Aramaic word · H826

אָשַׁף

'ashefin

enchanter

Incantation priest, exorcist, conjurer: a ritual expert who recited spells to ward off demons, disease and the evil a bad omen announced. It is a loanword from Akkadian āšipu (also called mašmāšu).

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

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

conjurer, enchanter, (CLBL) necromancer

Aramaic of ash.shaph (אַשָּׁף "enchanter" H0825)

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 5:15

Range of meaning

Incantation priest, exorcist, conjurer: a ritual expert who recited spells to ward off demons, disease and the evil a bad omen announced. It is a loanword from Akkadian āšipu (also called mašmāšu).

Against the English

KJV 'astrologers' points to star-reading. NIV, ESV and BSB have 'enchanters'; NASB has 'conjurers'. 'Enchanter' or 'incantation priest' is closest.

How it drifted

The KJV translators followed a general sense of 'Chaldean magi' as stargazers. Today 'astrologer' calls up horoscopes, which is a different specialty from the āšipu's ritual work.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hebrew ʾaššāp appears in Dan 1:20 and 2:2; Aramaic in Dan 2:10, 2:27, 4:7, 5:7, 5:11, 5:15. Mesopotamian sources describe the āšipu's work in detail: the 'Exorcist's Manual' and rituals for undoing the effects of omens (namburbi).

From the study of Daniel 5:7

Range of meaning

Enchanter, incantation-priest, exorcist. Borrowed from Akkadian āšipu, the ritual expert who used spells, purification rites and amulets against demons and disease, and who also read signs.

Against the English

KJV 'astrologers' is misleading; modern versions use 'enchanters' (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV) or 'conjurers' (NASB).

How it drifted

The KJV translators had no access to Akkadian and treated all of Daniel's diviner terms as rough equivalents. 'Astrologer' was their general word for a learned occult practitioner.

Used elsewhere in the period

Akkadian āšipu / āšipūtu ('the craft of the exorcist') is well attested in Neo-Babylonian texts and in handbooks such as the Exorcist's Manual. In biblical Aramaic and Hebrew it appears only in Daniel (1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7; 5:7, 11, 15).

Where it appears

Daniel · 6

  1. Daniel 2:10 וְאָשַׁ֥ף and conjurer

    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 אָֽשְׁפִ֗ין conjurers

    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 אָֽשְׁפַיָּ֔א conjurers 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 5:7 לְאָ֣שְׁפַיָּ֔א <obj.> conjurers the

    The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

    Here: The āšipu-type professional: a Babylonian ritual specialist who recited spells and performed exorcisms and healing rites. He is not a stargazer.

  5. Daniel 5:11 אָֽשְׁפִ֗ין conjurers

    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: From Akkadian āšipu: the exorcist or incantation priest who recited ritual spells to ward off evil and heal.

  6. Daniel 5:15 אָֽשְׁפַיָּ֔א conjurers the

    Now the wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this inscription and interpret it for me, but they could not give its interpretation.

    Here: Set beside 'the wise men' with no 'and,' as a further label for the same group: incantation specialists, a loanword from Akkadian āšipu, the ritual expert who recited spells against evil and ill omens.

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