Today I got curious about these names – Jannes and Jambres. Kept seeing them mentioned in discussions but couldn’t place them clearly. So I decided to dig in myself.
Grabbed My Bible First
Opened my physical Bible, started flipping through Exodus. Moses, Aaron, Pharaoh, the plagues – all there. But nowhere did it actually say their names. Scratched my head. Checked the footnotes. Nope. Felt like I was missing something obvious.
Then I remembered Paul’s letters. Pulled out Second Timothy on my tablet this time. Read Chapter 3 slowly. Boom. Found it! Verse 8 straight up calls them out: “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth.” That was the only direct mention. It really bugged me why their names didn’t show in Exodus itself.
Dug Into The Backstory
Started searching online commentaries. Turns out, tradition links them to Pharaoh’s magicians. You know, the guys in Exodus 7 who threw down their staffs and turned ’em into snakes? Pretty sure they’re the ones who later failed to copy the plague stuff. Remember the gnats? They waved their rods, muttered nonsense, but couldn’t make bugs appear. Said to Pharaoh, “Nope, this is God’s finger,” then vanished from the story.
- Opposition: Went toe-to-toe with Moses early on.
- Fake Power: Could copy minor tricks but collapsed against real divine stuff.
- Disappeared: Once plagues got serious, they flaked. Couldn’t handle reality.
Funny thing: they’re only mentioned by name ONCE in the whole Bible. But everyone assumes they’re those magicians. Left me scratching my head about how tradition fills gaps like that.
Putting It Together
Recorded my notes messy style: Paul used ’em as a warning. Represented folks who talk big but crumble when truth punches ’em in the mouth. Weak. Fake. Ultimately useless.
Wrapped up realizing: not every biblical character screams for attention. Sometimes the quiet ones teach you the loudest lessons about resisting truth.
