Genesis 41 (WK) - 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• ¹¹{i}And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments:{/i}
²²{i}And 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.{/i} (Ex. 7:11,22)

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Ex. 8:7,18‑19• ⁷{i}And the scribes did so with their sorceries, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.{/i}
¹⁸{i}And the scribes did so with their sorceries, to bring forth gnats; but they could not. And the gnats were on man and on beast.{/i}
¹⁹{i}Then 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.{/i} (Ex. 8:7,18‑19)

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

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Lev. 19:31• ³¹Turn ye not to those that have familiar spirits, nor to the wizards; seek them not to be defiled by them: I [am] Jehovah, your God. (Lev. 19:31)

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Lev. 20:6• ⁶And the soul that turneth to necromancers and to 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• ⁹{i}When 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.{/i}
¹⁰{i}There 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,{/i}
¹¹{i}or a charmer, or one that inquireth of a spirit of Python, or a soothsayer, or one that consulteth the dead{/i}.
¹²For all that do these things are an abomination unto Jehovah: and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
¹³Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God.
¹⁴For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. (Deut. 18:9‑14)

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Isa. 8:19• ¹⁹And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living [should they seek] unto the dead. (Isa. 8:19)

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Isa. 19:3• ³And the spirit of Egypt shall be made void 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 them that have familiar spirits, 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 profit, if so be thou mayest terrify.
¹³Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from [the things] that shall come upon thee. (Isa. 47:12‑13)

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Dan. 1:20• ²⁰{i}And{/i} in all matters of wisdom and understanding, {i}as to which the king inquired of them, he found them{/i} ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. (Dan. 1:20)

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Dan. 4:7• ⁷{i}Then came in the scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers; and I told the dream before them; but{/i} they did not make known to me the interpretation thereof. (Dan. 4:7)

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Dan. 5:7,11• ⁷The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. {i}The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show 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.{/i}
¹¹There is a man {i}in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and{/i} in the days of thy father, light and understanding, and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; (Dan. 5:7,11)

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Acts 17:18• ¹⁸And certain also of the Epicureans and Stoic philosophers attacked him. And some said, What would this babbler say? and others, He seemeth to be an announcer of strange divinities, because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. (Acts 17:18)

the wise men.

Matt. 2:1• ¹{i}Now Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold magi from the east arrived at Jerusalem, saying,{/i} (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 works. (Acts 7:22)

but there.

Gen. 40:8• ⁸{i}And 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{/i}. (Gen. 40:8)

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Job 5:12‑13• ¹²He breaketh to pieces the devices of the crafty,{HR}So that they can do nothing to purpose;
¹³He taketh the wise in their craftiness,{HR}And the counsel of the cunning is overturned. (Job 5:12‑13)

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Psa. 25:14• ¹⁴The secret of Jehovah [is] for those who fear him,{HR}And his covenant, to instruct them. (Psa. 25:14)

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Isa. 19:11‑13• ¹¹The princes of Zoan [are] utterly fools; the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh 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 tell thee now; 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• ⁴{i}And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.{/i}
⁵{i}The 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.{/i}
⁶{i}But if ye show the dream and its interpretation, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour; therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.{/i}
⁷{i}They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.{/i}
⁸{i}The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the word is gone forth from me;{/i}
⁹{i}but 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 show me its interpretation.{/i}
¹⁰{i}The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show 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.{/i}
¹¹{i}For the thing that the king demandeth is extraordinary, and{/i} there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
²⁷{i}Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, The secret that the king hath demanded cannot{/i} the wise men, astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers, show unto the king;
²⁸but there is a God in heaven, that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. {i}Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed are these{/i}: (Dan. 2:4‑11,27‑28)

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

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

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1 Cor. 3:18‑20• ¹⁸Let none deceive himself; if anyone thinketh himself to be wise among you in this age, let him become foolish that he may be wise.
¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness;
²⁰and again, [The] Lord knoweth 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.

W. Kelly Translation

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

WK Verse Note

(Note: Words in italics have been inserted from the J. N. Darby translation where the W. Kelly translation doesn’t exist.)