What is the meaning of Daniel 11:18?

Turning his face to the coastlands

“Then he will turn his face to the coastlands…” (Daniel 11:18a)

• After conquering southward, the king described earlier in Daniel 11 (historically Antiochus III the Great) redirects his ambition westward toward the Mediterranean islands and coastal regions of Asia Minor and Greece.

• Scripture often uses “coastlands” to point to distant shores (Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 25:22), so the verse pictures a literal, strategic pivot in his military campaign.

• Antiochus sailed to places such as Cyprus and portions of Greece, fulfilling the prophecy with remarkable precision (compare Daniel 8:9, which foresaw expansion “toward the beautiful land”).

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Capturing many

“…and capture many of them.” (Daniel 11:18b)

• His navy and armies initially enjoy success—cities fall, local rulers submit, spoils flow into his treasury.

• This lines up with earlier detail that “he will do as he pleases” (Daniel 11:16), showing a season of unchecked conquest granted by God’s sovereign timetable (cf. Proverbs 21:1).

• The pattern reflects other biblical moments where God allows temporary triumph before humbling pride (Habakkuk 1:6–11).

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A commander intervenes

“But a commander will put an end to his reproach…” (Daniel 11:18c)

• History records Rome stepping in. Lucius Scipio Asiaticus, leading the Roman forces, decisively defeats Antiochus at the Battle of Magnesia (190 BC).

• God raises this “commander” to curtail the king’s arrogance—echoing how He “sets up kings and deposes them” (Daniel 2:21).

• The event foreshadows later verses where Roman power keeps checking Seleucid ambitions (Daniel 11:30, “ships of Kittim”).

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Reproach turned back

“…and will turn it back upon him.” (Daniel 11:18d)

• The humiliation Antiochus poured on others rebounds:

– Crushing indemnities strip his treasury.

– He must surrender hostages (including his son, the future Antiochus IV Epiphanes).

– His earlier boastful “reproach” is reversed; he dies a couple of years later while trying to plunder a temple (2 Maccabees 1:13–16).

• The episode mirrors the biblical principle that “Pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18) and that God “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

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summary

Daniel 11:18 shows a literal prophecy fulfilled in Antiochus III’s westward campaign, his initial successes, the Roman commander’s decisive check, and the king’s disgrace. The verse teaches that human power is limited by God, pride invites reversal, and history unfolds exactly as Scripture declares.