Daniel 11:38

But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stores, and pleasant things. As we have said above, the last clause of the preceding verse according to the LXX . really belongs to this, "Strong nations shall be subject to him," reading לְאמִּים עְזִּים instead of לֶאֱלהּ מָעֻזִים . There is ה in the Massoretic, where י has been in the reading followed by the Septuagint. After this clause the Septuagint proceeds, "And to his place he shall move, and a god whom his fathers knew not he shall honour with gold, and silver, and precious stones." It is possible that נדד ( nadad )," to flee or move," was read instead of כבד ( kabad )," to honour;" for though κινέω is usually active and transitive, there is no object here. Theodotion has, "And the God of Maozeim he shall honour in his place, and a god whom his father knew not he shall honour with gold, silver, and precious stones, and with offerings." The Peshitta rendering is freer, "The mighty god he shall honour in his possession, and a god whom his fathers have not known shall he honour with gold and with silver, with precious gems and desirable things." The Vulgate adopts the transliteration Maozim. In his estate shall he honour the god of forces. There are a number of questions here. To whom does the prenominal suffix refer? The English translators have arranged the words so that we cannot escape the view that "the estate" is the king's, but the natural meaning of the Hebrew order is that it is "on the place" or "pedestal" of the god. The word translated "estate" is used in Genesis 40:13 for "office." It is used of the "base" of the "laver." It may mean "place." The next point—What Deity is meant by "the god of strong holds"? There is absolutely nothing to guide us in the matter. Some have supposed that the reference is to Jupiter Olympius, whose statue Antiochus is reported to have set np in the temple. Others, that the reference is to Jupiter Capitolinus. Were there any evidences that Antiochus worshipped the genius of Rome, something might be urged for this; but we have no evidence of this. In the absence of anything to fix a definite meaning on this word, we feel inclined to suggest that Jehovah is meant by the slosh mauzzeem. Repeatedly in the Psalms is God declared to be the Strength of the saint; e.g. Psalms 27:1 ; Psalms 43:2 Of Jehovah it might be said that the ancestors of Antiochus—Greek and Syrian—knew him not. Honour with gold , etc. The repeated defeats of the armies of Antiochus and the spoiling of their camps by the followers of Jehovah, was giving honour to Jehovah, however unwittingly and unwillingly it was done. God "gat him honour upon Pharaoh," and so now he was honoured upon Epiphanes.