Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Daniel 11:33
And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, [many] days.
33. And they that be wise ] as the same word is rendered in A.V. of Dan 12:3; Dan 12:10. The verb means properly to shew understanding and discernment, such as may lead a man to act judiciously and bring him success; hence it is sometimes rendered prosper, or have good success, &c. See examples of the word in Jos 1:7-8 , 1Sa 18:5, Psa 2:10, Pro 10:5; Pro 10:19 ‘he that refraineth his lips sheweth understanding,’ i.e. ‘acts judiciously,’ Isa 52:13. Here it is used, as a term of approbation, to denote those who, in a time of severe trial, shewed wisdom, by choosing the right course, and strenuously refusing to give up their faith. The name given to the loyal party in the Maccabees is the Hasidaeans, i.e. asdm, or ‘godly’: see 1Ma 2:42 , ‘Then were gathered together unto them (i.e. unto Mattathias and his friends, who appear to have been the first to assume the aggressive against Antiochus’ decree) a company of Hasidaeans ( ), mighty men out of Israel, every one that offered himself willingly (= , Jdg 5:2 ; 2Ch 17:16; Neh 11:2) for the law. And all they that fled from the evils were added to them, and became a stay unto them’; 1Ma 7:13 ; 2Ma 14:6 .
shall cause the many to understand ] The ‘wise’ ( masklm), the leaders of the patriotic party, will, by their influence and example, teach the masses, especially such as were halting between two opinions, to understand their duty.
yet they shall fall, &c.] alluding to the persecutions and martyrdoms in which many of the loyal Jews perished; see 1Ma 1:60 ; 1Ma 1:63 ; 1Ma 2:31-38 ; 2Ma 6:10-11 ; 2Ma 6:18-31 (the aged scribe Eleazar), 7 (the mother and her seven sons). ‘Fall,’ here and Dan 11:34-35, is properly stumble ( Dan 11:14).
many days ] viz. till an effectual stand was made by the Maccabees.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And they that under stand among the people – Among the Hebrew people. The allusion is to such as, in those times of so general corruption and apostasy, should have a proper understanding of the law of God and the nature of religion. There were such in the days of Judas Maccabeus, and it is reasonable to suppose that they would endeavor to inculcate just views among the people.
Shall instruct many – In the nature of religion; in their duty to their country and to God. See Prideaux, Con. iii. 265.
Yet they shall fall by the sword – They shall not be immediately nor always successful. Their final triumph would be only after many of them had fallen in battle, or been made captives. Matrathins, the father of Judas Maccabeus, who began the opposition to Antiochus (1 Macc. 2:1), having summoned to his standard as many as he could induce to follow him, retired for security to the mountains. He was pursued, and refusing to fight on the Sabbath, his enemies came upon him, and killed many of his followers, 1 Macc. 2:14-37. The author of the book of Maccabees (1 Macc. 2:38) says of this: So they rose up against them in battle on the sabbath, and they slew them, with their wives and children, and their cattle, to the number of a thousand people.
And by flame – By fire. That is, probably, their dwellings would be fired, and they would perish in the flames, or in caves where they fled for shelter, or by being cast into heated caldrons of brass. See 2 Macc. 6:11: And others that had run together into caves near by (when Antiochus endeavored to enforce on them the observance of pagan laws and customs), to keep the sabbath-day secretly, being discovered to Philip, were all burnt together, because they made a conscience to help themselves for the honor of the most sacred day. 2 Macc. 7:3-5: Then the king, being in a rage, commanded pans and caldrons to be made hot: which immediately being heated, he commanded to cut out the tongue of him that spake first, and to cut off the utmost parts of his body, the rest of his brethren and his mother looking on. Now when he was thus maimed in all his members, he commanded him, being yet alive, to be brought to the fire, and to be fried in the pan, etc.
By captivity – 1 Macc. 1:32: But the women and children took they captive. See also 2 Macc. 5:24.
And by spoil – By plunder, to wit, of the temple and city. See 1 Macc. 1:20-24.
Many days – Hebrew, days. The time is not specified, but the idea is that it would be for a considerable period. Josephus says it was three years. – Ant. b. xii. ch. vii. Sections 6, 7; 1 Macc. 1:59; 4:54; 2 Macc. 10:1-7.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 33. And they that understand] The apostles and primitive Christians in general, who understood from the prophets, and his own actions, that JESUS was the true MESSIAH.
