Daniel 10:13

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days,.... Which was just the time Daniel had been mourning and fasting, Daniel 10:2, and the angel had had his instructions to

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: this place hath some difficulty, therefore variously expounded. Some expound it of earthly princes, some of angels, and among them some will have good angels meant, who they say have the patronage of the kingdoms and provinces of the earth; but who can imagine that good angels should quarrel one with the other? therefore, say others, they are bad angels that oppose the people of God, and their deliverance, seeking rather their ruin, as Michael and the devil strove, : now sometimes God permits Satan to do much this way. But I judge by the prince of Persia is meant Cambyses, who was an enemy to the Jews, and hindered the building of the temple. Now he could not properly resist the angel, but figuratively he did. Angels’ power is not unlimited, but by commission and instructions from God, and their works successive. Therefore God suffered the wicked counsels of Cambyses to take place a while; but Daniel by his prayers, and the angel by his power, overcame him at last. And this very thing laid a foundation of the Persian monarchy’ s ruin, ; and doubtless that king was stirred up to his evil machinations against the people of God by the prince of the powers of darkness, that ruleth in the children of disobedience, . Michael: this we take to be Christ. 1. His name signifies, who is like God. 2. He is the first in dignity above all the angels, , &c., called archangel, and the church’ s prince, . 3. The chief champion of his church, helping Gabriel not as his fellow, but as his general. Thus we see what care God takes of his church’ s safety against their potent enemies, by doubling their succours, (when he could do it, if he pleased, without means,) thereby to consult his own glory in the world by defeating the counsels and breaking the powers of the mightiest enemies, after he had given them rope to do their worst.

Daniel 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.Ver. 13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me.] By this prince of Persia some understand wicked Cambyses. Others, an evil angel, that by his suggestions swayed Cambyses to oppose and retard the rebuilding of the temple. There is a principal devil, prince of this world; and there are, as some hold, princes or principal spirits in countries and nations under him. But, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes,] i.e., Christ the Lord of angels, head of the Church. By these chief princes may be understood the three persons in trinity, or the created angels. The Septuagint translate the word ευσθυμουντων, the cheerful ones, who serve the Lord readily, freely, and joyfully in his wars; making Zion as dreadful to all her enemies, as those angels once made Sinai, at the delivery of the law. And I remained there with the kings of Persia.] With Cambyses and his counsellors, to repress their rage, and to blast their designs against the Church; which, when it is opposed, the holy angels interpose. Melanchthon, Osiander, Pappus.

(13) The prince of the kingdom.—Perhaps no single verse in the whole of the Scriptures speaks more clearly than this upon the invisible powers which rule and influence nations. If we were without a revelation, we should have thought it congruent that God Himself should direct all events in the world without using any intervening means. But revelation points out that as spiritual beings carry out God’s purpose in the natural world (Exodus 12:23; 2 Samuel 24:16) and in the moral world (Luke 15:10), so also they do in the political world. From this chapter we not only learn that Israel had a spiritual champion (Daniel 10:21) to protect her in her national life, and to watch over her interests, but also that the powers opposed to Israel had their princes, or saviours, which were antagonists of those which watched over Israel. The “princes” of the heathen powers are devils, according to 1 Corinthians 10:20. The doctrine of the ministry of angels is taught in Psalms 34:7; Psalms 91:11; Psalms 96:5 (LXX.); Isaiah 24:21; Isaiah 46:2; Jeremiah 46:25; Jeremiah 49:3. Further passages in the New Testament bearing upon the question are 1 Corinthians 8:5; Colossians 1:16. Withstood me.—The phrase is identical with “stood over against him” (Joshua 5:13). The verse implies that the spiritual powers attached to Persia were influencing Cyrus in a manner that was prejudicial to the interests of God’s people. It must be borne in mind that the vision occurred at the time of the Samaritan intrigues with the Persian Court in opposition to Zerubbabel. Michael.—Mentioned only in the Book of Daniel and Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:7. The title “chief princes,” rightly explained in the margin, shows that the charge of Israel had been entrusted by God to the highest of the heavenly powers; but the name “first prince” points out that, great though he is, he is inconsiderable when compared with God. I remained there.—Literally, I prevailed there, as Genesis 49:4. The person is explaining to Daniel how it had happened that he had received no visible answer to a prayer that had been offered with success three weeks previously. There had been a conflict between the powers of light and darkness, in which the former had gained the victory, which had been decisive. By the kings of Persia are meant all the successors of Cyrus. It may be remarked that from this time onward the Persian kings were, upon the whole, favourable to the interests of Israel.

