Daniel 2:2

2:2 The king issued an order ¹  to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men ²  in order to explain his dreams to him. ³  So they came and awaited the king’s instructions. ⁴ 

Genesis 41:7-8

41:7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. ⁵ 

41:8 In the morning he ⁶  was troubled, so he called for ⁷  all the diviner-priests ⁸  of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, ⁹  but no one could interpret ¹⁰  them for him. ¹¹ 

Isaiah 8:19

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 ¹² They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. ¹³  Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 47:12-14

47:12 Persist ¹⁵  in trusting ¹⁶  your amulets

and your many incantations,

which you have faithfully recited ¹⁷  since your youth!

Maybe you will be successful ¹⁸  –

maybe you will scare away disaster. ¹⁹ 

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ²⁰ 

Let them take their stand –

the ones who see omens in the sky,

who gaze at the stars,

who make monthly predictions –

let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! ²¹ 

47:14 Look, they are like straw,

which the fire burns up;

they cannot rescue themselves

from the heat ²²  of the flames.

There are no coals to warm them,

no firelight to enjoy. ²³ 

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “said.” So also in v. 12.

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “Chaldeans.” The term Chaldeans (Hebrew כַּשְׂדִּים, kasdim) is used in the book of Daniel both in an ethnic sense and, as here, to refer to a caste of Babylonian wise men and astrologers.

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “to explain to the king his dreams.”

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “stood before the king.”

[41:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “And look, a dream.”

[41:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[41:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “he sent and called,” which indicates an official summons.

[41:8]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term חַרְטֹם (khartom) is an Egyptian loanword (hyr-tp) that describes a class of priests who were skilled in such interpretations.

[41:8]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text has the singular (though the Samaritan Pentateuch reads the plural). If retained, the singular must be collective for the set of dreams. Note the plural pronoun “them,” referring to the dreams, in the next clause. However, note that in v. 15 Pharaoh uses the singular to refer to the two dreams. In vv. 17-24 Pharaoh seems to treat the dreams as two parts of one dream (see especially v. 22).

[41:8]  ¹⁰ tn “there was no interpreter.”

[41:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for Pharaoh.” The pronoun “him” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:19]  ¹² tn It is uncertain if the prophet or the Lord is speaking in vv. 19-22. If the latter, then vv. 19-22 resume the speech recorded in vv. 12-15, after the prophet’s response in vv. 16-18.

[8:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “inquire of the ritual pits and of the magicians who chirp and mutter.” The Hebrew word אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a אוֹב-בַּעֲלַת (ba’alat-’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.

[8:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Should a nation not inquire of its gods on behalf of the living, (by inquiring) of the dead?” These words appear to be a continuation of the quotation begun in the first part of the verse. אֱלֹהָיו (’elohayv) may be translated “its gods” or “its God.” Some take the second half of the verse as the prophet’s (or the Lord’s) rebuke of the people who advise seeking oracles at the ritual pits, but in this case the words “the dead on behalf of the living” are difficult to explain.

[47:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”

[47:12]  ¹⁶ tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.

[47:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”

[47:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”

[47:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.

[47:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”

[47:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”

[47:14]  ²² tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.

[47:14]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “there is no coal [for?] their food, light to sit before it.” Some emend לַחְמָם (lakhmam, “their food”) to לְחֻמָּם (lÿkhummam, “to warm them”; see HALOT 328 s.v. חמם). This statement may allude to Isa 44:16, where idolaters are depicted warming themselves over a fire made from wood, part of which was used to form idols. The fire of divine judgment will be no such campfire; its flames will devour and destroy.