Keluaran 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.

Keluaran 7:22

7:22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same ⁴  by their secret arts, and so ⁵  Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, ⁶  and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron ⁷  – just as the Lord had predicted.

Keluaran 8:7

8:7 The magicians did the same ⁸  with their secret arts and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt too. ⁹ 

Keluaran 8:18-19

8:18 When ¹⁰  the magicians attempted ¹¹  to bring forth gnats by their secret arts, they could not. So there were gnats on people and on animals. 8:19 The magicians said ¹²  to Pharaoh, “It is the finger ¹³  of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, ¹⁴  and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

Keluaran 9:11

9:11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.

Imamat 19:31

19:31 Do not turn to the spirits of the dead and do not seek familiar spirits ¹⁵  to become unclean by them. I am the Lord your God.

Imamat 20:6

Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums ¹⁶ 

20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits ¹⁷  to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face ¹⁸  against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.

Ulangan 18:9-14

Provision for Prophetism

18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. 18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, ¹⁹  anyone who practices divination, ²⁰  an omen reader, ²¹  a soothsayer, ²²  a sorcerer, ²³  18:11 one who casts spells, ²⁴  one who conjures up spirits, ²⁵  a practitioner of the occult, ²⁶  or a necromancer. ²⁷  18:12 Whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord and because of these detestable things ²⁸  the Lord your God is about to drive them out ²⁹  from before you. 18:13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 18:14 Those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen readers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things.

Yesaya 8:19

Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives

8:19 ³⁰ They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. ³¹  Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” ³² 

Yesaya 19:3

19:3 The Egyptians will panic, ³³ 

and I will confuse their strategy. ³⁴ 

They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,

from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. ³⁵ 

Yesaya 29:14

29:14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people –

an absolutely extraordinary deed. ³⁶ 

Wise men will have nothing to say,

the sages will have no explanations.” ³⁷ 

Yesaya 47:12-13

47:12 Persist ³⁸  in trusting ³⁹  your amulets

and your many incantations,

which you have faithfully recited ⁴⁰  since your youth!

Maybe you will be successful ⁴¹  –

maybe you will scare away disaster. ⁴² 

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ⁴³ 

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! ⁴⁴ 

Daniel 1:20

1:20 In every matter of wisdom and ⁴⁵  insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times ⁴⁶  better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.

Daniel 2:2

2:2 The king issued an order ⁴⁷  to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men ⁴⁸  in order to explain his dreams to him. ⁴⁹  So they came and awaited the king’s instructions. ⁵⁰ 

Daniel 4:7

4:7 When the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners entered, I recounted the dream for them. But they were unable to make known its interpretation to me.

Daniel 5:7

5:7 The king called out loudly ⁵¹  to summon ⁵²  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ⁵³  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ⁵⁴  and have a golden collar ⁵⁵  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel 5:11

5:11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have ⁵⁶  insight, discernment, and wisdom like that ⁵⁷  of the gods. ⁵⁸  King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. ⁵⁹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 17:18

17:18 Also some of the Epicurean ⁶⁰  and Stoic ⁶¹  philosophers were conversing ⁶²  with him, and some were asking, ⁶³  “What does this foolish babbler ⁶⁴  want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.” ⁶⁵  (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) ⁶⁶ 

[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.

[7:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “thus, so.”

[7:22]  ⁵ tn The vav consecutive on the preterite introduces the outcome or result of the matter – Pharaoh was hardened.

[7:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh became hard.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.

[7:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “to them”; the referents (Moses and Aaron) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “thus, so.”

[8:7]  ⁹ 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.

[8:18]  ¹⁰ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the main clause as a temporal clause.

[8:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the magicians did so.”

[8:18]  sn The report of what the magicians did (or as it turns out, tried to do) begins with the same words as the report about the actions of Moses and Aaron – “and they did so” (vv. 17 and 18). The magicians copy the actions of Moses and Aaron, leading readers to think momentarily that the magicians are again successful, but at the end of the verse comes the news that “they could not.” Compared with the first two plagues, this third plague has an important new feature, the failure of the magicians and their recognition of the source of the plague.

[8:19]  ¹² tn Heb “and the magicians said.”

[8:19]  ¹³ tn The word “finger” is a bold anthropomorphism (a figure of speech in which God is described using human characteristics).

[8:19]  sn The point of the magicians’ words is clear enough. They knew they were beaten and by whom. The reason for their choice of the word “finger” has occasioned many theories, none of which is entirely satisfying. At the least their statement highlights that the plague was accomplished by God with majestic ease and effortlessness. Perhaps the reason that they could not do this was that it involved producing life – from the dust of the ground, as in Genesis 2:7. The creative power of God confounded the magic of the Egyptians and brought on them a loathsome plague.

[8:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and the heart of Pharaoh became hard.” This phrase translates the Hebrew word חָזַק (khazaq; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 53). In context this represents the continuation of a prior condition.

[19:31]  ¹⁵ sn The prohibition here concerns those who would seek special knowledge through the spirits of the dead, whether the dead in general or dead relatives in particular (i.e., familiar spirits; see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 321, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 134). Cf. Lev 20:6 below.

[20:6]  ¹⁶ sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.

[20:6]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.

[20:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I will give my faces.”

[18:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “who passes his son or his daughter through the fire.” The expression “pass…through the fire” is probably a euphemism for human sacrifice (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). See also Deut 12:31.

[18:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a diviner of divination” (קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, qosem qÿsamim). This was a means employed to determine the future or the outcome of events by observation of various omens and signs (cf. Num 22:7; 23:23; Josh 13:22; 1 Sam 6:2; 15:23; 28:8; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 3:945-51.

