Exodus 7:11

7:11 Then Pharaoh also summoned wise men and sorcerers, ¹  and the magicians ²  of Egypt by their secret arts ³  did the same thing.

Exodus 8:7

8:7 The magicians did the same ⁴  with their secret arts and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt too. ⁵ 

Exodus 8:1

8:1 (7:26) ⁶  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Release my people in order that they may serve me!

Exodus 15:23

15:23 Then they came to Marah, ⁷  but they were not able to drink ⁸  the waters of Marah, because ⁹  they were bitter. ¹⁰  (That is ¹¹  why its name was ¹²  Marah.)

Jeremiah 10:2

10:2 The Lord says,

“Do not start following pagan religious practices. ¹³ 

Do not be in awe of signs that occur ¹⁴  in the sky

even though the nations hold them in awe.

Daniel 2:10

2:10 The wise men replied to the king, “There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret, ¹⁵  for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man.

Malachi 3:5

3:5 “I ¹⁶  will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, ¹⁷  and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, ¹⁸  who refuse to help ¹⁹  the immigrant ²⁰  and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.

[7:11]  ¹ sn For information on this Egyptian material, see D. B. Redford, A Study of the Biblical Story of Joseph (VTSup), 203-4.

[7:11]  ² tn The חַרְטֻּמִּים (kharttummim) seem to have been the keepers of Egypt’s religious and magical texts, the sacred scribes.

[7:11]  ³ tn The term בְּלַהֲטֵיהֶם (bÿlahatehem) means “by their secret arts”; it is from לוּט (lut, “to enwrap”). The Greek renders the word “by their magic”; Tg. Onq. uses “murmurings” and “whispers,” and other Jewish sources “dazzling display” or “demons” (see further B. Jacob, Exodus, 253-54). They may have done this by clever tricks, manipulation of the animals, or demonic power. Many have suggested that Aaron and the magicians were familiar with an old trick in which they could temporarily paralyze a serpent and then revive it. But here Aaron’s snake swallows up their snakes.

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “thus, so.”

[8:7]  ⁵ sn In these first two plagues the fact that the Egyptians could and did duplicate them is ironic. By duplicating the experience, they added to the misery of Egypt. One wonders why they did not use their skills to rid the land of the pests instead, and the implication of course is that they could not.

[8:1]  ⁶ sn Beginning with 8:1, the verse numbers through 8:32 in English Bibles differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 8:1 ET = 7:26 HT, 8:2 ET = 7:27 HT, 8:3 ET = 7:28 HT, 8:4 ET = 7:29 HT, 8:5 ET = 8:1 HT, etc., through 8:32 ET = 8:28 HT. Thus in English Bibles chapter 8 has 32 verses, while in the Hebrew Bible it has 28 verses, with the four extra verses attached to chapter 7.

[15:23]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew word “Marah” means “bitter.” This motif will be repeated four times in this passage to mark the central problem. Earlier in the book the word had been used for the “bitter herbs” in the Passover, recalling the bitter labor in bondage. So there may be a double reference here – to the bitter waters and to Egypt itself – God can deliver from either.

[15:23]  ⁸ tn The infinitive construct here provides the direct object for the verb “to be able,” answering the question of what they were not able to do.

[15:23]  ⁹ tn The causal clause here provides the reason for their being unable to drink the water, as well as a clear motivation for the name.

[15:23]  ¹⁰ sn Many scholars have attempted to explain these things with natural phenomena. Here Marah is identified with Ain Hawarah. It is said that the waters of this well are notoriously salty and brackish; Robinson said it was six to eight feet in diameter and the water about two feet deep; the water is unpleasant, salty, and somewhat bitter. As a result the Arabs say it is the worst tasting water in the area (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:398). But that would not be a sufficient amount of water for the number of Israelites in the first place, and in the second, they could not drink it at all. But third, how did Moses change it?

[15:23]  ¹¹ tn The עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken) formula in the Pentateuch serves to explain to the reader the reason for the way things were. It does not necessarily mean here that Israel named the place – but they certainly could have.

[15:23]  ¹² tn Heb “one called its name,” the expression can be translated as a passive verb if the subject is not expressed.

[10:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.

[10:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:10]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “matter, thing.”

[3:5]  ¹⁶ tn The first person pronoun (a reference to the Lord) indicates that the Lord himself now speaks (see also v. 1). The prophet speaks in vv. 2-4 (see also 2:17).

[3:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “those who swear [oaths] falsely.” Cf. NIV “perjurers”; TEV “those who give false testimony”; NLT “liars.”

[3:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and against the oppressors of the worker for a wage, [the] widow and orphan.”

[3:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “those who turn aside.”

[3:5]  ²⁰ tn Or “resident foreigner”; NIV “aliens”; NRSV “the alien.”