Read Exodus 7:8-13 at Bible Gateway.
Hebrew paragraph division
Exo 7:8-13 {s} Aaron’s rod becomes a serpent + magicians’ rods become serpents
Original Hebrew
Wonder is Strong’s H4159 יפה a concrete noun meaning, “wonder, sign, miracle” from Strong’s H3302 יפה yaphah, a primitive root meaning, “to shine, to be bright, i.e. to be beautiful.” We have seen this root before.
Wise men is Strong’s H2450 חכם chakam, an adjective, from Strong’s H2449 חכם chakam, a primitive root meaning, “to be wise.” We have seen this root before.
Sorcerers is Strong’s H3784 כשף kashaph, a primitive root meaning, “to pray, to offer prayers or worship;” Gesenius’ says its usage in Hebrew is restricted only to the worship of idols, thus “to use enchantment.” The ancient pictographs are kaph + shin + pey.
kaph כ, ך = the open palm, thus bend, open, allow, tame
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
pey פ, ף = the mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
Opened palms (kaph) lifted up in worship while whispering (as the breath passes through the teeth, shin) with the mouth (pey), i.e. to pray; however only used of false idols, thus, to mutter enchantments.
Magicians is Strong’s H2748 chartom, a concrete noun meaning, “sacred scribe, magician.” The lexicons explain that in biblical usage it refers specifically to a writer of occult knowledge; a horoscopist; i.e., an astrologer, who draws magical lines or circles.
There is disagreement over its root. Strong’s says it is from an unnamed primitive root meaning “to engrave;” the same from whence the concrete noun “engraving tool, stylus” chet + resh + tet is derived; however, Gesenius names the possible root as chet + resh + mem, “to be sacred.”
Without the primitive root we cannot accurately derive the story, as all the paleo Hebrew stories come from the verbal roots.
Secret arts is Strong’s H3858 lahat, a concrete noun meaning, “flame” (of an angelic sword); thus “enchantment;” from Strong’s H3857 להט lahat, a primitive root meaning, “to burn.” This word occurs only twice in the Hebrew Bible:
So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life. Gen 3:24
Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their secret arts. Exo 7:11
The ancient pictographs are lamed + hey + tet.
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
tet ט = the basket, thus surround, contain, hold, mud
Gesenius says the root also means “to hide,” and the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon corroborates this meaning. The related words of veil (hiding the hair or face of a woman), lizard (a hidden reptile), secret (hidden from common knowledge), and wrap (enclosing something which hides it from view) bring out the common thread of something hidden. So the story the pictographs are telling is of authority (lamed) in the spiritual (hey) which covers (as a veil is a sign of spiritual authority covering the woman) or which is covered (or hidden, as a wrap which surrounds hides what it wraps from view, tet).
Why is this word used to mean both the flame of the sword of the cherubim, and the secret arts of the Egyptian magicians? The flaming sword was a sign of spiritual authority which hid the way to the tree of life, and the arts of the magicians were accomplished through real spiritual authority , not of God, but of the occult, which was hidden or secret from common knowledge. According to Webster’s dictionary, the word occult means, “to shut off from view or exposure, to cover.”
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