הָֽ/אַשָּׁפִ֔ים
𐤄/𐤀𐤔𐤐𐤉𐤌
ʼashshâph
and enchanters
A practitioner of occult or esoteric arts, especially one associated with sorcery, magic, or divination at ancient Near Eastern courts. Typically refers to a class of learned experts serving in royal courts who claimed special knowledge through rituals, incantations, interpretation of omens, or interaction with the spiritual realm. The term does not necessarily specify astrology alone but covers a broader semantic field of those engaged in magical or divinatory practices.
Daniel 1:20 · Word #15
Lexicon H825
| Lemma | אַשָּׁף |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤀𐤔𐤐 |
| Transliteration | ʼashshâph |
| Strong's | H825 |
| Definition | A practitioner of occult or esoteric arts, especially one associated with sorcery, magic, or divination at ancient Near Eastern courts. Typically refers to a class of learned experts serving in royal courts who claimed special knowledge through rituals, incantations, interpretation of omens, or interaction with the spiritual realm. The term does not necessarily specify astrology alone but covers a broader semantic field of those engaged in magical or divinatory practices. |
Morphology HTd/Ncmpa
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea |
| Subtype | c — Common — Common noun |
| Gender | m — Masculine — Masculine |
| Number | p — Plural — Plural |
| State | a — Absolute — The noun stands independently |
Common Translation
| Phrase | and enchanters |
SIBI-P1 Translation H825-01
the court magicians
| Morphological Notes | Noun, masculine plural, absolute state, with prefixed definite article ("the"). |
| Rendering Rationale | The plural masculine noun with the definite article denotes a recognized class of royal practitioners of magical or divinatory arts. "Court magicians" reflects both the esoteric function and their typical role in royal settings, preserving the semantic range beyond mere astrology. |
View full lexicon entry for H825 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
the enchanters
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | 'the court magicians' changed to 'the enchanters' as this aligns better with the general sense of אָשָּׁפִים in Daniel and preserves the distinction from position 14. |