The Meaning of Daniel 10:13 Explained

Daniel 10:13

KJV: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

YLT: 'And the head of the kingdom of Persia is standing over-against me twenty and one days, and lo, Michael, first of the chief heads, hath come in to help me, and I have remained there near the kings of Persia;

Darby: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

ASV: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But the prince  of the kingdom  of Persia  withstood  me one  and twenty  days:  but, lo, Michael,  one  of the chief  princes,  came  to help  me; and I remained  there with  the kings  of Persia. 

What does Daniel 10:13 Mean?

Study Notes

prince of , Daniel 10:20 .
The intimation is clear that as the holy angels are sent forth in behalf of the heirs of salvation, so demons are concerned in behalf of the world-system of Satan. John 7:7 ; Revelation 13:8 .

Verse Meaning

Someone had delayed the arrival of God"s answer to Daniel"s prayer. He was the "prince of Persia," evidently a fallen angel who, under Satan"s authority, had a special responsibility for Persia (cf. Daniel 10:20; Ephesians 2:2). Clearly, "prince" here refers to an angel, since Michael was also called a "prince" ( Daniel 10:13; Daniel 10:21). [1] "The prince of Persia" must have been an evil angel since he opposed God"s purpose. Angelic hostility in the unseen world had resulted in the21-day delay of this good angel"s arrival with God"s message (cf. Daniel 10:2).
"The powers of evil apparently have the capacity to bring about hindrances and delays, even of the delivery of the answers to believers whose requests God is minded to answer....
"While God can, of course, override the united resistance of all the forces of hell if he chooses to do Song of Solomon , he accords to demons certain limited powers of obstruction and rebellion somewhat like those he allows humans. In both cases the exercise of free will in opposition to the Lord of heaven is permitted by him when he sees fit. But as Job 1:12; Job 2:6 indicate, the malignity of Satan is never allowed to go beyond the due limit set by God, who will not allow the believer to be tested beyond his limit ( 1 Corinthians 10:13)." [2]
It seems unlikely to me that the prince of Persia could have resisted the Son of God this way, if He were the person addressing Daniel. Moreover, God"s messenger had received help from Michael, one of the chief princes (angels), so it seems unlikely that he was God Himself. Some angels have more authority and power than others do ( Ephesians 1:21).
"Although the entire subject of the unseen struggle between the holy angels and the fallen angels is not clearly revealed in the Scriptures, from the rare glimpses which are afforded, as in this instance, it is plain that behind the political and social conditions of the world there is angelic influence-good on the part of the holy angels, evil on the part of the angels under satanic control. This is the struggle to which Paul referred in Ephesians 6:10-18." [1]
"Bad angels, called demons in the New Testament, are, without a doubt, referred to here. In the course of time, these demonic powers gained a very strong influence over certain nations and the government of these nations. They became the controlling power. They used whatever resources they could muster to hamper God"s work and to thwart His purposes." [4]
Evidently the good angel who spoke to Daniel had performed some duty in Persia that involved the kings or rulers of that land. However, having received a commission from God to visit Daniel , he was not able to break away to deliver it because of the influence of the bad angel who exercised strong influence over Persia. Michael visited the good angel and helped him break away from this wicked angel"s power so he could visit Daniel.
Keil projected this idea even further. His view is speculation.
"The plural [5] denotes, that by the subjugation of the demon of the Persian kingdom, his influence not merely over Cyrus, but over all the following kings of Persia, was brought to an end, so that the whole of the Persian kings became accessible to the influence of the spirit proceeding from God and in advancing the welfare of Israel." [6]
There has been much interest in spiritual warfare in recent years among professing Christians. [7] Certainly spiritual warfare is a biblical Revelation , and we need to be aware of it and live accordingly. However, much that is being taught about spiritual warfare, and particularly about "territorial demons," goes beyond the teaching of Scripture. (The idea that there are "territorial demons" rests primarily on Daniel 10:13.) For example, there is no biblical instruction or precedent that would justify praying against, and claiming victory over certain demons by name, as some are doing and advocating today. Clearly, Daniel did not know about this heavenly conflict between these angels. Michael"s success was not due to Daniel"s praying, for or against, certain angels or demons.
" Daniel , while supporting the idea of territorial identification of certain angels especially in chap10 , does not support any sort of human involvement in angelic warfare." [8]
There may be hindrances to our praying-about which we know nothing-as we wonder why an answer to our prayer does not come. Nevertheless we should keep on praying ( Luke 18:1-8). This incident reminds us of the importance of persisting in prayer. If Daniel had stopped praying on the twentieth day, he might not have received the great revelation of chapter11on the twenty-first day.

