Texts in Conversation
The Damascus Document from the Dead Sea Scrolls recalls how Moses and Aaron were opposed by the magicians Jannes and Jambres, whose names are not found in the Hebrew Bible. 2 Timothy follows this Jewish tradition in referring to Jannes and Jambres.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
CD 5:17
Damascus Document
Dead Sea Scrolls, Sectarian and Community Texts
13 they speak against them. All of them are kindlers of fire and lighters of brands; webs of 14 a spider are their webs, and eggs of vipers are their eggs. Whoever comes near them 15 will not be held innocent; the more he does so, the guiltier he is, unless he was forced. For from of old 16 God visited their works, and his anger burned against their deeds, for it is not a people of understanding. 17 They are a nation lacking counsel, because there is no understanding in them. For in ancient times there arose 18 Moses and Aaron by the hand of the Prince of Lights, and Belial raised up Jannes and 19 his brother in his cunning, when Israel was saved the first time.
Date: 100–80 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
2 Timothy 3:8
New Testament
6 For some of these insinuate themselves into households and captivate weak women who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. 7 Such women are always seeking instruction, yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people—who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith—also oppose the truth. 9 But they will not go much further, for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.
Date: 70–80 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Tags:
Search:
Notes and References
"... The Damascus Document recounts deliverance from Egypt and appears to associate it with exile. Language of exile coincides with a negative view of the Jerusalem cult and her priests. Significant for the present conversation, column V describes a “first” deliverance from Egypt which seems to imply a second exodus. Also in this column, lines 17–19 tell of a nation that lacks understanding and is “devoid of counsel,” which is followed by an account of former times when Moses and Aaron were raised up by the Prince of Lights. Belial in his mischief, however, raised up Jannes and his brother at the time of the first deliverance of Israel. This scene of Moses and Aaron encountering a twin nemesis is compared in the lines to follow (20–21) with a period of the destruction of the land. This is a time when boundary shifters who caused Israel to stray came. The extra-biblical characters Jannes and his brother Jambres are Pharaoh’s magicians who oppose Moses and Aaron in the story of the plagues. They are described in 2 Timothy 3:8 as fools who defied the truth. The period of the “destruction of the land” is likely an allusion to captivity and perhaps more specifically to Leviticus 26:32 ..."
Benjamin G. Wold, “Revelation's Plague Septets: New Exodus and Exile,” in Echoes from the Caves: Qumran and the New Testament, ed. Florentino García Martínez, STDJ 85 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 279–297.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,