8 And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the scribes of Egypt, and all the sages who were therein, and Pharaoh told them his dream; but [there was] none to interpret them to Pharaoh.
Then came in the scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation of it.
And in all matters of judicious wisdom, as to which the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the scribes [and] magicians that were in all his realm.
And Pharaoh also called the sages and the sorcerers; and they too, the scribes of Egypt, did so with their enchantments:
Now Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, behold magi from the east arrived at Jerusalem, saying,
I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
-- Turn not unto necromancers and unto soothsayers; seek not after them to make yourselves unclean: I am Jehovah your God.
Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, nor its interpretation, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and its interpretation to thine enemies!
So far is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart.
Let no one deceive himself: if any one thinks himself to be wise among you in this world, let him become foolish, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He who takes the wise in their craftiness. And again, [The] Lord knows the reasonings of the wise that they are vain.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and set aside the understanding of the understanding ones.
But some also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers attacked him. And some said, What would this chatterer say? and some, He seems to be an announcer of foreign demons, because he announced the glad tidings of Jesus and the resurrection [to them].
I heard, and my belly trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place, That I might rest in the day of distress, When their invader shall come up against the people.
And I Daniel fainted, and was sick [certain] days: then I rose up, and did the king's business. And I was astonished at the vision, but none understood [it].
There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, [even] the king thy father, made him master of the scribes, magicians, Chaldeans, [and] astrologers;
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king's wise men, but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.
Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, The secret that the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the magicians, the scribes, the astrologers, shew unto the king; but there is a God in the heavens, who revealeth secrets, and maketh known to king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be at the end of days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed are these:
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him. And the king commanded to call the scribes, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to shew the king his dreams; and they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream. And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live for ever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The command is gone forth from me: If ye do not make known unto me the dream, and its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream and its interpretation, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour; therefore shew me the dream and its interpretation. They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the word is gone forth from me; but if ye do not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me its interpretation. The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter; therefore there is no king, however great and powerful, that hath asked such a thing of any scribe, or magician, or Chaldean. For the thing that the king demandeth is extraordinary, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
Stand now with thine enchantments and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to turn them to profit, if so be thou mayest cause terror. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the interpreters of the heavens, the observers of the stars, who predict according to the new moons what shall come upon thee, stand up, and save thee.
They are but fools, the princes of Zoan, the wise counsellors of Pharaoh: [their] counsel is become senseless. How say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are they then, thy wise [men]? Let them now tell thee, and let them make known what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become foolish, the princes of Noph are deceived; and the corner-stones of its tribes have caused Egypt to err.
And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it, and I will destroy the counsel thereof; and they shall seek unto the idols and unto the conjurers, and unto the necromancers, and unto the soothsayers.
The secret of Jehovah is with them that fear him, that he may make known his covenant to them.
When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you he that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, that useth divination, that useth auguries, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or one that inquireth of a spirit of Python, or a soothsayer, or one that consulteth the dead. For every one that doeth these things is an abomination to Jehovah, and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth dispossess them from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt dispossess, hearkened unto those that use auguries, and that use divination; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee [to do] so.
-- And the soul that turneth unto necromancers and unto soothsayers, to go a whoring after them, I will set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
And the scribes did so with their sorceries, to bring forth gnats; but they could not. And the gnats were on man and on beast. Then the scribes said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God! But Pharaoh's heart was stubborn, and he hearkened not to them, as Jehovah had said.
And the scribes did so with their sorceries, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 41
Commentary on Genesis 41 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 41
Two things Providence is here bringing about:-
Gen 41:1-8
Observe,
Gen 41:9-16
Here is,
Gen 41:17-32
Here,
Gen 41:33-45
Here is,
Gen 41:46-57
Observe here,