In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
Parallel Translations
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In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
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And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
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And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof; and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
Cross-references (32)
Passages linked to Genesis 41:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Daniel 4:7 Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in; and I told the dream before them; but they didn’t make known to me its interpretation.
- Exodus 7:22 The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
- Exodus 7:11 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments.
- Isaiah 29:14 therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will be hidden.”
- Daniel 1:20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his realm.
- Daniel 4:5 I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
- Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
- Genesis 40:6 Joseph came in to them in the morning, and saw them, and saw that they were sad.
- Genesis 40:8 They said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it.” Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Please tell it to me.”
- Exodus 8:7 The magicians did the same thing with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
- Leviticus 19:31 “ ‘Don’t turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.
- Isaiah 8:19 When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Daniel 4:19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken mute for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream, or the interpretation, trouble you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation to your adversaries.
- Exodus 8:18-19 The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is God’s finger;” but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
- Exodus 9:11 The magicians couldn’t stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.
- Leviticus 20:6 “ ‘The person that turns to those who are mediums and wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
- Deuteronomy 18:9-14 When you have come into the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who tells fortunes, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or someone who consults with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh. Because of these abominations, Yahweh your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless with Yahweh your God. For these nations that you shall dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and to diviners; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you so to do.
- Job 5:12-13 He frustrates the plans of the crafty, So that their hands can’t perform their enterprise. He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
- Psalms 25:14 The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant.
- Isaiah 19:3 The spirit of Egypt will fail within it. I will destroy its counsel. They will seek the idols, the charmers, those who have familiar spirits, and the wizards.
- Isaiah 19:11-13 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?” Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you now; and let them know what Yahweh of Armies has purposed concerning Egypt. The princes of Zoan have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, who are the cornerstone of her tribes.
- Isaiah 47:12-13 “Stand now with your enchantments and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth, as if you might profit, as if you might prevail. You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels. Now let the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators, stand up and save you from the things that will happen to you.
- Daniel 2:1-11 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be called to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. The king said to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered the Chaldeans, “The thing has gone from me. If you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you will receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” They answered the second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered, “I know of a certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see the thing has gone from me. But if you don’t make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the situation changes. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can show me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, “There is not a man on the earth who can show the king’s matter, because no king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean. It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
- Daniel 2:27-28 Daniel answered before the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded can’t be shown to the king by wise men, enchanters, magicians, or soothsayers; but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:
- Daniel 5:6-8 Then the king’s face was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in; but they could not read the writing, and couldn’t make known to the king the interpretation.
- Daniel 5:11 There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. The king Nebuchadnezzar your father, yes, the king, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
- Daniel 7:28 “Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my face was changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart.”
- Daniel 8:27 I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick for some days. Then I rose up, and did the king’s business. I wondered at the vision, but no one understood it.
- Habakkuk 3:16 I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.
- Acts 17:18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also were conversing with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign deities,” because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.” And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 8. In the morning his spirit was troubled. A…
8. In the morning his spirit was troubled. A sting was left in Pharaoh’s heart, that he might know that he had to deal with God; for this anxiety was as an inward seal of the Spirit of God, to give authenticity to the dream; although Pharaoh deserved to be deprived of the advantage of this revelation, when he resorted to magicians and soothsayers, who were wont to turn the truth of God into a lie. He was convinced by a secret impulse that the dream sent by God portended something important; but he seeks out imposters, who would darken, by their fallacies, the light which was divinely kindled; and it is the folly of the human mind to gather to itself leaders and teachers of error. No doubt he believed them to be true prophets; but because he voluntarily closes his eyes, and hastens into the snare, his false opinion forms no sufficient excuse for him; otherwise men, by merely shutting their eyes, might have some plausible pretext for mocking God with impunity: and we see that many seek protection for themselves in that gross ignorance in which they knowingly and purposely involve themselves. Pharaoh, therefore, as far as he was able, deprived himself of the benefit of the prophecy, by seeking for magicians as the interpreters of it. So we see it daily happens that many lose hold of the truth, because they either bring a cloud over themselves by their own indolence, or too eagerly catch at false and spurious inventions. But because the Lord would, at that time, succor the kingdom of Egypt, he drew Pharaoh back, as by main force, from his error.
