Aramaic word · H2749

חַרְטֹם

charttom

magician

A borrowed Egyptian title, most likely from ḥry-tp, short for "chief lector-priest". This was the temple scholar who read and recited the sacred ritual texts. In the Bible the word means a learned specialist in sacred lore, ritual and divination, including the interpretation of dreams and signs.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

magician, magician-astrologer

Aramaic of char.tom (חַרְטֹם "magician" H2748)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 4:9

Range of meaning

A borrowed Egyptian title, most likely from ḥry-tp, short for "chief lector-priest". This was the temple scholar who read and recited the sacred ritual texts. In the Bible the word means a learned specialist in sacred lore, ritual and divination, including the interpretation of dreams and signs. It is used only for foreign court experts: Pharaoh's in Genesis 41 and Exodus 7–9, and Nebuchadnezzar's in Daniel 1, 2, 4 and 5.

Against the English

Every major English version says "magicians" (YLT has "scribes"). Today "magician" suggests a stage illusionist or a fantasy wizard. The ḥarṭōm was closer to a priest-scholar or court expert in sacred texts and omens, a respected professional of the royal staff.

How it drifted

In older English, "magician" meant one of the learned "magi", a practitioner of occult science. Since then the word has narrowed to entertainment and fiction. Modern readers may also hear it as simply "sorcerer", which is too narrow.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 41:8, 24 (Pharaoh's dream interpreters); Exodus 7:11, 22; 8:7, 18–19; 9:11; Daniel 1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7, 9; 5:11. A related form, ḫarṭibi, appears in Neo-Assyrian records for Egyptian specialists, apparently dream interpreters, at the Assyrian court. The Greek Theodotion uses epaoidoi ("enchanters") for the group; the Latin Vulgate has arioli ("soothsayers").

From the study of Daniel 5:11

Range of meaning

Four classes of court scholar. ḥarṭōm: probably from Egyptian ḥry-tp, part of the title 'chief lector priest' (the priest who read sacred ritual texts). It appears in Genesis 41 and Exodus 7–9 for Pharaoh's experts, and Assyrian texts mention Egyptian ḫarṭibi dream-interpreters. ʾāšap̄: from Akkadian āšipu, the exorcist or incantation priest. Kaśdāy: 'Chaldean', an ethnic name from southern Babylonia that came to mean the astrologer-scholar class. gāzər: 'one who cuts' or 'determines', that is, a diviner who decrees or works out fate.

Against the English

English labels vary a great deal: KJV has 'magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, soothsayers'. WEB has 'magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers'. BSB and NIV turn 'Chaldeans' into 'astrologers' and use 'diviners' for gāzərîn. No English word for these ancient professions is exact.

How it drifted

'Magician' now suggests stage illusion or fantasy wizardry, and 'Chaldean' sounds purely ethnic. The originals named respected, literate professional guilds of the Babylonian state.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same list appears in varied forms in Dan 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7; 5:7, 15. Greek writers (Herodotus 1.181–183; Strabo 16.1.6; Diodorus 2.29–31) use 'Chaldeans' for Babylon's priestly astronomer-astrologers. Cuneiform archives preserve the work of these professions: incantation series used by the āšipu and the great omen series Enūma Anu Enlil used by the astrologers.

Where it appears

Daniel · 5

  1. Daniel 2:10 חַרְטֹּ֖ם magician

    The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

  2. Daniel 2:27 חַרְטֻמִּין֙ magicians

    Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

  3. Daniel 4:7 חַרְטֻמַיָּא֙ magicians the

    When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.

  4. Daniel 4:9 חַרְטֻמַיָּא֒ magicians the

    “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. So explain to me the visions I saw in my dream, and their interpretation.

    Here: "The magicians": a borrowed Egyptian word for learned priest-scholars who handled sacred texts and the interpretation of dreams and signs. They were court professionals, not conjurers.

  5. Daniel 5:11 חַרְטֻמִּ֣ין [the] magicians

    There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king,

    Here: Ritual-scholar priests who were experts in sacred texts and dream interpretation. The word goes back to an Egyptian title for a lector priest. They were learned professionals, not entertainers.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.