(41) The glorious land.--See Daniel 11:16. On the occasion of his hasty march against Egypt, while passing through Palestine, the king takes the shortest route, avoiding the three tribes which had been distinguished by their hostility towards the people of Israel. It is remarkable that these nations (two of which appear as figures of Antichrist, Isaiah 25:10; Isaiah 63:1) should escape, while other nations fell before Antichrist. It is also noteworthy that these three tribes are called nations, for after the return from the exile it appears that they ceased to have any distinct national existence. As tribes they had some considerable power, taking the part of Antiochus in the Maccabee wars. (See 1 Maccabees 3:10; 1 Maccabees 5:1-8.) Judas also fortified Zion against the Idumaeans.

The chief of--i.e., the best of them. (Comp. Numbers 24:20.)

Verse 41. - He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. The Septuagint rendering is slightly of the nature of a paraphrase, "And he shall pass into my land, and many (feminine) shall be offended, and these shall be saved from his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the head of the sons of Ammon." It is possible that the word tzebee was omitted, and the pronominal suffix attached to 'aretz. Theodotion renders, "And he shall enter into the land of the Sabaeem, and many shall be made weak; but these shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and chief of the sons of Ammon." The transliteration here might suggest צְבַיִם instead of צְבִי, and a mistake of the former for עילָם is in the square letters not impossible; but צ and ע are, in the older scripts, very unlike. The Peshitta, while agreeing with the Massoretic generally, renders, "the glorious land," "the land of Israel" - an evident paraphrase. The Vulgate introduces solae before Edom and Moab, otherwise agreeing with the received text. The expedition of Antiochus reaches Palestine, on which the full force of the tempest is represented as being directed. The countries adjacent escape. Edom, Moab, and Ammon are mentioned, but Moab had by this time disappeared as a national name. It may have been inserted - as suggested by Professor Bevan - in consequence of the frequent conjunction of the three names, "Moab, Am-men, and Mount Seir." It is, however, singular that these nations should be named as "escaping," since they were the allies of Antiochus, or more properly, as they would be regarded by him as subjects, his instruments in the oppression of Israel. It may be that this version of the vision of Daniel has been less modified from the original than what has preceded. In the original document, Edom, Moab, and Ammon might have some symbolic reference. The glorious land can scarcely be other than Palestine. It is rendered by Ewald, "the land of the ornament" It might be rendered, "the land of the gazelle." Out of the thirty passages in which this word occurs in Scripture, fourteen times it must have this meaning, in some of the other cases it may have it. So far, then, as the name goes, it might apply to any country fitted for the habitation of the gazelle; but the mention of "Edom, Mesh, and Ammon" renders it nearly a necessity that the reference here be to Palestine. Many countries shall be overthrown. The verb used is kashal, which means, in the niphal, "to totter," "to fall," "to be weak." It is assumed by Hitzig and Fuller, as by the English versions, that "countries" is to be understood. Ewald, however, and many other commentators, following the older versions, would refer to men, and translate, "myriads shall fall." In the version from which Origen has supplemented the Septuagint it is rendered, "Many women or countries shall be offended (σκανδαλισθήσονται)," the feminine rendering being due to the feminine termination -oth in rabboth, but the verb is masculine.

11:31-45 The remainder of this prophecy is very difficult, and commentators differ much respecting it. From Antiochus the account seems to pass to antichrist. Reference seems to be made to the Roman empire, the fourth monarchy, in its pagan, early Christian, and papal states. The end of the Lord's anger against his people approaches, as well as the end of his patience towards his enemies. If we would escape the ruin of the infidel, the idolater, the superstitious and cruel persecutor, as well as that of the profane, let us make the oracles of God our standard of truth and of duty, the foundation of our hope, and the light of our paths through this dark world, to the glorious inheritance above.He shall enter also into the glorious land,.... The land of Israel, as the Syriac version expresses it; or the land of Judea, which the Turk entered into, and got possession of, and still retains, notwithstanding all the attempts made by the European princes to get it out of his hand:

and many countries shall be overthrown; of which the eastern empire listed as Bithynia, Mysia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, and Carlo, and to the Hellesport and the Euxine sea, conquered by Ottoman and his son Urchenes; Callipolis, Hadrianople, by Amurath; Thessalia, Macedonia, Phocis, Mysia, and Bulgaria, by Bajazet; and at last Constantinople itself by Mahomet the second, which put an end to the eastern empire: though perhaps those countries and places may be here more especially meant which lay near Judea, and fell into the hands of the Turk when that did; as Comagene of Syria, Antioch, Damascus, Tripolis, Berytus, Sidon, and all Palestine, and all the sea coast to Egypt:

but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon; by which according to Jerom is meant Arabia, left untouched by him; so Mr. Mede interprets them of Arabia and Petraea, which some of the above people formerly inhabited, as Jacchiades observes; and which Arabians were never subdued by the Turks, but are independent of them to this day; yea, the Turks pay a yearly tribute to them for the passage of their pilgrims to Mecca, as well as pay for the canyons that pass through their country, as is affirmed (z) by modern travellers; and yet it may be observed that these countries did not escape Antiochus, who particularly took Rabbath, the metropolis of Ammon.

(z) See Dr. Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies. p. 53, 54, &c.