[18:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “one who causes to appear” (מְעוֹנֵן, mÿ’onen). Such a practitioner was thought to be able to conjure up spirits or apparitions (cf. Lev 19:26; Judg 9:37; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 2:6; 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:11).

[18:10]  ²² tn Heb “a seeker of omens” (מְנַחֵשׁ, mÿnakhesh). This is a subset of divination, one illustrated by the use of a “divining cup” in the story of Joseph (Gen 44:5).

[18:10]  ²³ tn Heb “a doer of sorcery” (מְכַשֵּׁף, mikhashef). This has to do with magic or the casting of spells in order to manipulate the gods or the powers of nature (cf. Lev 19:26-31; 2 Kgs 17:15b-17; 21:1-7; Isa 57:3, 5; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 2:735-38.

[18:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “a binder of binding” (חֹבֵר חָבֶר, khover khaver). The connotation is that of immobilizing (“binding”) someone or something by the use of magical words (cf. Ps 58:6; Isa 47:9, 12).

[18:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “asker of a [dead] spirit” (שֹׁאֵל אוֹב, sho’el ’ov). This is a form of necromancy (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6; 1 Sam 28:8, 9; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4).

[18:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “a knowing [or “familiar”] [spirit]” (יִדְּעֹנִי, yiddÿ’oniy), i.e., one who is expert in mantic arts (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 8:19; 19:3).

[18:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “a seeker of the dead.” This is much the same as “one who conjures up spirits” (cf. 1 Sam 28:6-7).

[18:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “these abhorrent things.” The repetition is emphatic. For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the same term used earlier in the verse has been translated “detestable” here.

[18:12]  ²⁹ tn The translation understands the Hebrew participial form as having an imminent future sense here.

[8:19]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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.

[19:3]  ³³ tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”

[19:3]  ³⁴ tn The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (bala’, “swallow”); see HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע.

[19:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “they will inquire of the idols and of the spirits of the dead and of the ritual pits and of the magicians.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19.

[29:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Therefore I will again do something amazing with these people, an amazing deed, an amazing thing.” This probably refers to the amazing transformation predicted in vv. 17-24, which will follow the purifying judgment implied in vv. 15-16.

[29:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the wisdom of their wise ones will perish, the discernment of their discerning ones will keep hidden.”

[47:12]  ³⁸ tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”

[47:12]  ³⁹ tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.

[47:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”

[47:12]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”

[47:12]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”

[47:13]  ⁴⁴ 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.”

[1:20]  ⁴⁵ tc The MT lacks the conjunction, reading the first word in the phrase as a construct (“wisdom of insight”). While this reading is not impossible, it seems better to follow Theodotion, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and the Sahidic Coptic, all of which have the conjunction.

[1:20]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “hands.”

[2:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “said.” So also in v. 12.

[2:2]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “to explain to the king his dreams.”

[2:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “stood before the king.”

[5:7]  ⁵¹ tn Aram “in strength.”

[5:7]  ⁵² tn Aram “cause to enter.”

[5:7]  ⁵³ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[5:7]  ⁵⁴ sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

[5:7]  ⁵⁵ 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).

[5:11]  ⁵⁶ tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”

[5:11]  ⁵⁷ tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.

[5:11]  ⁵⁸ tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”

[5:11]  ⁵⁹ tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.

[17:18]  ⁶⁰ sn An Epicurean was a follower of the philosophy of Epicurus, who founded a school in Athens about 300 b.c. Although the Epicureans saw the aim of life as pleasure, they were not strictly hedonists, because they defined pleasure as the absence of pain. Along with this, they desired the avoidance of trouble and freedom from annoyances. They saw organized religion as evil, especially the belief that the gods punished evildoers in an afterlife. In keeping with this, they were unable to accept Paul’s teaching about the resurrection.

[17:18]  ⁶¹ sn A Stoic was a follower of the philosophy founded by Zeno (342-270 b.c.), a Phoenician who came to Athens and modified the philosophical system of the Cynics he found there. The Stoics rejected the Epicurean ideal of pleasure, stressing virtue instead. The Stoics emphasized responsibility for voluntary actions and believed risks were worth taking, but thought the actual attainment of virtue was difficult. They also believed in providence.

[17:18]  ⁶² tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβάλλω 1 has “converse, confer” here.

[17:18]  ⁶³ tn Grk “saying.”

[17:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “ignorant show-off.” The traditional English translation of σπερμολόγος (spermologo") is given in L&N 33.381 as “foolish babbler.” However, an alternate view is presented in L&N 27.19, “(a figurative extension of meaning of a term based on the practice of birds in picking up seeds) one who acquires bits and pieces of relatively extraneous information and proceeds to pass them off with pretense and show – ‘ignorant show-off, charlatan.’” A similar view is given in BDAG 937 s.v. σπερμολόγος: “in pejorative imagery of persons whose communication lacks sophistication and seems to pick up scraps of information here and there scrapmonger, scavenger…Engl. synonyms include ‘gossip’, ‘babbler’, chatterer’; but these terms miss the imagery of unsystematic gathering.”

[17:18]  ⁶⁵ tn The meaning of this phrase is not clear. Literally it reads “strange deities” (see BDAG 210 s.v. δαιμόνιον 1). The note of not being customary is important. In the ancient world what was new was suspicious. The plural δαιμονίων (daimoniwn, “deities”) shows the audience grappling with Paul’s teaching that God was working through Jesus.

[17:18]  ⁶⁶ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.