Greek word · G2389

Ἰαννῆς

iannēs

Jannes

Personal names. The Hebrew Bible never names Pharaoh's magicians (Exod 7:11, 22; 8:7, 18–19; 9:11). By the late Second Temple period, though, Jewish tradition had given them names, and the names circulated widely.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

Ἰαννῆς, ὁ

Jannes (cf. Ἰαμβρῆς): 2 Timothy 3:8.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Timothy 3:8

Range of meaning

Personal names. The Hebrew Bible never names Pharaoh's magicians (Exod 7:11, 22; 8:7, 18–19; 9:11). By the late Second Temple period, though, Jewish tradition had given them names, and the names circulated widely.

Against the English

English versions all simply transliterate the names, so nothing is lost in translation. What is lost is the reader's awareness that the names come from tradition outside the Old Testament, not from Exodus itself.

Used elsewhere in the period
  • Damascus Document (CD 5:17–19, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls): "Moses and Aaron arose by the hand of the Prince of Lights, and Belial raised up Yoḥanah and his brother". This is the earliest Jewish form, before Paul.
  • Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (an Aramaic paraphrase of the Torah) on Exod 1:15 and 7:11: "Yannis and Yambris".
  • Babylonian Talmud, Menahot 85a: "Yoḥana and Mamre" mock Moses.
  • Pagan writers knew Jannes too. Pliny the Elder (Natural History 30.2.11) lists "Iannes" with Moses as famous magicians. The philosopher Numenius, quoted by Eusebius (Preparation for the Gospel 9.8), names "Jannes and Jambres" as Egyptian sacred scribes who opposed Moses. Apuleius (Apology 90) also names Iohannes.
  • A book about them: Origen mentions a writing called Jannes and Jambres, and the Gelasian Decree lists a "Repentance of Jamnes and Mambres". Papyrus fragments of this work survive (edited by A. Pietersma, 1994).

Where it appears

2 Timothy · 1

  1. 2 Timothy 3:8 Ἰάννης Jannes

    Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.

    Here: Name given in Jewish (and some pagan) tradition to one of Pharaoh's magicians, who are unnamed in Exodus 7–9. Readers would have known him as the archetype of the court sorcerer who opposed Moses.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.