There was none that could interpret. By this remedy God provided that the dream should not fail. We know what an inflated and impudent race of men these soothsayers were, and how extravagantly they boasted. How did it then happen that they gave the king no answer, seeing they might have trifled in any way whatever with a credulous man, who willingly suffered himself to be deluded? Therefore, that he might desist from inquiry, he is not allowed to find what he had expected in his magicians: and the Lord so strikes dumb the wicked workers of deceit, that they cannot even find a specious explanation of the dreams. Moreover, by this method, the anxiety of the king is sharpened; because he considers that what has escaped the sagacity of the magicians must be something very serious and secret. By which example we are taught, that the Lord provides the best for us, when he removes the incitements of error from those of us who with to be deceived; and we must regard it as a singular favor, when either false prophets are silenced, or their fatuity is, in any manner, discovered to us. As for the rest, the king might hence easily gather how frivolous and nugatory was the profession of wisdom, in which the Egyptians gloried above all others; for they boasted that they were possessed of the science of divination which ascended above the very heavens. But now, as far as they are concerned, the king is without counsel, and, being disappointed of his hope, is filled with anguish; nevertheless he does not so awake as to shake off his superstition. Thus we see that men, though admonished, remain still in their torpor. Whence we plainly perceive how inexcusable is the obstinacy of the world, which does not desist from following those delusions which are openly condemned as foolishness, from heaven.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain This fear was enough to teach him that this…
This fear was enough to teach him that this vision was sent of God.
The wise of the world understand not God’s secrets, but to his servants his will is revealed.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 41:8 And it came to pass in the…
Gen 41:8 And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but [there was] none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
Ver. 8. All the magicians.] Or, Natural philosophers, that studied the secrets of nature, and could give a ready reason of everything. Magus is a Persian word, and hath affinity with the Hebrew פחנה, a contemplative person; συφος θεωρητικος: Such as was Aristotle among the heathens, and Augustine among Christians - the greatest and accuratest of men, after the apostles, in contemplation and argumentation, as many are of opinion. The Grecians were so delighted with his learned labours, that they have translated him wholly into their tongue. {a} As for the deep theorems of natural philosophy, they make one learned indeed, but seldom better, ofttimes worse, nearly atheists; as these wise men of Egypt, elsewhere called enchanters, wizards. {Exo 7:11} Of these were "Jannes and Jambres" that "resisted Moses"; {2Ti 3:8} learned they were, and lewd, as were those philosophers. {Rom 1:18-32}
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But there was none that could interpret.] Because God had smitten them with a spirit of dizziness, and made the "wisdom of the wise to perish"; {Isa 29:14} for else, it had been easy for them to have seen plenty in the fat kine, and penury in the lean, &c. But God had reserved that honour to Joseph, as a step or stirrup to further preferment.
{a} Planudes eum transtulit anis aliquot ante Constantinopolim captum. Manl., loc. com., p. 684.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain His spirit was troubled, because he understood not the…
His spirit was troubled, because he understood not the meaning of it, and dreaded the consequences of it. Compare Gen 40:6; Dan 2:1,3; Mt 27:19.
The magicians, whose profession it was to discover secret and future things; which they did either by the observation of the stars, or by other superstitious practices, and the help of evil spirits. See Exo 7:11; 8:19; Dan 2:2,10.
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The wise men, who were conversant in the study of nature; and by reason of their great sagacity, did ofttimes make happy conjectures.
