I. Name
As used in Dan. 11.38, the ‘god of fortresses’ (מעזים אלה) has been treated in the Greek Theodotion and in the Vulgate translation of the book of Daniel as a divine name (θεὸς μαωζιν respectively deus Maozim). This name has ever since been equated with a variety of Semitic, Greek or Roman deities.
II. Identity
Jerome already mentions in his commentary on Dan (Dan. 11.31; GLAJJ 2, 469) Porphyry, who “offered an absurd explanation” of the god Maozim. For the latter asserted that the genera…