Instruct many] Preach the Gospel every where, and convert multitudes to the faith.
Yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.] They were exposed to the malice and fury of their enemies, during TEN STATE PERSECUTIONS, and suffered all kinds of tortures, with but little intermission, for three hundred years.-Newton.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Such as Eleazar, that old scribe, 2Ma 6:18, and some others learned in the laws of God, and holy in heart and life, shall instruct many in the righteous ways of God, and retain them from apostacy when others fall off: yet many of the people shall fall, yea, of their pious and learned teachers, as well as their disciples, 1Ma 1:52,56; 2Mac 6
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
33. they that understandwhoknow and keep the truth of God (Isa11:2).
instruct manyin theirduty to God and the law, not to apostatize.
yet they shall fallasEleazar (2 Maccabees 6:18, c.). They shall be sorelypersecuted, even to death (Heb 11:35Heb 11:36; Heb 11:37;2 Maccabees 6, 7). Their enemies took advantage of the Sabbathto slay them on the day when they would not fight. TREGELLESthinks, from comparison with Da11:35, it is the people who “fall,” not thoseof understanding. But Da 11:35makes the latter “fall,” not an unmeaningrepetition; in Da 11:33 theyfall (die) by persecution; in Da11:35 they fall (spiritually) for a time by their own weakness.
flamein caves, whitherthey had retired to keep the Sabbath. Antiochus caused some to beroasted alive (2 Maccabees 7:3-5).
manydaysrather, “certain days,” as in Da8:27. JOSEPHUS[Antiquities, 12:7.6,7] tells us the persecution lasted forthree years (1 Maccabees 1:59; 4:54; 2 Maccabees 10:1-7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they that understand among the people shall instruct many,…. Such as had a better understanding of divine things than others, had more light and knowledge in the sacred Scriptures, in the law of God, and in his mind and will, and were capable of teaching others; and such as these the Lord raises up among his people in the worst of times, in the times of the greatest apostasy and declension; and these are enabled to perform their duty, to instruct the people in theirs, teach them what they should do, and how they should behave; exhort them to retain the doctrines and ordinances of their holy religion, and not embrace the doctrines and inventions of men, will worship, superstition, and idolatry; and so they instructed the ignorant, strengthened the weak, and established the wavering; such were Mattathias the priest of Modin, and Eleazar, one of the chief scribes, in the Apocrypha:
“In those days arose Mattathias the son of John, the son of Simeon, a priest of the sons of Joarib, from Jerusalem, and dwelt in Modin.” (1 Maccabees 2:1)
“Eleazar, one of the principal scribes, an aged man, and of a well favoured countenance, was constrained to open his mouth, and to eat swine’s flesh.” (2 Maccabees 6:18)
Auk applies this to the times of the apostles, who he thinks are here meant; so Sir Isaac Newton:
yet they shall fall by the sword; by the sword of Antiochus and his soldiers; as multitudes of the Jews did, even both the instructors and the instructed, who would not comply with his orders:
and by flame; some were burnt alive in caves, where they fled for shelter; and others as the mother and her seven sons, were cast into heated caldrons of brass; in the Apocrypha:
“And others, that had run together into caves near by, to keep the sabbath day secretly, being discovered by Philip, were all burnt together, because they made a conscience to help themselves for the honour of the most sacred day.” (2 Maccabees 6:11)
“3 Then the king, being in a rage, commanded pans and caldrons to be made hot: 4 Which forthwith being heated, he commanded to cut out the tongue of him that spake first, and to cut off the utmost parts of his body, the rest of his brethren and his mother looking on. 5 Now when he was thus maimed in all his members, he commanded him being yet alive to be brought to the fire, and to be fried in the pan: and as the vapour of the pan was for a good space dispersed, they exhorted one another with the mother to die manfully, saying thus,” (2 Maccabees 7)
by captivity; so it is expressly said of Antiochus, that he carried captive women and children and at another time ordered the women and children to be sold for slaves, in the Apocrypha:
“Insomuch that the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them: whereupon the city was made an habitation of strangers, and became strange to those that were born in her; and her own children left her.” (1 Maccabees 1:38)
“He sent also that detestable ringleader Apollonius with an army of two and twenty thousand, commanding him to slay all those that were in their best age, and to sell the women and the younger sort:” (2 Maccabees 5:24)
and by spoil many days; being plundered of their substance, their houses rifled, and their goods carried away; and this distress lasted “days”, a short time only; Josephus k reckons it at three years and a half. All this Cocceius interprets of the persecutions of the Christians by the Romans; and likewise Sir Isaac Newton.