Pharoah calls them both one dream, either because they seemed to portend the same thing, or because they were the product of one night, and were divided only by a very little interruption.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it came to pass in the morning, that…
And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled,.... With the thoughts of his dreams; they were uppermost in his mind; he was continually thinking of them; it was as if he had always the same images before him now awake, as well as when asleep, and therefore could not be easy without getting knowledge of the meaning of them:
and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof; who pretended to have great skill in the things of nature, and in astrology and other sciences, by which they pretended to know future events, and to interpret dreams among other things; and show what they portended, and what things would happen for the accomplishment of them:
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and Pharaoh told them his dream; both his dreams, which for the similarity of them, and there being so little interruption between them, are represented as one dream; for that both were told them appears by what follows:
but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh; they were nonplussed and confounded, and did not know what to say; the things were so strange and surprising that he related, that they could not offer any conjectures about them, or, if they did, they were very unsatisfactory to Pharaoh.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain His spirit was troubled - It cannot but put…
His spirit was troubled - It cannot but put us into a concern to receive any extraordinary message from heaven. And his magicians were puzzled; the rules of their art failed them; these dreams of Pharaoh did not fall within the compass of them. This was to make Joseph's performance by the Spirit of God the more admirable.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Called for all the magicians] חרטמים chartummim.…
Verse 8. Called for all the magicians] חרטמים chartummim. The word here used may probably mean no more than interpreters of abstruse and difficult subjects; and especially of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, an art which is now entirely lost. It is most likely that the term is Egyptian, and consequently its etymology must remain unknown to us. If Hebrew, Mr. Parkhurst's definition may be as good as any: "חרט cheret, a pen or instrument to write or draw with, and תם tam, to perfect or accomplish; those who were perfect in drawing their sacred, astrological, and hieroglyphical figures or characters, and who, by means of them, pretended to extraordinary feats, among which was the interpretation of dreams. They seem to have been such persons as Josephus (Ant., lib. ii., c. 9, s. 2) calls Ἱερογραμματεις sacred scribes, or professors of sacred learning."
Wise men] חכמיה chacameyha, the persons who, according to Porphyry, "addicted themselves to the worship of God and the study of wisdom, passing their whole life in the contemplation of Divine things. Contemplation of the stars, self-purification, arithmetic, and geometry, and singing hymns in honour of their gods, was their continual employment." - See Dodd. It was probably among these that Pythagoras conversed, and from whom he borrowed that modest name by which he wished his countrymen to distinguish him, viz., φιλοσοφος, a philosopher, simply, a lover of wisdom.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 41:8. His spirit was troubled — Because he…
Gen 41:8. His spirit was troubled — Because he was impressed with an idea that the dreams were supernatural, that something extraordinary was intended by them, and because he understood not their meaning, and dreaded the consequences. Compare Gen 40:6; Dan 2:1-3; and Mat 27:19. He called for the magicians, who professed to discover secret and future things, either by consulting the stars, or by other superstitious practices; but if they ever did any thing of that kind, no doubt it was by the help of evil spirits. The wise men, distinguished from these, were employed, it seems, in the study of nature, and, by their great sagacity, often made happy conjectures respecting abstruse and future things. On what principles they interpreted dreams, does not appear. In this instance, however, they were puzzled, and the rules of their art failed them. But this was intended to render Joseph’s interpretation of these dreams, by the Spirit of God, the more wonderful.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Interpreters: chartumim is probably an Egyptian word; denoting magicians,…
Interpreters: chartumim is probably an Egyptian word; denoting magicians, priests, and interpreters of their sacred books, hieroglyphics, &c. K. Ptolemy consulted them. (Tacitus, Hist. iv.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain he called for all the magicians of Egypt--It is…
he called for all the magicians of Egypt--It is not possible to define the exact distinction between "magicians" and "wise men"; but they formed different branches of a numerous body, who laid claim to supernatural skill in occult arts and sciences, in revealing mysteries, explaining portents, and, above all, interpreting dreams. Long practice had rendered them expert in devising a plausible way of getting out of every difficulty and framing an answer suitable to the occasion. But the dreams of Pharaoh baffled their united skill. Unlike their Assyrian brethren (Dan 2:4), they did not pretend to know the meaning of the symbols contained in them, and the providence of God had determined that they should all be nonplussed in the exercise of their boasted powers, in order that the inspired wisdom of Joseph might appear the more remarkable.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Spirit was troubled — The dream was sent…
8. Spirit was troubled — The dream was sent of God, and designed to impress him deeply, that it might lead to the great provisions which followed. Compare the effect of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Dan_2:1; Dan_2:3.