Verse 13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me] I think it would go far to make a legend or a precarious tale of this important place to endeavour to maintain that either a good or evil ANGEL is intended here. Cyrus alone was the prince of Persia, and God had destined him to be the deliverer of his people; but there were some matters, of which we are not informed, that caused him to hesitate for some time. Fearing, probably, the greatness of the work, and not being fully satisfied of his ability to execute it, he therefore for a time resisted the secret inspirations which God had sent him. The opposition might be in reference to the building of the temple. But lo, Michael] Gabriel, who speaks, did not leave Cyrus till Michael came to take his place. Michael, he who is like God, sometimes appears to signify the Messiah, at other times the highest or chief archangel. Indeed there is no archangel mentioned in the whole Scripture but this one. See Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7.

13. The opposition, for 21 days (cf. Daniel 10:2), of the ‘prince,’ i.e. the patron-angel, of Persia, prevented the dazzling being from reaching Daniel sooner. the prince of the kingdom of Persia] its patron- or guardian-angel. The doctrine of tutelary angels, presiding over the destinies of particular nations, though there appears a trace of the idea in Isaiah 24:21, and according to some commentators, in Psalms 82, is found for the first time distinctly in the O.T. in this prophecy of Dan. (Daniel 10:13; Daniel 10:20-21, Daniel 11:1, Daniel 12:1). In the earlier books of the O.T. angels appear merely as the ‘messengers’ of Jehovah, with little or no personal character or distinctness of their own: in the later books of the O.T. grades and differences begin to be recognised among them; particular angels are appropriated to particular purposes or functions; and they begin to receive individual names (see below). The origin of the idea of patron-angels is matter of conjecture: even as applied to Israel, it evidently signifies more than is implied in such passages as Exodus 23:20; Exodus 23:23; Exodus 32:34; Exodus 33:2 (which speak of an angel leading Israel to its home in Canaan). According to some (see the art. Angel in the Encycl. Biblica, col. 108), they are the ancient ‘gods of the nations,’—which, according to Deuteronomy 29:26 (cf. Daniel 4:19), are ‘allotted’ by Jehovah to the several peoples of the earth,—transformed into ‘angels,’ under the teachings of a more consistent monotheism, for the purpose of being more distinctly subordinated to Him; according to others (see the art. Angel in Hastings’ Dict. of the Bible, p. 96 b), the idea is due to the tendencies which arose in later times, (1) of conceiving God as ruling the world by intermediate agencies, and (2) of personifying abstract conceptions, such as the ‘spirit,’ or genius, of a nation, and of locating such personified forces in the supersensible world, whence they ruled the destinies of men. Other passages in which the same idea is found are Sir 17:17 ἑκάστῳἔθνεικατέστησενἡγούμενον); and Deuteronomy 32:8 LXX. (‘he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God [ΰμ for ιωψΰμ],’ a reading thought by some moderns to be the original). The later Jews developed the doctrine further, teaching, for instance, that each of the 70 nations mentioned in Genesis 10 had its Angel-Prince, who defended its interests, and pleaded its cause with God (cf. the Targ. of Ps.-Jon. on Genesis 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 32:8; and Weber, System der Altsynag. Theol., p. 165 f.). Michael] the patron-angel of the Jews (Daniel 10:21, Daniel 12:1). The idea of the passage is that the fortunes of nations are determined by the angels representing them in heaven: the success or failure of these regulating the success or failure of the nations themselves. Cf. Isaiah 24:21. As was remarked in the last note but one, it is not till the later books of the O.T. that angels begin to receive names. The only angels mentioned by name in O.T. and N.T.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia - In explaining this very difficult verse it may be proper (1) to consider the literal sense of the words; (2) to deduce the fair meaning of the passage as

13. The angel would have reached Daniel with an answer to his petition, that the future of his people might be a blessed future (see note Daniel 10:2-4), on the very day when his fasting and prayer