Daniel 11:4

4 Et cum steterit, conteretur regnum eius, et dividetur in quattuor ventos caeli: sed non in posteros eius, neque secundum potentiam illius, qua dominatus est. lacerabitur enim regnum eius etiam in externos, exceptis his.

Daniel 11:4 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 11:4

And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken
When Alexander was risen up to his highest pitch of grandeur, was sole monarch of the world, in the height of his ambition, in the prime of his days, he was cut off by death; his kingdom remained no more one, but became many, was seized by different persons, his generals, and so broke to pieces: and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven;
which seem to have respect to the four horns or kings, which came up in his place, ( Daniel 8:8 ) , and among whom his kingdom was parted; Ptolemy reigned in Egypt to the south; Antigonus in Asia to the north; Seleucus in Babylon and Syria to the east; and Cassander in Macedonia to the west: and not to his posterity;
for though he had two sons, one by Barsine, whose name was Hercules, who was living at his death; and another by Roxane, born after his death, whose name was Alexander; yet they were both destroyed by Cassander, or his means, that he might enjoy Macedonia F16: nor according to his dominion which he ruled;
their dominion was not so large and powerful as Alexander's was, being divided into several parts; see ( Daniel 8:22 ) : for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those; either besides his posterity, who had no share in it, and so, with respect to his family, was like a tree plucked up by the roots, and, as to their concern in it, withered away at once; or, besides the four governors before mentioned, there were others that had, at least for a while, some lesser shares in the kingdom, as Eumenes, Philotas, Leonnatus, and others; but, at length, all were reduced to the kings of Egypt and Syria, the Lagidae and Seleucidae, which the following part of the prophecy chiefly concerns; and, besides these, for the Romans also, to whom this kingdom came.


FOOTNOTES:

F16 Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 19. p. 739. & l. 20. p. 761.

Daniel 11:4 In-Context

2 Et nunc veritatem annunciabo tibi. Ecce adhuc tres reges stabunt in Perside, et quartus ditabitur opibus nimiis super omnes: et cum invaluerit divitiis suis, concitabit omnes adversum regnum Graeciae.
3 Surget vero rex fortis, et dominabitur potestate multa: et faciet quod placuerit ei.
4 Et cum steterit, conteretur regnum eius, et dividetur in quattuor ventos caeli: sed non in posteros eius, neque secundum potentiam illius, qua dominatus est. lacerabitur enim regnum eius etiam in externos, exceptis his.
5 Et confortabitur rex Austri: et de principibus eius praevalebit super eum, et dominabitur ditione: multa enim dominatio eius.
6 Et post finem annorum foederabuntur: filiaque regis Austri veniet ad regem Aquilonis facere amicitiam, et non obtinebit fortitudinem brachii, nec stabit semen eius: et tradetur ipsa, et qui adduxerunt eam, adolescentes eius, et qui confortabant eam in temporibus.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.