All the magicians of Egypt — Of whom there were many, and they very skilful. Comp. Exo_7:11. The word rendered magicians (חרשׂמים) is usually understood of the sacred scribes, who were supposed to be conversant with all mystic arts, and able to unravel the secrets of men’s lives.
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Wise men — A more general term, denoting all those who were devoted to the study of science or philosophy. All these belonged to a regular order in Egypt, as in other Oriental kingdoms. Comp. Dan_2:2; Dan_2:48; Dan_4:9; Dan_5:11.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8–32. Joseph as Interpreter
8–32. Joseph as Interpreter
8. his spirit was troubled] Compare the effect of the dreams in Gen_40:6; Dan_2:1-3.
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all the magicians] or, as R.V. marg., sacred scribes. The Heb. ḥartummim used in this chapter and Exodus 7-9 probably designates the priestly class, which was credited with the knowledge of all sacred mysteries, cf. Gen_41:24; Exo_7:11, &c. LXX renders by ἐξηγηταί = “interpreters,” Lat. conjectores. The rendering “magicians” represents “possessors of occult knowledge or magic.” The same Heb. word is used in Dan_2:2, probably in imitation of this passage; but it does not occur elsewhere. Possibly the word is derived from a root meaning “to cut” or “engrave,” from which came ḥeret, “stylus” or “pen.” Cf. Tacitus, Hist. iv. 83, Ptolemaeus … sacerdotibus Aegyptiorum, quibus mos talia intellegere, nocturnos visus aperit.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) Magicians.—The word used here probably means the “sacred…
(8) Magicians.—The word used here probably means the “sacred scribes,” who were skilled in writing and reading hieroglyphics. But in ancient times the possession of real knowledge was generally accompanied by a claim to an occult and mysterious acquaintance with the secrets of the gods and of nature. And as the people regarded the knowledge which such scribes really possessed as more than human, the claim was easily maintained, or, rather, grew naturally out of the superstition of the multitude. So, too, the “wise men” were men educated and trained, but probably the profession of magic, of divination, and astrology was that which gained for them wealth and honour, and not the possession of whatever real science existed at that time in Egypt. We find, subsequently, even Joseph claiming the power of divination.
There was none that could interpret . . . —Probably many of the wise men made the attempt, but in such an imperfect manner as not to be able to satisfy Pharaoh’s mind, or allay the excitement of his spirit.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And it came to pass in the morning that…
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; or, rather, his mind was agitated, ejtaracqh hJ cuch aujtou (LXX), pavore perterritus (Vulgate), the ruach being the seat of the senses, affections, and emotions of various kinds (cf. Dan_2:1 Dan_4:5, Dan_4:19) and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, the from frj (unused), to engrave, whence frj a stylus (Gesenius), or from rWj to see or explain, and to conceal, i.e. he who explains hidden or mysterious things (Kalisch), were sacred scribes, iJerogrammateiv, belonging to the priestly caste, who were skilled in making and deciphering the hieroglyphics. Besides figuring in the Court of Pharaoh (Exo_7:11, 22 8:3 14:15) in the time of Moses, they recur again at a later period in that of the Babylonian monarch Nebuchadnezzar (Dan_1:20 Dan_2:2) and all the wise men thereof. The from the primary idea of which is that of judging (Gesenius), were persons capable of judging, hence persons endowed with pre-eminent abilities for the prosecution of the ordinary business of life, the cultivation of the arts and sciences, the practice of divination, the interpreting of dreams, and other kindred occupations. They were the sages of the nation. And Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. The magicians of Egypt were not so conceited as their Brethren in Babylon afterwards showed themselves to be, Dan_2:4 (Lawson). That they could not explain the dream, though couched in the symbolical language of the time, was no doubt surprising; but "the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God", (1Co_2:11) and they to whom the Spirit doth reveal them. (1Co_2:10)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 41:8 The magicians and wise men belonged to a…
41:8 The magicians and wise men belonged to a guild of supposed experts in spiritual matters, including dreams and visions (cp. Exod 8:18-19; Dan 2:10-11), but they could not interpret these dreams. God used an Israelite slave to confound the wisdom of the world (cp. Dan 2). However powerful a nation becomes, it is still under God’s sovereign control (Dan 2:20-23).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.