11:5 king of the south. Here begins a detailed prophecy of the future conflicts that would develop between two of the divisions of Alexander’s empire—the descendants of Ptolemy I in Egypt and those of Seleucus I in Syria. These are identified as “the king of the south” and “the king of the north,” in view of their geographical relations to the land of Israel. Their conflicts are outlined because of their impact on Israel, located directly between them.

11:5 great dominion. The king of the north, Seleucus, became stronger than Ptolemy. Each line continued through many successors, only the more important of which are enumerated in the prophecy. Thus, a number of generations are ignored, but the major developments and trends are clearly outlined.