k De Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 1. sect. 7.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
With reference to the words, they mean, those who shall be taught among the people shall make many understand Some take the first word of the verse transitively, as “those who shall instruct,” but this is wrong; and they shew their ignorance by supposing the relative pronoun understood before the next verb, as if it were, “and those who shall teach.” The simple sense is, “Those who shall be wise among the people shall teach many.” Here the Prophet, under the angel’s guidance, predicts the multitude of apostates as well as the existence of some of an opposite character, who should retain the people within the pure worship and fear of God. Without doubt, he speaks specially of the priests. The greater part were defaulters, and they implicated the foolish vulgar in their wickedness. We observe similar effects at this day in the Papacy, as they corrupt the whole world by their sacrifices. At that time the priests laid snares for the people, and drew them almost all with them into the same impiety. The angel here allows the existence of some wise men among the people; I do not restrict this entirely to the priests, although I suppose the angel to begin with them. A small portion of them taught the truth, and God joined a party with them, but yet the angel predicts the existence of another remnant. Yet afterwards, in the second place, he embraces others who were truly proficient in God’s law, and although the obligations of the priesthood did not bind them, yet they labored to recall the wandering into the way of salvation. He says, then, Whosoever should be skillful should teach many. There is also here a tacit contrast between the honest servants of God and those fictitious teachers who pride themselves on their titles; as we observe an instance of this in these days in the Papacy. For bishops and cardinals, abbots and pretenders of this kind, strut about with insolence and stupefy the miserable vulgar. What? do not we represent the Church? Is not judgment with us, as well as the interpretation of the Law and of Scripture? As, therefore, in these times these impostors arrogate to themselves all knowledge and wish to be thought equal to the angels, so we know it came to pass among the ancient people. The Prophet, therefore, here chastises that foolish confidence by saying, Those who shall be understanding among the people; meaning, the truly wise. As if he had said, those masked hypocrites acquire reputation for themselves, but without the slightest reason. God considers those only intelligent who remain in the pure doctrine of his Law, and practice piety with simplicity and sincerity. Hence he calls these, the intelligent among the people. He repeats the word “people,” in the same sense as before, implying that all who use this name are not true Israelites before God, as true knowledge of him is required. What kind of knowledge or skill is meant, we easily ascertain from the next verse. For all knowledge which men think they possess without this acquaintance with God, is nothing but vanity. These, therefore, shall teach many This prediction of the angel not only asserts the existence of some among the people who should remain constant amidst such grievous assaults, and should preserve the integrity of their faith, but says they should be the directors of others; as if he had said, God will grant to each of his elect, not only the power of a bold resistance and of preserving himself pure and uncontaminated amidst every corruption, but at the same time he will render these good men the supporters of others, either in preventing their decline, or if they have fallen off, in bringing them back into the right path.
Lastly, the angel signifies how small a seed God should preserve in his Church as the teachers and rulers of others, though but few in number; as Isaiah says, God shall consume his people, but that consumption should leave some remnant, and then it shall flow forth. (Isa 10:22.) The sentiment of this passage is the same; even if many should degenerate and depart from the faith, and this spirit should extend to the whole people, yet some few should stand firm perhaps ten in a thousand — and these should be God’s ministers in gathering together a new Church; and thus the land which was formerly sterile, should profit by this irrigation and produce new seed. Those, therefore, who shall be wise among the people shall teach many. While the angel is here predicting the future, we ought to take to ourselves this admonition: the more each of us becomes a proficient in the faith, the more he ought to exert his utmost endeavors to teach his rude and ignorant neighbors according to this exhortation of the angel. God does not stretch forth his hand to us to lead each of us to follow his own course, but to assist others and to advance their spiritual progress. We read therefore here, a condemnation of the slothfulness of those on whom God has bestowed much knowledge and faith, when they fail to use the trust committed to them for the edification of their brethren. This prediction of the angel ought to influence each of us, as a law and rule, to seek the profit of his brethren according to the measure of his intelligence. The angel adds, — these should not be teachers of shadows, who prescribe men’s duty at their ease, and dispute without inconvenience, danger, or personal trouble, about what is right in itself and pleasing to God, but they should be strenuous warriors for the truth. Here, therefore, the angel joins his instruction with fortitude, as by this measure it would overcome all dangers, anxieties, and terrors. The passage becomes, in this way, most useful to us in these days, if we only learn to reflect upon what God delivers to us by his angel and his prophet. In conclusion then, the angel demonstrates how God never approves of any teachers as true and legitimate, unless they deliver their message as if ready to defend it, and prepared to seal it with their blood whenever it shall be necessary. We must read the two clauses together, Those who teach many the worship of God shall fall by the sword and the flame; meaning, they would rather fall or perish a hundred times by the sword and the flame than desist from their office of teaching. Besides, the angel here mentions the various kinds of death, for the sake of exhortation; for, had he mentioned only the sword, he would not have fully expressed the usefulness of this instruction. Whatever teachers God sets over his Church, they are not fully proved in the discharge of their duty by overcoming a single form of temptation, but they must contend with foes on the right hand and on the left, and must not allow the variety of their perils to weaken either their constancy or their fortitude. If the sword threaten them on one side, and fire on the other, — if they must suffer the spoiling of their goods and banishment from home, nevertheless these teachers must persevere in their course. We observe, then, the multiplicity of conflicts here enumerated by the angel, to teach us the strength of the grace of the Spirit in supporting the teachers and rulers of the Church, and in preventing them from yielding to any temptations while contending even with the sword, and fire, and exile, and the spoiling of their goods.
