Genesis 25:6

25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ¹  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ² 

Job 1:3

1:3 His possessions ³  included ⁴  7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys; in addition he had a very great household. ⁵  Thus he ⁶  was the greatest of all the people in the east. ⁷ 

Daniel 1:20

1:20 In every matter of wisdom and ⁸  insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times ⁹  better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.

Daniel 4:7

4:7 When the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners entered, I recounted the dream for them. But they were unable to make known its interpretation to me.

Daniel 5:11-12

5:11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have ¹⁰  insight, discernment, and wisdom like that ¹¹  of the gods. ¹²  King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. ¹³  5:12 Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret ¹⁴  dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. ¹⁵  Now summon ¹⁶  Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”

Matthew 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ¹⁷  in Judea, in the time ¹⁸  of King Herod, ¹⁹  wise men ²⁰  from the East came to Jerusalem ²¹ 

Matthew 2:16

2:16 When Herod ²²  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ²³  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ²⁴  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

¹ tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

² tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”

³ tn The word means “cattle, livestock, possessions” (see also Gen 26:14). Here it includes the livestock, but also the entire substance of his household.

⁴ tn Or “amounted to,” “totaled.” The preterite of הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) is sometimes employed to introduce a total amount or an inventory (see Exod 1:5; Num 3:43).

⁵ tn The word עֲבֻדָּה (’avuddah, “service of household servants”) indicates that he had a very large body of servants, meaning a very large household.

⁶ tn Heb “and that man.”

⁷ tn The expression is literally “sons of the east.” The use of the genitive after “sons” in this construction may emphasize their nature (like “sons of belial”); it would refer to them as easterners (like “sons of the south” in contemporary American English). BDB 869 s.v. קֶדֶם says “dwellers in the east.”

⁸ tc The MT lacks the conjunction, reading the first word in the phrase as a construct (“wisdom of insight”). While this reading is not impossible, it seems better to follow Theodotion, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and the Sahidic Coptic, all of which have the conjunction.

⁹ tn Heb “hands.”

¹⁰ tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”

¹¹ tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.

¹² tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”

¹³ tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.

¹⁴ tc The translation reads מִפְשַׁר (mifshar) rather than the MT מְפַשַּׁר (mÿfashar) and later in the verse reads וּמִשְׁרֵא (mishre’) rather than the MT וּמְשָׁרֵא (mÿshare’). The Masoretes have understood these Aramaic forms to be participles, but they are more likely to be vocalized as infinitives. As such, they have an epexegetical function in the syntax of their clause.

¹⁵ tn Aram “to loose knots.”

¹⁶ tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”

¹⁷ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

¹⁸ tn Grk “in the days.”

¹⁹ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

²⁰ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

²¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²² sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

²³ tn Or “soldiers.”

²⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.