GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
DANIEL 1:20
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20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king questioned them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
The book of Daniel has several names for the various fortune-tellers. How shall we handle them all in translation? How should we understand them? The Wartburg Project (the team that translated the Evangelical Heritage Version of the Bible) was given a long list of rubrics by the editors. These were guidelines for how we would handle certain words and phrases in a uniform way throughout the translation. I plan to follow those rubrics here (as I usually try to do in my own ongoing translating attempts). The list has six titles (only the first two are in the verse before us):
Daniel’s Fortune Tellers:
1, Chartomim (חַרְטֻמִּים) – magicians. This word has some connection with a word for scribe or “copyist” which is unclear. There is a nearly identical Egyptian word which means magician. In the Bible, it is used for magicians from both Egypt (Genesis 41:8; Exodus 7:11) and Babylon (Daniel 1:20; 2:2; 4:4; 5:11).
2, Ashpim (אַשָּׁפִים) – enchanters. Some translations use “soothsayers” for this word, but it only occurs in Daniel (1:2; 2:2; 4:4; 5:7, etc.), the meaning needs to be determined from the context. Since it usually occurs in groups with magicians and sorcerers, a similar word seems appropriate in English.
3, Mikaspim (מְכַשְּׁפִים) – sorcerers. Kashshap was a common ancient word meaning witchcraft. Sorcery was outlawed in Israel (Exodus 22:17; Deuteronomy 18:10) under penalty of death. One of the sins of bad King Manasseh was practicing witchcraft (2 Chronicles 33:6).
4, Kasdim (כַּשְׂדִּים) – astrologers. The root word is also the name of the people, the Chaldeans, but obviously not all Chaldeans were astrologers. But it was evidently common for Chaldeans to become good astronomers or astrologers. Where the word clearly refers to the nationality, we use “Chaldeans” (Daniel 1:4), but where it refers to a fortune teller, we use “astrologers.”
5, Chakmin (חַכִּימִּין) – wise men. The wise or cunning man was a royal advisor (Esther 6:13). Such men were often placed into high offices to help administer the state (1 Kings 5:12). Daniel 2:12; 4:3; 5:8.
6, Gazrin (גָּזְרִין) – diviners. Since the root word means “to cut in two,” the word can mean to cut out animals from a herd (Habakkuk 3:1) or the cutting off of death from life (Lamentations 3:54). The idea of a diviner is a man who cuts up an animal carcass to examine its entrails to predict the future. Daniel 2:27; 4:7; 5:7,11.
About a century ago, our Seminary Professor August Pieper said this about Babylonian sorcery and magic: “These are always the sister pursuits of the more refined mantic or divination and are common to all pagan peoples and religions, from ancient Egypt to modern astrologers, from the largest city to the remotest village. This practice of magic has its source in fear of the unknown future and in ignorance concerning God and the supernatural. It is an attempt to control the supernatural powers either for personal good fortune or for destruction of an enemy. It appears in different forms. The original homes of divination and sorcery are Egypt (Genesis 41:8; 44:5,15; Exodus 7:9; Isaiah 19:3) and Babylon (Isaiah 44:25; Daniel 2:2; etc.). Excavations in Assyria and Babylon have brought to light a vast number of magic formulas. As in Egypt, this occult art was closely linked with scientific pursuits (Isaiah 47:10) and it was fostered by the government through the priestly caste. Its practitioners were known as Chaldeans or “astrologers.” The entire caste was under the direction of a chief of the magi (cp. Daniel 2:48). A specific form of magic art was astrology, which was allied with astronomy (Isaiah 47:13). It sought to predict the fortunes of the state from the relative positions of the planets.” (Isaiah II p. 313)
More impressive than any of these experts stood a seventeen or eighteen year-old boy named Daniel. He had already shown his worth to Nebuchadnezzar. He had also shown his faith without compromise. Daniel was a sinful man like the rest of us, and he had faith in the coming Savior, a faith that influenced everything he said and did. Nebuchadnezzar found him “ten times better” than any of his fortune tellers. “Ten times” here means completely; better in every way.
What made him better is what sets you apart from all of the unbelievers and sceptics and doubters around you. You might not recognize some of them, because some of them might be disguised; they might be hypocrites. But even they can learn something from your good life of faith. Jesus taught the hypocrites of his day many times by simply telling them the truth. Let the truth of the Gospel guide you as you live a life of faith, a life that responds to forgiveness with praise and thanks. The heroes of faith we read about in Scripture were real men and women, sinners who loved their Savior. Their accounts teach us about our sins, and the blood of Christ that forgives us, and they also set examples for us to follow. Let there be a little Daniel in your words, a bit of brave, not scared to tell the truth demonstration of Daniel in your deeds, and even in the way you think about things. Maybe even… ten times better’n anybody else.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Daniel 1:20 Ten times better