Biblical references
Text: World English Bible (public domain). The ESV and NKJV are the preferred study translations and are referenced, not reproduced.
11 “The king of the south will be moved with anger and will come out and fight with him, even with the king of the north. He will send out a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand. 12 The multitude will be carried off, and his heart will be exalted. He will cast down tens of thousands, but he won’t prevail.
Proposed correlation only (Jerome; Driver; Guzik); Daniel names no king or place.
Biblical account
Layer: Biblical text
Daniel speaks of the king of the south, angered, defeating the great army of the king of the north but not prevailing. (The text names no one; the correlation is the interpreters'.)
Historical overview
Layer: Historical reconstruction · Period: Fourth Syrian War (219–217 BC)
Antiochus III had recovered much of Coele-Syria; Ptolemy IV met him near Raphia. Polybius describes Antiochus's wing succeeding while his left and phalanx broke; Antiochus withdrew with heavy losses, Ptolemy recovered Coele-Syria and agreed a one-year truce.[1, 2]
- Antiochus III the Great: Seleucid king (defeated)[1]
- Ptolemy IV Philopator: Ptolemaic king (victor)[1]
Kingdoms: Seleucid empire, Ptolemaic kingdom (Egypt)
Date and chronology derivation
Ranges are computed by the project's deterministic chronology engine from the biblical statements and each model's reign anchors. They are reconstructions, not independent dates.
217 BC
Model-independent (applies under every chronology model) · precision: year
How this range was derived
Earliest bound
What else was happening? (model-independent)
- Daniel's refusal of the king's food and the ten-day test (Dan 1:8–16): 606 BC – ?
- Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7): 603 BC – ?
- Nebuchadnezzar's decree honouring the God of the three Judeans (Dan 3:28–30): 603 BC – ?
- The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27): 603 BC – ?
- The thirty-day decree and Daniel in the lions' den (Dan 6:4–23): 539 BC – ?
- Darius appoints 120 satraps and three chief officials (Dan 6:1–3, 28): 539 BC – ?
- The accusers punished; Darius's decree honouring the God of Daniel (Dan 6:24–27): 539 BC – ?
- Gedaliah governs from Mizpah and is assassinated (2 Kgs 25:22–26): 589 BC – ?
- Accusations to Ahasuerus and the Rehum–Shimshai letter to Artaxerxes; the city's rebuilding stopped (Ezra 4:6–23): 537 BC – ?
- Jerusalem guarded under Hanani and Hananiah; the registry of the first returnees found (Neh 7:1–5): 446 BC – ?
- Jerusalem repopulated: one in ten by lot (Neh 11): 446 BC – ?
- The priestly and Levitical registers to the days of Jaddua (Neh 12:1–26): 446 BC – ?
- The first "burden" of Zechariah 9–11 (undated oracle collection): 518 BC – ?
- The second "burden" of Zechariah 12–14 (undated oracle collection): 518 BC – ?
- The institution of Purim; Mordecai second to the king (Esth 9:20–10:3): 474 BC – ?
Claims, evidence and classifications
Each claim is classified on its own. A classification describes the evidence for that specific claim, not for the event as a whole.
Ptolemy IV defeated Antiochus III at Raphia and recovered Coele-Syria, then granted a truce.
Polybius is a near-contemporary historian; Jerome's account (from Porphyry and Greek historians) agrees. Both lines are literary; no inscription was read here.
Supporting
Research date 2026-10-13
Evidence by type
The same evidence regrouped by kind of source. Each item names the claims it bears on.
Archaeological evidence
None recorded for this event.
Scientific findings
None recorded for this event.
Ancient documents
- Antiochus withdrew to Raphia with about 10,000 foot lost; Ptolemy took Raphia and recovered Coele-Syria; a truce for a year.[1]Bears on: supporting — “Ptolemy IV defeated Antiochus III at Raphia and recovered Coele-Syria,…”
- Antiochus lost his army at Raphia and conceded Syria.[3]Bears on: supporting — “Ptolemy IV defeated Antiochus III at Raphia and recovered Coele-Syria,…”
Modern news and announcements
None recorded for this event.
Reference works and summaries
None recorded for this event.
Related passages and events
None recorded.
Prophetic relationships
No prophecy or proposed-fulfillment relationships have been recorded for this event.
Synchronisms with external chronology
Battle of Raphia dated to 217 BC
Documentary correlation · direct · evidence strength: moderate · independent date: 217 BC (Polybius's narrative chronology as dated by Driver)
The battle took place in the campaigning season of 217 BC (Driver, from Polybius).[1, 2]
Assumptions: Year from Driver ("in the next spring (217)"); Polybius's Olympiad reckoning not converted here.
Unanswered questions and research gaps
- The Raphia decree (Pithom stele) not read.
Research process
2 logged searches
| Date | Query | Where | Useful |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-13 | Polybius 5.79–87 (LacusCurtius) | web fetch | 1 |
| 2026-10-13 | Jerome on 11:11–12 | local text | 1 |
Sources
- 1.Polybius, Paton, W. R. (trans.). Polybius, Histories 5.82–87 (Loeb III, 1923) — LacusCurtius. LacusCurtius (Bill Thayer). penelope.uchicago.eduClaim checkedAncient primary textBook 5; the page does not name the translator (Loeb Polybius is Paton's) and says it has not been proofread.Verification log
- 2.Driver, S. R.. The Book of Daniel (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). Cambridge University Press. archive.orgClaim checkedScholarly commentaryRead through the Internet Archive OCR text (Google scan).Verification log
- 3.Jerome, Archer, Gleason L. (trans.). Jerome, Commentary on Daniel (trans. Gleason L. Archer, 1958) — chapter 11. tertullian.org (transcribed by Roger Pearse). www.tertullian.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textVerification log