He adds, And that too for many days This circumstance possesses great weight, as we observe many endure for a time with a manly and intrepid courage, who afterwards languish, and then vanish away and become utterly unlike their former selves. The angel, however, here promises to those who should be sustained by the Spirit of God an invincible constancy. They should gather fresh courage for fresh conflicts, not only for a single day, or month, or year, but it should never fail them. He adds next,
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(33) They that understand.This is the name by which those are called who were spoken of in the last verse as knowing their God. (Comp. Dan. 12:10; Psa. 111:10.)
Shall instruct many.That is, their example shall give instruction to the many who yield to the flatteries mentioned in the last verse. They show them whither they are drifting. For illustration, see 1Ma. 2:1, &c.; 2Ma. 6:18. Others may be found in the history of any religious persecution.
Yet they shall fall.The prophecy obviously refers to martyrdom, but whether to the sufferings of those who understand or of those who are instructed is not clear. Probably both are intended, as appears from Dan. 11:35. The deaths mentioned in 1Ma. 1:57, &c., 3:41, 5:13, may be taken as typical of the sufferings of the Church in the last times.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. And they that understand “They that be wise;” that is, the “pious.” (Compare 1Ma 2:27 , and Psa 14:1.)
They shall fall See note Dan 11:32.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Dan 11:33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, [many] days.
Ver. 33. And they that underaand, &c. ] God shall provide, in the worst of times, that his people shall have teachers and faithful monitors. I find in the registers (and wonder at it, saith Mr Foxe) a that, in Queen Mary’s days, one neighbour resorting to, and conferring with another, eftsoons, with a few words of their first or second talk, did win and turn their minds to that wherein they desired to persuade them touching the truth of God’s Word and sacraments.
Yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame.
a Acts and Mon.
understand = are wise. See Dan 11:35 with Dan 12:3, Dan 12:10, where it would be well to use the Hebrew Maskilim, as a proper name.
shall fall by the sword: i.e. in the great tribulation which is here described, in part.
many. Some codices, with six early printed editions, read this word “many” in the text.
Dan 11:33
Dan 11:33 And they that understandH7919 among the peopleH5971 shall instructH995 many:H7227 yet they shall fallH3782 by the sword,H2719 and by flame,H3852 by captivity,H7628 and by spoil,H961 many days.H3117
Dan 11:33
And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
The faithful among the Jews tried diligently to instruct their kinsmen to stay faithful, to fear the Lord, keep the law and not to apostatize. The Hebrew writer alluded directly to the suffering which was inflicted upon the faithful Jews in Hebrews 11.
“Yet they shall fall by the sword “
Eleazar was forced to eat the flesh of swine. He spit it out choosing rather to die rather than to profane himself by eating it. Two women, who circumcised their infant boys, were cast down with their babies tied around their necks from the wall of Jerusalem. Heb 11:36-37, “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented.”
Seven brothers and their mother submitted to a cruel death by torture rather than deny their faith. Heb 11:32, “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection”
The faithful Jews were driven out of their homes and they hid in caves in order to keep the sabbath. Antiochus IV forbad the Jewish observance of the Sabbath and the Jews refused to fight on the Sabbath. Antiochus took advantage of this and killed thousands of Jews on this day. They fled their homes and retired to nearby caves in order to be able to observe the Sabbath Day without being murdered for it.
