Daniel 11:31

“And arms shall stand on his part, etc.] Powerful armies sent by him into Judea; garrisons of soldiers placed in Jerusalem; mighty generals and commanders who fought for him, as Lysias, Philip the Phrygian, Andronicus, Apollonius, Bacchides, and others: and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength; the temple, which stood in Jerusalem, a fortified city, and was itself a building strong and stable; and especially it was so called, because here the mighty God had his residence, the symbol of which was the ark of his strength, and here he gave strength unto his people: this holy place, sacred to his worship and service, the commanders and soldiers of Antiochus defiled by entering into it,…”

“arms--namely, of the human body; not weapons; human forces. they--Antiochus' hosts confederate with the apostate Israelites; these latter attain the climax of guilt, when they not only, as before, "forsake the covenant" (Dan 11:30), but "do wickedly against" it (Dan 11:32), turning complete heathens. Here Antiochus' actings are described in language which reach beyond him the type to Antichrist the antitype [JEROME] (just as in Psa. 72:1-20 many things are said of Solomon the type, which are only applicable to Christ the Antitype); including perhaps Rome, Mohammed, and the final personal Antichrist. SIR ISAAC NEWTON refers the rest of the chapter from this verse to the Romans, translating,…”

“And arms shall stand on his part - Up to this verse there is a general agreement among commentators, that the reference is to Antiochus Epiphanes. From this verse, however, to the end of the chapter, there is no little diversity of opinion. One portion suppose that the description of Antiochus and his deeds continues still to be the design of the prophet; another, that the Romans are here introduced, and that a part of the predictions in the remainder of this chapter are yet to be fulfilled; another, as Jerome, and most of the Christian fathers, suppose that the reference is to Antiochus as the type of Antichrist, and that the description passes from the type to the antitype. In this last…”

“And arms - Not only of his own army, but many Jews. The sanctuary - Even the holy of holies. The abomination - The statue of Jupiter placed in the temple. Daniel 11:36”

“11:31 the sacrilegious object that causes desecration: See study note on 9:27.”

“arms: Dan 8:24; Rev 17:12 they shall pollute: Dan 8:11, Dan 12:11; Lam 1:10, Lam 2:7; Eze 7:20, Eze 7:21, Eze 9:7, Eze 24:21, Eze 24:22 shall take: Dan 8:12, Dan 8:13, Dan 8:26, Dan 9:27 the abomination: Dan 8:13, Dan 9:27, Dan 12:11; Mat 24:15; Mar 13:14; Luk 21:20 maketh desolate: or, astonisheth, Act 13:40, Act 13:41 Daniel 11:32”

“Here is stated what he accomplished by the help of the apostate Jews. זרעים, arms, figuratively for help ( Dan 11:5), are warlike forces, as Dan 11:15, Dan 11:22. That the plur. has here the masculine form, while in those verses it has the fem. form, furnishes no reason for a difference of meaning, since זרוע in its proper sense of arm occurs promiscue with both endings in the plur.; cf. for זרעים Gen 49:24; Isa 51:5; Kg2 9:24. מן in ממּנּוּ is not partitive, a part of him, i.e., the host as a part of the king (Hitzig), but out from him, or by his command. יעמדוּ, to stand up, not to stand still, as Hitzig, on the ground of the supposition that Antiochus on his return from Egypt placed a…”