syria. He became more powerful than his former Egyptian ruler. The Seleucids are identified with the Kings of the North, and the Ptolemies were the Kings of the South.
The dynasties of the Seleucids and the Ptolemies fought for some 130 years. The stronger of the two always held dominion over the Holy Land.
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They shall join forces: Joined by a marriage, the kings of the North and South would be allies for a while, but the arrangement would not last.
The daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement: This was fulfilled in the marriage between Antiochus II (of the Seleucids) and Berenice (daughter of Ptolemy II). There was peace for a time because of this marriage, but it was upset when Ptolemy II died.
Shall not retain the power of her authority: Once Ptolemy II died, Antiochus II put away Berenice and took back his former wife, Laodice.
Neither he nor his authority shall stand: Laodice didn’t trust her husband Antiochus II; so she had him poisoned.
She shall be given up, with those who brought her: After the murder of Antiochus II, Laodice had Berenice, her infant son, and her attendants killed.
After this reign of terror, Laodice set her son (Seleucus II) on the throne of the Syrian dominion.
Yikes! No wonder the heavenly messenger described an evil supernatural prince of Greece (Daniel 10:20), who was behind the scenes manipulating all of this malarkey and mayhem, just like the Prince of Persia. And this is just the beginning! Laodice is a real winner, isn’t she? She kills her husband Antiochus II (after he takes her back), her rival Berenice, the infant son of Berenice and their attendants. She then sets her son (Seleucus II) on the throne of the Syrian dominion.
So what happens next? My next devotional (really more like a history lesson) examines Daniel 11:7-9 - A descendant of the line of Berenice will go against the army and the king of the north.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Thank you for bringing these prophecies to Daniel and setting in motion the historical events that precede and postdate the Messiah. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Link to Creative Commons 4 license for map (no changes were made; the creator of the map is acknowledged in the caption:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Precept Austin was accessed on 05/23/2025 to review commentary for Daniel 11:5-6.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission. Minor formatting changes have been made (no content changes) for improved readability.