### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Aramaic word **charṭôm**, represented by `{{H2749}}`, is defined as a **magician**. It appears 5 times across 5 unique verses, entirely within the book of Daniel. The definition suggests a horoscopist, specifically one who engages in drawing magical lines or circles as part of their practice.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
In the biblical narrative, `{{H2749}}` consistently refers to the professional occult advisors serving the kings of Babylon. These **magicians** are summoned as a group, alongside astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, whenever the king requires supernatural insight, such as the interpretation of a dream [[Daniel 4:7]]. Despite their esteemed position, they are uniformly depicted as being incapable of revealing the divine secrets presented to them. In one instance, they are part of the collective that admits to the king that no man on earth can fulfill his request [[Daniel 2:10]]. The position was organized enough that King Nebuchadnezzar appointed a "master of the **magicians**" [[Daniel 4:9]].
### Related Words & Concepts
Several related Aramaic words appear alongside **charṭôm**, defining the different classes of wise men in the Babylonian court:
* `{{H826}}` **ʼashshâph** (astrologer): Defined as a conjurer, this term is frequently used in the same list as **magician** to describe the king's mystical advisors who were unable to interpret a secret [[Daniel 2:27]].
* `{{H1505}}` **gᵉzar** (soothsayer): This term, meaning to determine or cut out, appears with **magician** when the royal advisors are summoned but fail to make known the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream [[Daniel 4:7]].
* `{{H3779}}` **Kasday** (Chaldean): Referring to an inhabitant of Chaldaea or a professional astrologer, the **Chaldeans** are often listed with **magicians** as a distinct group of royal counselors [[Daniel 5:11]].
* `{{H2445}}` **chakkîym** (wise): This is the general term for the **wise** men of Babylon. The **magicians** and other specialists are considered a class within this larger advisory body [[Daniel 2:27]].
### Theological Significance
The narrative function of `{{H2749}}` is primarily to establish a contrast between human wisdom and divine revelation.
* **Limitation of Occult Knowledge:** The **magicians** represent the pinnacle of human and occultic attempts to understand the supernatural. Their repeated failure to interpret dreams and visions underscores the ultimate inadequacy of such practices [[Daniel 4:7]].
* **Contrast with Divine Power:** Their inability to answer the king serves to exalt the power of God. Daniel makes it clear that what the king asks cannot be revealed by **magicians** or astrologers, but only by the God of heaven [[Daniel 2:27]].
* **Formal Court Position:** The existence of a "master of the **magicians**" shows they were not fringe practitioners but an integrated and official part of the royal Babylonian administration, yet they were powerless before God's mysteries [[Daniel 5:11]].
### Summary
In summary, `{{H2749}}` is a specific term for the **magicians** of the Babylonian court as depicted in the book of Daniel. The word is never used to describe a successful practitioner; instead, it consistently denotes a class of royal advisors whose expertise fails when confronted with matters of divine origin. Their presence in the narrative serves to highlight the futility of human occultism and to magnify the supreme wisdom and power of God as revealed through His prophets.
TRV