“And by flame”
The forces under Antiochus IV discovered some of these caves where the faithful Jews were hiding and he caused them to be burned alive in these caves. The first of the seven brothers mentioned earlier who were tortured to death was killed by being fried in a heated pan after his tongue and extremities had been cut off. The atrocities inflicted upon the faithful Jews was overwhelmingly cruel.
“Many days”
Josephus recorded that this intense persecution lasted for three years.
understand: Dan 12:3, Dan 12:4, Dan 12:10, Isa 32:3, Isa 32:4, Zec 8:20-23, Mal 2:7, Mat 13:11, Mat 13:51, Mat 13:52, Mat 28:20, Luk 24:44-47, Act 4:2-4, Act 11:26, Act 14:21, 2Ti 2:24, 2Ti 2:25
yet: Mat 10:21, Mat 20:23, Mat 24:9, Joh 16:2, Act 12:2, Act 12:3, 1Co 4:9, 2Ti 1:12, 2Ti 4:6, Heb 11:34, Rev 1:9, Rev 2:13, Rev 6:9, Rev 7:14, Rev 13:7-10, Rev 17:6
Reciprocal: Pro 12:18 – but Dan 8:10 – to the host Dan 8:25 – through Dan 11:35 – some Rev 9:21 – their murders
Dan 11:33. “Judas, one of the younger sons, who had taken the moat prominent part in the plans of his father, was appointed his successor. For six years he led the party with almost superhuman effort and varrying success. Decisive battles he had to avoid. But in innumerable skirmishes he defeated the hated foreigners: and his enthusiastic followers called him ‘Mae cabi,’ or the ‘Hammerer,’ from which his family has received the appellation Maccabees. It is apparent that this conflict had more of a religious than of a national character.-SchaffHer zog, Article, Maccabees.
This verse predicts the hardships endured by the Maccabees in their struggles against the vicious Epiphanes. They had an army finally that fought, under them, and Its men suffered the hard treatment here named, including the sword, Are and prison.
Dan 11:33. They that understand, &c., shall instruct many They that know their duty, and are zealous in doing it, that are holy in heart and life, shall instruct many in the righteous ways of God, and keep them from apostacy when others fall off. Such were Mattathias and his family, 1Ma 2:1, &c., the good old scribe Eleazar, and the mother and her seven children mentioned above. Yet they shall fall by the sword, &c. This is descriptive of the sufferings which those who adhered to the divine law should undergo, through the persecution of Antiochus, who ordered them, as Josephus relates, to be put to death with most horrid torments; for some of them, when they had had their bodies torn to pieces by cruel scourgings, were nailed to crosses, to expire there in the most intolerable agonies. Other cruelties of different kinds, but not less severe, were executed upon others; many days This cruel persecution continued three years and a half, as the time is computed by Josephus, reckoning from the first beginning of it till the sanctuary was cleansed.
Dan 11:33. they that be wise: the pious Israelites who were loyal to their faith.fall by the sword, etc.: a reference to the various forms of persecution.
11:33 And they that understand among the {n} people shall instruct many: {o} yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, [many] days.
(n) Those that remain constant among the people will teach others by their example, and edify many in the true religion.
(o) By which he exhorts the godly to constancy, even though they should perish a thousand times, and even though their miseries endure ever so long.
Antiochus’ persecutions gave impetus to the Chassidim ("the godly, pious, loyal ones") movement that was already underway in Israel. The Chassidim advocated strict adherence to the Mosaic Law and the traditions of Judaism. Even today, the strictest orthodox Jews refer to themselves as Hasidim. The Maccabean revolt likewise fueled this movement since it was a political and military manifestation of the Chassidim conservative philosophy. The Chassidim movement really resulted in the spiritual survival of Israel until Jesus’ time. Some of the Chassidim became the sect of the Pharisees ("separated ones"), which appears in the Gospels. Later a smaller group of Chassidim became the isolationist Essene community that lived at Qumran beside the Dead Sea. The Essenes repudiated the rationalism of the Sadducees and the materialism of the Pharisees. All these groups had their roots in "the people who know their God" (Dan 11:32).
Antiochus retaliated with brutal force and killed tens of thousands of Israelites during the few years that followed his desecration of the temple. He died insane, in Persia, in 163 B.C.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)