Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_300.lzh/6_361.TXT

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his avarice ; but was indeed obliged tO it, to raise the
thousand talents yearly to pay the Romans, which his
father had laid himself under obligation to do; and this
took up the whole life of this his successor; for as
there were twelve thousand talents to pay, a thousand
each year, and Solfocus reigned Shall but twelve years
at most, he did nothing but raise taxes yearly to pay
this tribute. It may be rendered, then shall stand upon
Iris basis: or, in his room, as the Vulgate Latin version,
in the room of Antiochus the great, one that causes the
exactors to pass through the glory of the kingdom°; that
causes tax-gatherers to go through the kingdom, and
collect the tax of the people, who are the glory of the
kingdom, especially the rich, the nobility, and gentry;
or money, which is the glory of a nation: or, shall
cause the exactors to pass over to the glory of the Icing.
dora; that is, cause a tax-gatherer to go over from
Syria to the glorious land, or the glorious part of Iris
dominion, the land of Judea; and so may have re-
spect particularly to Heliodorus his treasurer, whom
he sent to Jerusalem to demand t!}e treasure of' money
he heard was laid up in the temple there; see o. Maccab.
iii. 7-* '.but within fetv daVIs he shall be destroyed, neither
in anger, nor in battle; or, within a few years, as Gro-
tinsand Prideaux render it; days being often put for
years. Seleucus reigned but twelve years at most,
which were but few in compa.rison of the long reign
of his father, which was a reign of thirty-seven years;
and he died not through the rage or' the populace, or
$hrough the sedition and rebellion of his subjects, nor
in war, with a foreign enemy; but through the trea-
chery of Heliodorus his treasurer, by whom he was
poisoned, as is supposed; either for the sake of An-
tiochus Epiphanes, who was at that very time return-
ing from Rome, where he had been an hostage ever
since the defeat of his father, the money being now
paid, which was stipulated; or rather on his own
account, having a design to seize the kingdom for
himself.
'. Vet. 21. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person,
&c.] Upon his basis or stand, in the same place where
Seleucus Philopator stood, succeeded Antiochus Epi-
phanes his brother, called vile, being a very immoral
man, given to drunkenness, lascivioushess, uncleanness,
and unnatural lusts, and a violent persecutor of the
church of God. The word signifies despicable {p}; he
was a vile person, and justly contemned for his vices,
and also for that mean and ignoble life he had lived at
Rome, having been an hostage there for eleven or
twelve years; and though the other hostages were
changed at three years' end, yet he remained; which
shows what little account he was of even with his
father; and was in no esteem with the people, among
whom, by his freaks and frolics, he made himself very
ridiculous; by rambling about streets with a servant
or two; conversing with trade,men about their trades;
drinking with strangers, and people of low life; revel-
ling at merry bouts with young people; putting on
strsnge habits; throwing away his money among the
rabble, and stones at those that followed him; washing
at public baths among the common people; all which,
and many others, are reported {q} of him by historians;
hence he was called by some Epimancs the madman;
though he took to himself the title of Epiphanes the
illustrious, the reverse of his character. This is the
little horn in cb. viii. 9. and who was an eminent type of
antichrist, with whom his character agrees, as well
as other things: to whom the!! shall not give the honottr
of the kingdom; neither his father, nor his brother, nor
the peers and people of the land of the kingdom of
Syria; they never once thought of making him king;
they neither chose him, nor called him, nor crowned
him: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the
kingdom by flatteries; pretending to take it, not for
himself, but tbr his nephew Dometrios, the son of' hi's
brotherScleucus, now an hostage at Rome, in his stead;
so that the states opposed him not, but quietly ad-
mitted him, thinking all was safe for the rightful heir
and successor; and when he had got possession for his
nephew, he obtained it for himself by his flatteripg
speeches to the nobles, and his gifts among the citi-
zens, and his great pretensions to clemency and hu-
manity; or these flatteries may refer to the artifices he
used to gain Eumenes king of Pergamus, and Attalus
his brother, to assist him against Heliodorus the
usurper; and the promises of friendship and assistance
against the Romans he made to them, and by whose
help he came peaceably to the kingdom.
Ver. 22. And with the arms of aJtood shall they be
overflown from before him, and shall be broken, &c.]
That is, by the help of the forces of Eumenes and
Attalus, which were like an inundation of water, the
party that were on the side of Heliodorus the usurper
were bore down, crushed, and destroyed; and thereby
Antiochus had a peaceable settlement in the kingdom:
or, the arms of a flood shall be overflowed from before
him, and be broken {r}; either the arms of Heliodorns,
the forces he had got together; or the armies of the
Egyptians, which, like an overflowing flood, had used
to run over Judea, Coelesyria, Phoenicia, and other
places, and carry all before them, now should be over-
flowed, and bore down themselves; of which see more
on ver. 25: yea, also the prince of the covenant; which
some understand of Judas Maccabaeus, as Jetore and
Jacchiades; others more probably of Onias the high-
priest, whom Antiochus deposed in the first year of
his reign, and sold the priesthood to Jason his younger
brother for 440 talents of silver; and who also pro-
mised to give him 150 more for a liceace to erect a
place of exercise for the training up of youth, accord-
ing to the fashion of the Greeks; which Antiochus
greedily embraced, the public treasury being empty
throngh the large tribute paid to the Romans the last
twelve years; see 2 Maccab. iv. 7, 8, 9, 34, 35. Others
think Solfocus Philopator his brother is meant, which
is not probable, his death being before described; rather
Demetrius his nephew, with whom he covenanted to
hold the kingdom for him, or through whom the co-

{o} \^twklm rdh vgwn rybem wnk le dmew\^ "stabit autem super basillius,
qui transire faciet exactorem per decus regni", Michaelis.
{p} \^hzbn\^ "despectus", Pagninus, Montanus; "contemptus", Vatablus,
Piscator, Tigurine version.
{q} See Prideaux's Connexion, par. 2. B. 3. p. 153, 154, Out of Athenaeus,
Diodorus, &c. and the Universal History, vol. 9. p. 276, 277,
289, 290.
{r} \^wpjvy Pjvh twerzw\^ "& brachia inundationis inundabantur", Coc-
ceius, Michaelis "brachia inundantia", Piscator.