Genesis 41 (JND) - Bible Truth Library

the magicians of Egypt.The word here used (chartummim) may mean no more than interpreters of abstruse or difficult subjects; especially of dreams and visions, which formed a considerable part of the ancient pagan religion; and the Egyptian priests were the first who professed this art.

The word may be of affinity with, or derived from, the Persian {chiradmand,} wise, learned, judicious, intelligent, from {chirad,} understanding, judgment, and {mand,} endowed with.

They seem to have been such persons as Josephus calls sacred scribes; or professors of sacred learning.

Ex. 7:11,22• ¹¹And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments:
²²And the scribes of Egypt did so with their sorceries; and Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, neither did he hearken to them, as Jehovah had said. (Ex. 7:11,22)

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Ex. 8:7,18‑19• ⁷And the scribes did so with their sorceries, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
¹⁸And the scribes did so with their sorceries, to bring forth gnats; but they could not. And the gnats were on man and on beast.
¹⁹Then the scribes said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God! But Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said. (Ex. 8:7,18‑19)

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Ex. 9:11• ¹¹And the scribes could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians. (Ex. 9:11)

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Lev. 19:31• ³¹--Turn not unto necromancers and unto soothsayers; seek not after them to make yourselves unclean: I am Jehovah your God. (Lev. 19:31)

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Lev. 20:6• ⁶--And the soul that turneth unto necromancers and unto soothsayers, to go a whoring after them, I will set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. (Lev. 20:6)

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Deut. 18:9‑14• ⁹When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations.
¹⁰There shall not be found among you he that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, that useth divination, that useth auguries, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
¹¹or a charmer, or one that inquireth of a spirit of Python, or a soothsayer, or one that consulteth the dead.
¹²For every one that doeth these things is an abomination to Jehovah, and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth dispossess them from before thee.
¹³Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God.
¹⁴For these nations, which thou shalt dispossess, hearkened unto those that use auguries, and that use divination; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee to do so. (Deut. 18:9‑14)

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Isa. 8:19• ¹⁹And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto the necromancers and unto the soothsayers, who chirp and who mutter, say, Shall not a people seek unto their God? Will they go for the living unto the dead? (Isa. 8:19)

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Isa. 19:3• ³And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it, and I will destroy the counsel thereof; and they shall seek unto the idols and unto the conjurers, and unto the necromancers, and unto the soothsayers. (Isa. 19:3)

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Isa. 47:12‑13• ¹²Stand now with thine enchantments and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to turn them to profit, if so be thou mayest cause terror.
¹³Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the interpreters of the heavens, the observers of the stars, who predict according to the new moons what shall come upon thee, stand up, and save thee. (Isa. 47:12‑13)

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Dan. 1:20• ²⁰And in all matters of judicious wisdom, as to which the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the scribes and magicians that were in all his realm. (Dan. 1:20)

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Dan. 2:2• ²And the king commanded to call the scribes, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to shew the king his dreams; and they came and stood before the king. (Dan. 2:2)

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Dan. 4:7• ⁷Then came in the scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation of it. (Dan. 4:7)

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Dan. 5:7,11• ⁷The king cried aloud to bring in the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
¹¹There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, even the king thy father, made him master of the scribes, magicians, Chaldeans, and astrologers; (Dan. 5:7,11)

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Acts 17:18• ¹⁸But some also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers attacked him. And some said, What would this chatterer say? and some, He seems to be an announcer of foreign demons, because he announced the glad tidings of Jesus and the resurrection to them. (Acts 17:18)

the wise men.

Matt. 2:1• ¹Now Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, behold magi from the east arrived at Jerusalem, saying, (Matt. 2:1)

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Acts 7:22• ²²And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. (Acts 7:22)

but there.

Gen. 40:8• ⁸And they said to him, We have dreamt a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me your dreams, I pray you. (Gen. 40:8)

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Job 5:12‑13• ¹²He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, and their hands carry not out the enterprise.
¹³He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong: (Job 5:12‑13)

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Psa. 25:14• ¹⁴The secret of Jehovah is with them that fear him, that he may make known his covenant to them. (Psa. 25:14)

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Isa. 19:11‑13• ¹¹They are but fools, the princes of Zoan, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh: their counsel is become senseless. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
¹²Where are they then, thy wise men? Let them now tell thee, and let them make known what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.
¹³The princes of Zoan are become foolish, the princes of Noph are deceived; and the corner-stones of its tribes have caused Egypt to err. (Isa. 19:11‑13)

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Dan. 2:4‑11,27‑28• ⁴And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live for ever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
⁵The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The command is gone forth from me: If ye do not make known unto me the dream, and its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
⁶But if ye shew the dream and its interpretation, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour; therefore shew me the dream and its interpretation.
⁷They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
⁸The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the word is gone forth from me;
⁹but if ye do not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me its interpretation.
¹⁰The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter; therefore there is no king, however great and powerful, that hath asked such a thing of any scribe, or magician, or Chaldean.
¹¹For the thing that the king demandeth is extraordinary, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
²⁷Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, The secret that the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the magicians, the scribes, the astrologers, shew unto the king;
²⁸but there is a God in the heavens, who revealeth secrets, and maketh known to king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be at the end of days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed are these: (Dan. 2:4‑11,27‑28)

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Dan. 5:8• ⁸Then came in all the king's wise men, but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. (Dan. 5:8)

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1 Cor. 1:19• ¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and set aside the understanding of the understanding ones. (1 Cor. 1:19)

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1 Cor. 3:18‑20• ¹⁸Let no one deceive himself: if any one thinks himself to be wise among you in this world, let him become foolish, that he may be wise.
¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He who takes the wise in their craftiness.
²⁰And again, The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise that they are vain. (1 Cor. 3:18‑20)

• Man's natural pride of intellect blinds him to the simple fact that communications from God can only be interpreted by God. (“Exaltation and Glory” by H. Smith)

J. N. Darby Translation

And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the scribesc of Egypt, and all the sages who were therein, and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none to interpret them to Pharaoh.

JND Translation Notes

i.e. Hieroglyphists. versed in so-called sacred writing -- hieroglyphics.