The Meaning of Daniel 11:31 Explained

Daniel 11:31

KJV: And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

YLT: And strong ones out of him stand up, and have polluted the sanctuary, the stronghold, and have turned aside the continual sacrifice, and appointed the desolating abomination.

Darby: And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the continual sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

ASV: And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt-offering , and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate.

Discover Daniel 11:31

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Daniel 11:31?

MEANING: What does Daniel 11:31 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Daniel 11:31 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Daniel 11:31?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And arms  shall stand  on his part, and they shall pollute  the sanctuary  of strength,  and shall take away  the daily  [sacrifice], and they shall place  the abomination  that maketh desolate. 

What does Daniel 11:31 Mean?

Study Notes

abomination
This is historic -- the act of Antiochus Epiphanes. Matthew 24:15 refers to Daniel 12:11 , .
abominations
(Cf) Matthew 24:15 . The expression occurs three times in Daniel. In; Daniel 9:27 ; Daniel 12:11 the reference is to the "Beast," "man of sin"; 2 Thessalonians 2:3 ; 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and is identical with Matthew 24:15 . In Daniel 11:31 the reference is to the act of Antiochus Epiphanes, the prototype of the man of sin, who sacrificed a sow upon the altar, and entered the holy of holies.

Verse Meaning

Antiochus ordered his general, Apollonius, and a contingent of22 ,000 soldiers, into Jerusalem on what he claimed was a peaceful mission. However, when they were inside the city, they attacked the Jews on a Sabbath, when the Jews were reluctant to exert themselves. Apollonius killed many Jews, took many Jewish women and children captive as slaves, plundered the temple, and burned the city. Antiochus" objective was to exterminate Judaism and to Hellenize Palestine. Consequently he prohibited the Jews from following the Mosaic Law, and did away with the Jewish sacrifices, festivals, and circumcision ( 1 Maccabees 1:44-54). He even burned copies of their law. As a culminating measure, he installed an image of Zeus, his Greek god, in the temple and erected an altar to Zeus on the altar of burnt offerings (cf. 2 Maccabees 6:2). This was not the first time such a sacrilege had been committed. King Ahaz had set up an idolatrous altar ( 2 Kings 16:10-16), and King Manasseh had installed images of pagan gods ( 2 Kings 21:3-5), in the first temple. Then Antiochus sacrificed a pig, an unclean animal to the Jews, on the altar. This happened on December16 , 168 B.C. The Jews referred to this act as "the abomination that caused desolation" (cf. Daniel 12:11), since it polluted their altar and made sacrifices to Yahweh on it impossible (cf. Daniel 8:23-25). Antiochus further ordered his Jewish subjects to celebrate his subsequent birthdays by offering a pig to Zeus on this altar.
Jesus Christ indicated that another similar atrocity would befall the Jews in the future ( Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). By the way, Jesus Christ"s explicit reference to "the prophet Daniel" being the writer of this prophecy in these verses should be proof enough that Daniel , rather than a second-century writer, wrote this book. Jesus referred to the coming atrocity literally as "the abomination that causes desolation," the exact words used in the Septuagint version of this verse in Daniel. Thus Antiochus" actions were a preview of similar atrocities that are yet to befall the Jews. The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D70 by the Roman general Titus has seemed to some interpreters to fulfill Jesus" prediction. However, Titus did not treat the Jews as Antiochus did. Furthermore the Book of Revelation , which dates after the destruction of Jerusalem, predicts the coming of a "beast" who will behave as Antiochus did, only on a larger scale ( Revelation 13). [1]
"Antiochus thus becomes a type of the future man of sin and his activities foreshadow the ultimate blasphemous persecution of Israel and the desecration of their temple." [2]
"Just as the Saviour had Solomon and the other saints as types of His advent, so also we should believe that the Antichrist very properly had as a type of himself the utterly wicked king, Antiochus, who persecuted the saints and defiled the Temple." [3]

Context Summary

Daniel 11:30-45 - Arrogance Overthrown
The career of Antiochus Epiphanes, in persecuting the people of God and plotting against Jehovah and His sanctuary, is so described as to suggest that it also includes further fulfillments, and especially that last Antichrist, of whom Antiochus was the pre-figurement. So accurate is the correspondence between this prophecy and its historical fulfillment that Porphyry, the opponent of Christianity, maintained that this description was written after the event. The abomination of Daniel 11:31 refers to the idolatrous image or emblem, which in succession has been erected on Mount Zion under the auspices of Antiochus, of the Romans, the Moslems, and shall be set up yet once more by Antichrist. The last clause of Daniel 11:32 was marvelously realized in Judas Maccabaeus and his brethren; but it represents the perennial source of strength for all who suffer or serve. The anguish of those who fail under trial has often tended to their greater purification, Daniel 11:35, and the white robe is the mark of final victory, Revelation 7:9. God will not allow His people to suffer beyond the determined time, Daniel 11:36; Matthew 24:22. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 11

1  The overthrow of Persia by the king of Grecia
5  Leagues and conflicts between the kings of the south and of the north
30  The invasion and tyranny of the Romans

What do the individual words in Daniel 11:31 mean?

And forces by him shall be mustered and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress then they shall take away the daily [sacrifices] and place [there] the abomination of desolation
וּזְרֹעִ֖ים מִמֶּ֣נּוּ יַעֲמֹ֑דוּ וְחִלְּל֞וּ הַמִּקְדָּ֤שׁ הַמָּעוֹז֙ וְהֵסִ֣ירוּ הַתָּמִ֔יד וְנָתְנ֖וּ הַשִּׁקּ֥וּץ מְשׁוֹמֵֽם

וּזְרֹעִ֖ים  And  forces 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural
Root: זְרֹועַ  
Sense: arm, forearm, shoulder, strength.
מִמֶּ֣נּוּ  by  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
יַעֲמֹ֑דוּ  shall  be  mustered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
וְחִלְּל֞וּ  and  they  shall  defile 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָלַל 
Sense: to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin.
הַמִּקְדָּ֤שׁ  the  sanctuary 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִקְדָּשׁ  
Sense: sacred place, sanctuary, holy place.
הַמָּעוֹז֙  fortress 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָעֹוז 
Sense: place or means of safety, protection, refuge, stronghold.
וְהֵסִ֣ירוּ  then  they  shall  take  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
הַתָּמִ֔יד  the  daily  [sacrifices] 
Parse: Article, Adverb
Root: תָּמִיד  
Sense: continuity, perpetuity, to stretch.
וְנָתְנ֖וּ  and  place  [there] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
הַשִּׁקּ֥וּץ  the  abomination 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שִׁקּוּץ  
Sense: detestable thing or idol, abominable thing, abomination, idol, detested thing.
מְשׁוֹמֵֽם  of  desolation 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמֵם  
Sense: to be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy.

What are the major concepts related to Daniel 11:31?

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