Genesis 41:8

41:8 In the morning he ¹  was troubled, so he called for ²  all the diviner-priests ³  of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, ⁴  but no one could interpret ⁵  them for him. ⁶ 

Exodus 7:11

7:11 Then Pharaoh also summoned wise men and sorcerers, ⁷  and the magicians ⁸  of Egypt by their secret arts ⁹  did the same thing.

Isaiah 47:12-13

47:12 Persist ¹⁰  in trusting ¹¹  your amulets

and your many incantations,

which you have faithfully recited ¹²  since your youth!

Maybe you will be successful ¹³  –

maybe you will scare away disaster. ¹⁴ 

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ¹⁵ 

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! ¹⁶ 

Daniel 2:2

2:2 The king issued an order ¹⁷  to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men ¹⁸  in order to explain his dreams to him. ¹⁹  So they came and awaited the king’s instructions. ²⁰ 

Daniel 5:7

5:7 The king called out loudly ²¹  to summon ²²  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ²³  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ²⁴  and have a golden collar ²⁵  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

Matthew 2:4

2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ²⁶  he asked them where the Christ ²⁷  was to be born.

[41:8]  ¹ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[41:8]  ² tn Heb “he sent and called,” which indicates an official summons.

[41:8]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn “there was no interpreter.”

[41:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “for Pharaoh.” The pronoun “him” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

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

[7:11]  ⁸ tn The חַרְטֻּמִּים (kharttummim) seem to have been the keepers of Egypt’s religious and magical texts, the sacred scribes.

[7:11]  ⁹ 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.

[47:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”

[47:12]  ¹¹ tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.

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

[47:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”

[47:12]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”

[47:13]  ¹⁶ 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.”

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “said.” So also in v. 12.

[2:2]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to explain to the king his dreams.”

[2:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “stood before the king.”

[5:7]  ²¹ tn Aram “in strength.”

[5:7]  ²² tn Aram “cause to enter.”

[5:7]  ²³ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[5:7]  ²⁴ sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).

[2:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[2:4]  ²⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”