Kejadian 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 

Keluaran 8:19

8:19 The magicians said ⁷  to Pharaoh, “It is the finger ⁸  of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, ⁹  and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

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.

[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.

[8:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the magicians said.”

[8:19]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.