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Daniel 11:40-45, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Daniel 11:40-45
A Final Campaign Ends without a Helper
At the time of the end a last sweep ends with no helper
At the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, and he shall enter into the countries, overflow, and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown, but these shall escape out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
This campaign is disputed against Antiochus's known death
Through verse 35 the disclosure tracks Hellenistic history with unusual density toward Antiochus IV. Verses 40-45 describe a final Egyptian sweep, eastern and northern rumors, a camp between seas and the glorious holy mountain, and an end without help. That sequence does not fit neatly what is known of Antiochus's death. Continuation of Antiochus, failed prediction, typological extension, and a further eschatological horizon are the main alternatives. They must remain alternatives.
Time of the end here is the crisis horizon of this vision, not a license to flatten the paragraph into current geopolitics. Edom, Moab, Ammon, Egypt, Libya, and Cush are the unit's ancient names. They do not by default name modern states, and the kings of north and south still do not.
How this should shape us
Let the king end without a helper, and let the mismatch with Antiochus's death stay visible. Do not redraw this campaign across today's Middle East, and do not preach a newspaper fulfillment as if the dispute were closed.
Teach it back
Explain Daniel 11:40-45 in your own words. Include its movement, ancient horizon, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Exact king identifications, campaign details, verse 14's violent ones, covenant language, the referent of every pronoun, start of a possible eschatological shift, and verses 40-45 are disputed. Traditional predictive readings and critical ex eventu reconstruction should each be labeled.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Daniel 11:40-45, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 11:40-45; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1665–1668, translation and translator notes on 11:40-45
Supports: Bilingual form, genres, composition, imperial settings, Antiochus IV, four kingdoms, seventy weeks, resurrection, and major critical alternatives.
P. R. Davies, 'Daniel,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 563–571; chapter-level discussion applied to 11:40-45
Supports: Two major Greek editions, substantial chapters 4–6 differences, numbering, wording, order, and additions outside the pinned KJV mapping.
McLay, NETS Daniel, introduction printed pp. 991–994 and parallel Old Greek/Theodotion translation pp. 995–1025; 11:40-45
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Daniel 11:40-45, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew aramaic text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Daniel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 11:40-45; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Daniel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1665–1668, translation and translator notes on 11:40-45
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Daniel
Philip R. Davies
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Bilingual form, genres, composition, imperial settings, Antiochus IV, four kingdoms, seventy weeks, resurrection, and major critical alternatives.
Exact location: P. R. Davies, 'Daniel,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 563–571; chapter-level discussion applied to 11:40-45
Open source ↗greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Daniel
R. Timothy McLay
Oxford University Press for the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 2009, electronic corrections through 2014
Supports: Two major Greek editions, substantial chapters 4–6 differences, numbering, wording, order, and additions outside the pinned KJV mapping.
Exact location: McLay, NETS Daniel, introduction printed pp. 991–994 and parallel Old Greek/Theodotion translation pp. 995–1025; 11:40-45
Open source ↗