And he shall stretch forth his hand upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
This verse belongs to the closing campaign of Daniel 11, where a northern conqueror sweeps down at "the time of the end." Two questions follow: who is this conqueror, and why can Egypt not escape?
Daniel 11 has three rulers in view: "the king" of verse 36, also called the wilful king, plus the king of the south and the king of the north. This verse settles which of them is invading. A ruler who plunders Egypt cannot be Egypt's own king.
Beyond question he is not king of the glorious land, because he enters it as an enemy. Clearly it is the king of the north, and not the wilful king who is before us here. "He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape" (Dan. 11:42). This proves he cannot be the king of the south, because he attacks Egypt and plunders it.
Egypt is not merely raided here. Her own ruler's reign ends.
Verse 42 announces that the king of the south loses his kingdom. See Isaiah 11:15.
The previous verse named three nations delivered out of his hand: Edom, Moab and Ammon. This verse puts Egypt on the other side of that line.
When the Jews are settled again in their land, these ancient nations that once surrounded it will re-appear, within the borders God first gave them. We know from Isaiah that Israel will carry out God's judgment on these three nations (Isa. 11:14), so it may be that the king of the north is not allowed to touch them. Still, he is permitted to overthrow the Egyptians and strip them of their riches. The Libyans and Ethiopians will apparently do his bidding.
He stretches out his hand, and country after country falls. Yet commentators read the whole movement as controlled. God sets both his success and its limit.
He is the blind instrument of God's will. So he may overcome all the forces sent against him, enrich himself with the treasures of Egypt, and carry out God's judgment on that country. But when his work is done he must return, for "news from the east and the north shall alarm him."
Another writer explains why he gets his run at all, and what draws him south.
The king of the North will be granted temporary success so that the evil Jews may receive their chastisement. He will sweep through the land, destroying everything before him. Jerusalem will fall, and the conqueror will pass south into Egypt. The king of that land had dared to claim the country the Northern King wants for himself.
The Egypt of this prophecy is not the Egypt we see today. That difference is part of why commentators read the passage as still ahead.
This clearly shows that "the king of the north" is hostile to "the king of the south," and in fact ravages his kingdom, apparently much changed from what it now is — Egypt then being as rich as she is now notoriously poor.
Another writer places the same events in the last days.
The closing part of Daniel 11 confirms this. There "the king of the south" stands for Egypt, and we are told that "the king of the north" will yet overrun and plunder Egypt in the last days.
Egypt's failure to escape is not the last word about Egypt. Writers place this stripping inside a longer story that ends in mercy.
Egypt and Assyria will both have a special blessing in the future. Two things should be considered here. First, both lie close to the "glorious land," as they did in the old days — the one on the north, the other on the south. Second, God had used both as rods to chasten His people. A third thing should be noticed: both of these nations will be judged before they are blessed.
- Identity. The one stretching out his hand is the king of the north. He plunders Egypt, so he is not the king of the south. He enters the glorious land as an enemy, so he is not the wilful king who reigns there.
- Reach. His hand goes out over "the countries." Egypt's fall costs the king of the south his whole kingdom.
- Limit. Edom, Moab and Ammon are delivered out of his hand. Egypt is not. God draws the line between escape and capture, not armies.
- Instrument. He is a blind instrument of God's will. His success is temporary. He must turn back the moment his work is done.
- Horizon. Commentators read this as still future. Egypt and Assyria are judged first, then blessed.
And he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
Daniel's long prophecy ends with a northern invader sweeping down through Israel into Egypt and stripping its wealth, with Libya and Cush trailing behind him. Who is this conqueror, why does Egypt hold such treasure, and who sets the limits on his victories?
The peoples named here have deep roots. Genesis traces them to Ham's family, and they surface again at the end of the story.
Genesis 10:6 points out the children of Ham. Of these, Canaan has been destroyed, and his country turned over to Israel. Cush (Ethiopia) and Phut are also found under Gog (Ezek. 38:5) — those of Cush only in part. One branch of the family of Cush settled on the Euphrates, the other on the Nile, that is, north and south of Israel. Mizraim, or Egypt (Mizraim is simply the Hebrew name for Egypt), and the rest of Cush and the Libyans, you will find in the scenes of the last day; Daniel 11:43.
Daniel 11 has several rulers moving at once. So who is the "he" of this verse? The plunder of Egypt settles it, and shows what happens to the beaten peoples.
"He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape" (Dan. 11:42). This proves he cannot be the king of the south, because he attacks Egypt and spoils it. He will also have power over the treasures of gold and silver and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites will follow in his train (Dan. 11:43). The conquered are forced to fight under his banner.
So Libya and Cush are not volunteers. They march because he has crushed them, and they swell his army as he goes.
A country with treasures of gold and silver worth seizing is a rich country. That is not the Egypt the world sees now.
This clearly shows that "the king of the north" is hostile to "the king of the south," and in fact ravages his kingdom. That kingdom looks much changed from what it is now. Egypt will then be as rich as she is now famously poor.
The invader looks unstoppable. Yet the prophecy that hands him Egypt's gold also refuses him any more ground. He is working for Someone else without knowing it.
But it would not fit God's purpose for him to go further, or even to make his conquests in these southern regions secure. As the blind instrument of God's will, he may overcome every force brought against him, enrich himself with the treasures of Egypt, and so be the executor of God's judgment on that country. But when his work is done, he must return, and "news from the east and the north shall alarm him."
That news pulls him back, and there his story ends.
Whatever the news is, he hurries back from Egypt, pitches his royal tents between the seas — the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea — and there comes to his end, cut off, not by man, but by God.
The seizure of Egypt's wealth is a reckoning, not an accident. But it is not God's last word about that land.
Egypt was a broken stick that the Israelites leaned on: it oppressed them and even attacked and looted Jerusalem. But it has been punished, and it remains desolate to this day. Further, as the kingdom of the South, it will yet be dealt with: compare Daniel 11:42-43. Afterwards God will also heal and bring it into blessing: in grace He says "Blessed be Egypt my people."
- Ancient names. Egypt, Libya and Cush are families traced from Genesis 10, and Scripture brings them back on stage "in the scenes of the last day."
- Identified by his plunder. The attacker cannot be the king of the south, because he is the one who spoils Egypt — the conqueror is the king of the north.
- Forced allies. Libya and Cush follow him as beaten peoples, "compelled to fight under his banner," not as willing partners.
- Rich prey. Gold, silver and precious things point to an Egypt far richer than the poor Egypt we see now — and all of it becomes the invader's spoil.
- Leashed and stopped. He is "the blind instrument of God's will." God lets him punish Egypt, refuses him any more ground, and then cuts him off. Afterwards God heals Egypt and calls it "my people."