Jerome : Verses 40, 41. "And at the predetermined time the king of the South shall war against him, and the king of the North shall come against him like a tempest with chariots, with horsemen and with a great navy; and he shall invade lands and destroy them and pass through. And he shall enter into the glorious land, and many shall fall." Theodotion rendered: "...and many shall be enfeebled." And according to Aquila, the many that fell are to be understood as cities or districts or provinces. This too is referred by Porphyry to Antiochus, on the ground that in the eleventh year of his reign he warred for a second time against his nephew, Ptolemy Philometor. For when the latter heard that Antiochus had come, he gathered many thousands of soldiery. But Antiochus invaded many lands like a mighty tempest, with his chariots and horsemen and large navy, and laid everything waste as he passed through. And he came to the glorious land, that is, Judaea, which Symmachus rendered as "land of strength." In place of this Theodotion used the Hebrew word itself, Sabai (variants: Sabam and Saba) (sby). And Antiochus used the ruins of the wall of the city to fortify the citadel, and thus he continued on his way to Egypt. But those of our viewpoint refer these details also to the Antichrist, asserting that he shall first fight against the king of the South, or Egypt, and shall afterwards conquer Libya and Ethiopia, for these constitute the three broken horns about which we read previously. And then he shall come to the land of Israel, and many cities or provinces shall be given into his hands. "And only these cities shall be saved from his hands: Edom, Moab, and the principality of the children of Ammon." They say that in his haste to fight Ptolemy, the king of the South, Antiochus left untouched the Idumaeans, Moabites, and Ammonites, who dwelt to the side of Judaea, lest he should make Ptolemy the stronger by engaging in some other campaign. The Antichrist also is going to leave Idumaea, Moab, and the children of Ammon (i.e., Arabia) untouched, for the saints are to flee thither to the deserts. — St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER ELEVEN Theodoret of Cyrus : We have often said that the ten horns that appeared on the fourth beast represent ten kings who would reign at the same time at the end of the Roman Empire. From these kings the king of the south will wage war against this one, who is called the king of the north. "For from the north he will set ablaze all troubles against the inhabitants of the land." Antiochus, who happened to be a type of the antichrist, also was called the king of the north. When the king of the south engages him in fight, he will march out against him with a multitude and with strong forces both on land and on sea and acquire the victory. The Lord in the holy Gospels foretold these wars: "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, plagues and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginnings of the birth pangs." Now that we have seen that the prediction of the Lord corresponds with this prophecy, we will be able to understand the verses before us. — COMMENTARY ON Daniel 11:40