Apocrypha
Jannes and Jambres
Magicians of Egypt
1 chapter · read and listen
Reading note
An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. Published here from a public-domain translation, edited for continuous reading.
Chapters
Dossier
The story of the two magicians who opposed Moses before Pharaoh — named here, though not in Exodus — and what became of them afterwards.
Where this text comes from
Fragments in Greek, Latin and Coptic, of uncertain date, probably from the early centuries of the Christian era. What remains is little and disconnected.
Why it is not in the Bible
Outside the canons, but with a mark in the New Testament: 2 Timothy 3:8 names Jannes and Jambres as those who resisted Moses. Exodus does not name them — the letter is drawing on an extrabiblical tradition, which is what this text preserves.
What you will find
- Jambres summons his dead brother from the beyond, and the dead man describes his own punishment.
- The confession of defeat before the power of Moses, spoken by the magicians themselves.
- The fragmentary state is part of the reading: the text jumps and returns.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Jannes and Jambres in the Bible?
- The names appear in 2 Timothy 3:8, but not in Exodus, which speaks only of Pharaoh's magicians. The letter draws on a Jewish tradition circulating outside the Bible, preserved in this text.