Context Summary

Daniel 10:1-21 - The Vision By The River
This chapter gives a glimpse into the great conflict which is always in progress between heaven and hell. For three weeks the radiant Being who came to Daniel as he prayed and fasted by the great river, was withstood by the mighty fallen spirit, who was concerned with the destinies of the kingdom of Persia; and it was only when he was succored and reinforced that he was able to accomplish the divine errand, Daniel 10:13. What a revelation is here-that probably each heathen country is ruled by some wicked spirit in the high places; that the fight is at times almost overpowering even for bright unfallen angels; and that the blessings which are ours are sometimes delayed because of the storms that sweep the ocean through which they come. Perhaps by our prayer we are able to throw an ounce-weight into the scale, and turn the battle. How reassuring the touch of that hand and tender the address of that voice. Who cannot be strong when strengthened by the right hand of God? Go forth into the fight of another day! God holds thy right hand. Be true and strong; thou canst not fail! [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 10

1  Daniel, having humbled himself, sees a vision
10  Being troubled with fear, he is comforted by the angel

What do the individual words in Daniel 10:13 mean?

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty and one days and behold Michael one of the princes chief came to help me for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia
וְשַׂ֣ר ׀ מַלְכ֣וּת פָּרַ֗ס עֹמֵ֤ד לְנֶגְדִּי֙ עֶשְׂרִ֣ים וְאֶחָ֣ד י֔וֹם וְהִנֵּ֣ה מִֽיכָאֵ֗ל אַחַ֛ד הַשָּׂרִ֥ים הָרִאשֹׁנִ֖ים בָּ֣א לְעָזְרֵ֑נִי וַאֲנִי֙ נוֹתַ֣רְתִּי שָׁ֔ם אֵ֖צֶל מַלְכֵ֥י פָרָֽס

וְשַׂ֣ר ׀  But  the  prince 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
מַלְכ֣וּת  of  the  kingdom 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מַלְכוּת  
Sense: royalty, royal power, reign, kingdom, sovereign power.
פָּרַ֗ס  of  Persia 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פָּרַס  
Sense: the empire Persia; encompassed the territory from India on the east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and included, besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the Arabian desert, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the south.
עֹמֵ֤ד  withstood 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
לְנֶגְדִּי֙  me 
Parse: Preposition-l, first person common singular
Root: נֶגֶד  
Sense: what is conspicuous, what is in front of adv.
עֶשְׂרִ֣ים  twenty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: עֶשְׂרִים  
Sense: twenty, twentieth.
וְאֶחָ֣ד  and  one 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
י֔וֹם  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
וְהִנֵּ֣ה  and  behold 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
מִֽיכָאֵ֗ל  Michael 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִיכָאֵל  
Sense: one of, the chief, or the first archangel who is described as the one who stands in time of conflict for the children of Israel.
אַחַ֛ד  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular construct
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
הַשָּׂרִ֥ים  of  the  princes 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
הָרִאשֹׁנִ֖ים  chief 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רִאשֹׁון  
Sense: first, primary, former.
בָּ֣א  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
לְעָזְרֵ֑נִי  to  help  me 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, first person common singular
Root: עָזַר  
Sense: to help, succour, support.
וַאֲנִי֙  for  I 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
נוֹתַ֣רְתִּי  had  been  left  alone 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: יָתַר  
Sense: to be left over, remain, remain over, leave.
מַלְכֵ֥י  the  kings 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
פָרָֽס  of  Persia 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פָּרַס  
Sense: the empire Persia; encompassed the territory from India on the east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and included, besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the Arabian desert, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the south.