21. vile--Antiochus called Epiphanes, that is, "the illustrious,"
for vindicating the claims of the royal line against Heliodorus, was
nicknamed, by a play of sounds, Epimanes, that is, "the madman," for his
mad freaks beneath the dignity of a king. He would carouse with the
lowest of the people, bathe with them in the public baths, and foolishly
jest and throw stones at passers-by
[POLYBIUS, 26.10]. Hence, as also
for his crafty supplanting of Demetrius, the rightful heir, from the
throne, he is termed "vile."
they shall not give . . . kingdom: but . . . by flatteries--The nation
shall not, by a public act, confer the kingdom on him, but he shall
obtain it by artifice, "flattering" Eumenes and Attalus of Pergamos to
help him, and, as he had seen candidates at Rome doing, canvassing the
Syrian people high and low, one by one, with embraces
[LIVY, 41.20].
JFB.
Painting of Alexander the Great and his horse Bucephalus
Daniel Resources
The Divided Kingdom
The
Northern Kingdom of Israel
The
Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah