‘But He [Antiochus III (223 B.C.E. – 187 B.C.E.)] That Cometh Against Him [Ptolemy V (204 B.C.E. – 180 B.C.E) ‘s forces led by the Aetolian General, Scopas shall do according to His [Antiochus III (223 B.C.E, – 187 B.C.E.) ‘s] own Will;

And None shall stand before Him [Antiochus III (223 B.C.E. – 187 B.C.E.)];

And He [Antiochus III (223 B.C.E. – 187 B.C.E.)] shall stand in THE GLORIOUS LAND,

Which By His [Antiochus III (223 B.C.E.- 187 B.C.E.) ‘s ] Hand shall be perfected { correct reading}.’

(Daniel 11:16)

Unlike another king who was not received by the leaders of Jerusalem, Antiochus III, ‘The Great’, was warmly welcomed by the Jews. He did all that was possible to honour The People of Daniel and The Temple.

A letter to The General Ptolemy (not Ptolemy V) – who defected to Antiochus III as the rule of Ptolemy V descended into chaos – reveals why The Jewish People yielded to the mighty Seleucid monarch:

King Antiochus to Ptolemy, sendeth greeting:

“Since the Jews, upon our first entrance on their countrey, demonstrated their friendship towards us; and when we came to their city [Jerusalem], received us in a splendid manner; and came to meet us with their senate; and gave abundance of provisions to our soldiers, and to the elephants; and joined with us in ejecting the garrison of the Egyptians, that were in the citadel; we have thought fit to reward them, and to retrieve the condition of their city; which hath been greatly depopulated by such accidents as have befallen its inhabitants; and to bring those that have been scattered abroad back to the city.

And, in the first place, we have determined, on account of their piety towards God, to bestow on them, as a pension, for their sacrifices of animals, that are fit for sacrifice; for wine, and oil, and frankincense; the value of twenty thousand pieces of silver: and [six] sacred artabæ of fine flour: with one thousand four hundred and sixty medimni of wheat; and three hundred seventy five medimni of salt. And these payments I would have fully paid them as I have sent orders to you.

I would also have the work about the temple finished; and the cloisters; and if there be any thing else that ought to be rebuilt. And for the materials of wood, let it be brought them out of Judea it self, and out of the other countreys, and out of Libanus, tax free: and the same I would have observed as to those other materials which will be necessary in order to render the temple more glorious.

And let all of that nation live according to the laws of their own countrey: and let the senate, and the priests, and the scribes of the temple, and the sacred singers, be discharged from poll money, and the crown tax;⁷ and other taxes also.

And that the city may the sooner recover its inhabitants, I grant a discharge from taxes for three years to its present inhabitants; and to such as shall come to it until the month Hyperbereteus.

We also discharge them for the future from a third part of their taxes: that the losses they have sustained may be repaired. And all those citizens that have been carried away, and are become slaves, we grant them and their children their freedom; and give order that their substance be restored to them.”

4. And these were the contents of this epistle.

He also published a decree, through all his Kingdom, in honour of the temple: which contained what follows.

“It shall be lawful for no foreigner to come within the limits of the temple round about: which thing is forbidden also to the Jews, unless to those who, according to their own custom, have purified themselves. Nor let any flesh of horses or of mules, or of asses, be brought into the city, whether they be wild, or tame: nor that of leopards, or foxes, or hares: and, in general, that of any animal which is forbidden for the Jews to eat. Nor let their skins be brought into it: nor let any such animal be bred up in the city. Let them only be permitted to use the sacrifices derived from their forefathers: with which they have been obliged to make acceptable atonements to God. And he that transgresseth any of these orders, let him pay to the priests three thousand drachmæ of silver.”

The historian, Josephus, includes this illuminating epistle and the subsequent decree in his ‘The Antiquities of The Jews’ Book 12/Chapter 3 (138) to (146)

Antiochus III’s generosity to The Jewish People was is stark contrast to the cruelty of Ptolemy IV who not only dishonoured The Temple in Jerusalem but attempted to slaughter all The Jews in Alexandria and Egypt (See the post on Daniel 11:12).

‘THE KING REJECTED’

The understandable welcome that The Jewish People extended to Antiochus III is, also, in marked contrast to the response of the Jewish Temple Authorities when THE TRUE KING OF THE JEWS, JESUS OF NAZARETH, visited Jerusalem at The First Passover of His Public Ministry. This visit is recorded in The Fourth Gospel Chapter 2:13 – 22. The Authorities took exception to JESUS’S cleansing of The Temple.

At The Second Recorded Visit of JESUS to Jerusalem (The Fourth Gospel 5:1 – 9), after HE had performed a mighty miracle healing a man who had suffered from an infirmity for thirty-eight years, at The Pool of Bethesda, the Jewish Authorities persecuted JESUS and sought to slay HIM because HE had healed the afflicted man on The Sabbath Day.

When JESUS stated that “HIS FATHER WORKETH HITHERTO, AND I WORK” (The Fourth Gospel 5:17), the Jewish Authorities sought the more to kill JESUS because HE had stated the GOD WAS HIS FATHER, making HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD’ (The Fourth Gospel 5:18).

And so the antipathy and hatred of THE ONE WHO WAS INDEED THE KING OF THE JEWS, JESUS OF NAZARETH, heightened with every visit – as The Fourth Gospel stresses;

• 7:1 & 25 & 30
• 8:40 & 59
• 10:31 & 39
• 11:8 & 16 & 50 – 53;

Until The Jerusalem Authorities finally forced The Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, to have JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS, crucified (The Fourth Gospel 19:19 – 20), in despite of Pilate’s desire not to condemn JESUS:

Pilate knew why The Jewish Authorities wanted JESUS crucified. They did not want a king who was sinless, holy and innocent and who always spoke The Truth. They would rather have a condemned robber, Barabbas (The Fourth Gospel 18:40). They would rather submit to pagan Rome and its Caesar (The Fourth Gospel 19:15b).

This was why Pilate refused to alter the sign that he ordered to be placed above the head of the crucified CHRIST:

“JESUS of NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS’.

Pilate knew that JESUS was THE KING OF A KINGDOM ‘NOT OF THIS WORLD’ (The Fourth Gospel 18:36) – A REALM OF PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Next Week: Daniel 11:17 – Antiochus III’s Attempt To Conquer Egypt By A Marriage Alliance.