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. Rabbinic tradition in tractate Menachot incorporates this early Jewish tradition.
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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.
Menachot 85a
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
§ The mishna states: And all meal offerings come only from the optimal produce. One of the places the mishna mentions as having good-quality produce is Aforayim. The superior quality of its produce was so well known that Aforayim was used as an example in colloquial aphorisms. In Moses and Aaron’s first meeting with Pharaoh, Aaron cast his staff to the ground, whereupon it turned into a serpent. Pharaoh’s necromancers then duplicated the feat using their incantations, only to then be confounded when Aaron’s staff swallowed up all of theirs (see Exodus 7:10–12). The Gemara relates the conversation that took place: Pharaoh’s two leading necromancers, Yoḥana and Mamre, said to Moses: Are you are bringing straw to Afarayim? Performing necromancy in Egypt, the world leader in sorcery, is like bringing straw to Afarayim, which is rich in the finest grains. Moses said to them: It is as people say: To a city rich in herbs, take herbs. If you want to guarantee that people will appreciate your merchandise, bring it to a place where they are familiar with it.
Date: 450–550 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... For 'Prince of Lights' vs. 'Angel of Darkness,' see 1QS 3.20—21 (and the note above to 2.3). For the Angel of Darkness as equivalent to Belial, see Melchizedek (11Q13). ... For the magicians Jannes and Jambres as Moses' opponents, see also b. Menachot 85a, etc.; A. Pietersma and R. T. Lutz, in OTP, vol. 2, pp. 427-442 ..."
Charlesworth, James H.
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek Texts with English Translations
(p. 21) Westminster John Knox Press, 1995
* 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.
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