Biblion Bible Commentary
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The King Who Exalts Himself
Daniel 11:36-39
36 “The king will do according to his will. He will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and will speak marvelous things against the God of gods. He will prosper until the indignation is accomplished, for that which is determined will be done. · WEB
A king magnifies himself above every god and honors one his fathers never knew — the fullest description of self-exaltation in the Old Testament.
The king will do according to his will. He will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and will speak marvelous things against the God of gods Daniel 11:36.
The chapter reaches its summit of blasphemy, and every element of it has been seen in this book before. Magnify himself is the verb that climbed through the vision of the ram and goat, ending with a horn that magnified itself against the Prince of the host Daniel 8:4 Daniel 8:11 Daniel 8:25. Speaking against the God of gods is the little horn's mouth speaking words against the Most High Daniel 7:25 Daniel 7:8. Elsewhere Scripture describes the same posture in the same register — a heart saying I will make myself like the Most High Isaiah 14:13–14, a power exalting itself above all that is called God and seating itself where it does not belong 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
He will prosper until the indignation is accomplished, for that which is determined will be done.
And the limit is stated in the same breath as the success. He prospers — that is conceded, and it is the hardest thing about this whole stretch of prophecy — but only until, and the terminus is fixed by that which is determined. This book never denies that such powers win for a long time. It denies that they choose when to stop Daniel 7:26 Daniel 8:19.
He won't regard the gods of his fathers, or the desire of women, or regard any god; for he will magnify himself above all Daniel 11:37.
Three things disregarded — inherited religion, a phrase whose sense is disputed and which the text does not explain, and finally any god at all. The self is the only authority left standing. A power indifferent even to its own tradition is not conservative in its religion; it is answerable to nothing in it.
But in their place, he will honor the god of fortresses. He will honor a god whom his fathers didn't know with gold, silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things Daniel 11:38.
Having discarded the gods of his fathers he does not become irreligious — he substitutes. The god of fortresses receives the gold and the precious stones: strength itself is what he actually worships, and the worship is expensive and ornamented. Habakkuk had described the same devotion in a people whose strength is their god Habakkuk 1:11, sacrificing to the net that made them rich Habakkuk 1:16.
He will deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god. He will increase with glory whoever acknowledges him. He will cause them to rule over many, and will divide the land for a price Daniel 11:39.
The last verse describes a system of patronage. Recognition is rewarded — whoever acknowledges him is promoted and given authority over others — and land is distributed for a price. Honors, offices and territory dispensed in exchange for acknowledgment: this is how the power maintains itself, and it is of a piece with the flatteries it rose by Daniel 11:21 Daniel 11:32.
From here the chapter runs to the time of the end Daniel 11:40, and it is in this final stretch that readers who share this book's whole frame have long divided over the detailed identifications. What the text itself fixes is not in dispute: a power that exalts itself above God, prospers under permission, worships strength, buys allegiance — and comes to its end with no one to help it Daniel 11:45.
held with reason What this mark means