חרטמים Modern Magicians

Μάγοι is simply the nominative masculine plural of Μάγος (μάγος), a second-declension masculine noun in Ancient Greek.

• Μάγος: singular

• Μάγοι: plural

Magicians are a significant part of the Exodus story. The Hebrew term חרטמים (chartummim) refers to magicians, depicted in the Hebrew Bible as advisors to Pharaoh skilled in interpreting dreams and performing magical acts. Its etymology likely stems from the Egyptian word “ḥrj-tp” (kheri-heb), meaning a chief lector priest. These magicians appear in biblical stories such as Genesis 41:8, where they fail to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and Exodus 7-9, where they attempt to replicate Moses’ miracles during the plagues. The חרטמים held significant roles in royal courts, influencing decisions with their specialized knowledge and skills in divination and magic.

And he is becoming within the Dawn, and the spirit of himself, she is being struck down/stepped on, and he is sending away, and he is summoning all of the self-eternal magicians [chartummim] of Dual-Siege (“Egypt”), and all self-eternal wise-men of herself, and Pharaoh is numbering to themselves the self-eternal dreams of himself, and there is no one who is interpreting a sign of themselves to Pharaoh.”

Genesis 41:8 RBT

The role of such figures was not unique to Egypt. In the wider Near Eastern and Greco-Roman world, priestly and magical classes held similar functions. The Greek term μάγοι (magoi, Latin magi), initially referred to a Median tribe of priestly caste (Herodotus Histories 1.101), known for their ritual purity, dream interpretation, and religious instruction. Over time, especially through Hellenistic and Roman reinterpretation, the term evolved into a more generalized (and often pejorative) label for sorcerers or magicians.

Plato (Alcibiades I, 122a) suggests that the Magi were experts in divine service, from whom the term μαγεία (mageia, magic) derived. Xenophon (Cyropaedia 8.1.23) presents them as moral and spiritual instructors of kings. Yet by the time of Pliny the Elder (Natural History 30.1), magia is treated as a fraudulent art, and Apuleius (Apologia 26–27) is forced to defend himself against charges of being a magus—now synonymous with sorcerer or necromancer. In the New Testament, μάγοι appear in two places traditionally presented in complete contrast: positively, as “wise men” who visit the Christ child (Matthew 2:1–12), but negatively, as deceivers and false prophets (Acts 8:9, 13:6).

Who wants to be called a “magi”?

The term Μάγος carries a complicated set of connotations, and by the time of the New Testament and Late Antiquity, it had accumulated substantial semantic baggage — much of it pejorative.

LSJ reflects this evolution:

Μάγος, ου, ὁ

(OPers. maguš, ‘Magian’)

1. 1. Ethno-Religious Title:
      Originally, Μάγος denoted a member of a Median priestly tribe, referenced in:

      • Herodotus (Hist. 1.101): lists the Μάγοι as one of the six Median tribes.

      • Strabo (15.3.1): affirms their religious and ritualistic functions.
        These Magians served as priestly specialists, often associated with dream interpretation and cultic duties in the Achaemenid Persian court.

   2. Priests and Dream Interpreters:
      In later Greek literature, Μάγοι were understood as Persian priests often mediating divine knowledge through dreams and omens.

      • Herodotus (7.37), Aristotle, Phoenician fragments exemplify this with dignified, sapiential usage.

   3. Pejorative Usage – Enchanters or Charlatans:
      Later Greek authors, especially in Classical and Hellenistic periods, shift the term toward:

      • Enchanter, sorcerer, or impostor, especially in negative moral or philosophical contexts:

        • Heraclitus Fr. 14

        • Sophocles (OT 387)

        • Euripides (Orestes 1498)

        • Plato (Republic 572e)

        • Acts of the Apostles 13.6 (NT)

        • Vettius Valens (Astrological treatise, 74.17)

   4. Adjectival Form (rare) – μάγος, -ον:
      Used as an adjective meaning magical:

      • Philostratus, Vita Apollonii 1.2: μάγῳ τέχνῃ (“by magical art”)

      • Anthologia Palatina 5.120: μαγώτερα (“more magical,” from κεστὸς spell)

   5. Feminine Form (rare, in later texts):
      Found in Lucian (Asinus 4) and Anthologia Palatina 5.15 — often in humorous or satirical settings

(cf. LSJ Μάγος)

These חרטמים (chartummim) of ancient times, as spoken through an eternal stand point, are also modern-day “priests, preachers, authors, and teachers.” Just as the chartummim served as advisors and interpreters of dreams, visions, and words, providing guidance and insights to the Pharaoh, are not today’s spiritual and intellectual leaders throughout the Church doing the same? And, just like Pharoah’s magicians, they all completely fail to interpret anything. They do however cause no small amount of “wowing”…