What is the context?
The next ruler sends out a tax collector, but his own rule ends without battle. He is followed by a despicable person who gains the kingdom through intrigue rather than the expected royal honors.
Opposing forces are swept away, along with a prince of the covenant. The ruler grows stronger through deception, a small following and the distribution of plunder and wealth.
The account is moving from ordinary rivalry between kingdoms toward a ruler whose methods will bring a particular threat to the covenant people. His plotting succeeds, but the passage already places a limit on it: only for a time.
How is this passage commonly understood?
The USCCB notes identify the tax-raising ruler as Seleucus IV and the despised successor as Antiochus IV. They understand the prince of the covenant as the high priest Onias III. Wesley also connects the successor with Antiochus and his rise through flattery and deceit.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.