historical perspectives: from the hasmoneans to bar kokhba in light ...

30 HANAN ESHEL
Philip, the Macedonian. This Alexander marched out from the land
of Kittim . . . and smote Darius, king of the Persians and the Medes,
and became king in his place and thus the first to rule over the hellenistic
empire (1 Macc. 1:1);
They have defeated in battle and conquered King Philip and King
Perseus of the Kittim (Macedonians), who had attacked them
(1 Macc. 8:5).
This identification was based on the assumption that Persia is to
be identified with the Assyrian kingdom, based on Ezra 6:22:
"And they joyfully
celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, for
the Lord had given them cause for joy by inclining the heart of the
Assyrian king toward them so as to give them support in the work
of the House of God, the God of Israel." After the conquest of the
kingdom of Persia, i.e., Assyria, by Alexander the Great, one may
deduce that the Kittim should be identified as Macedonian.
Another identification of the Kittim can be found at the end of
the book of Daniel, edited about 165 BCE, according to which the
Kittim should be identified as the Romans:
"At the appointed time, he will again invade the south, but the second
time will not be like the first. Ships from Kittim will come against
him. He will be checked, and will turn back, raging against the holy
covenant" (Dan. 11:29-30). These verses describe the two invasions
of Egypt by Antiochus IV, the first in 169 BCE and the second in
168 BCE. During the second invasion a delegation of the Roman
Senate headed by Popilius Laenas was sent to Egypt to force Antiochus
to retreat from Egypt. There is no doubt that the author of Daniel 11
identified the Kittim as the Romans. The Old Greek translation of the
book of Daniel, as well as the Vulgate, translated Kittim as 'Romans.' 2
Some scholars have suggested an emendation to verse 30, according
to which one should read instead of
Nevertheless, the resemblance between Dan. 11:29 and Num. 24:24
makes this emendation unnecessary; we may assume that this was
the way the author of Daniel understood Numbers 24.
2 J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), 384.
3 H. Winckler, Altorientalische Fomhungen II (Leipzig: Pfeiffer, 1901), 422; A. Alexander
and A. A. di Leila, The Book of Daniel, AB (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1978),
270-71.