דניאל, פרק י״א, פסוק ו׳

After a prolonged era of bitter conflict, a desperate political maneuver is made to forge an alliance between two rival kingdoms through a royal marriage. Ultimately, however, this fragile peace treaty collapses into complete disaster and defeat. As many years pass, the warring kings desire to resolve their differences and unite in peace [מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. To seal this alliance, the daughter of the King of the South travels to the King of the North. The primary approach among commentators is that the princess is sent to negotiate a genuine, just compromise that would be fair and comfortable for both sides. Taking a more specific historical view, [מלבי״ם] explains that the King of the South offers his daughter in marriage on the strict condition that the King of the North banish his first wife, ensuring the Southern princess's future son would inherit the throne. Offering a unique alternative, [אבן עזרא] suggests the southern princess is actually the Queen of Sheba, who is under Egyptian protection and whom the King of the North wishes to marry.

Despite these grand intentions, the peace plan shatters. The princess is unable to hold back the rising tide of military force and the chaos of war [מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ], nor can she prevent the harsh subjugation that the King of the North ultimately imposes upon her father [יוסף אבן יחיא]. As a result, the King of the South and his officials lose their strength and can no longer stand their ground in the conflict [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. Offering a different perspective on the failure, [מלבי״ם] explains that the princess is unable to stop her new husband from forcefully returning to his first wife. In this scenario, it is the King of the North who fails to survive, as his first wife eventually poisons him.

In the end, the princess is handed over to her enemies and meets her fate along with her royal entourage. While [יוסף אבן יחיא] suggests she is forced to flee back to her father, and [אבן עזרא] notes that the King of Egypt captures her by force, the broader consensus points to her tragic demise. Along with her fall the ministers who escorted her from her homeland to sign the peace treaty. The tragedy extends to her family, though commentators debate exactly who is affected. The primary approach among commentators is that her father, the King of the South, falls as well [רש״י, מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. Others suggest the victim is her son [שטיינזלץ], her mother [אבן עזרא], or the devoted nursemaid who raised her and served as a parental figure [מלבי״ם, יוסף אבן יחיא].

Finally, the destruction reaches the loyal advisors who supported the princess during difficult times [מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ]. Several commentators add an intriguing dimension to these supporters, identifying them as astrologers who guided her actions and decisions by reading the movement of the stars and the changing of the times [מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא, יוסף אבן יחיא].