JANNES (Gk. Iánnēs)

An opponent of Moses along with Jambres, and a model of those “of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith” who “oppose the truth

was one of the two Egyptian magicians—the other one was Jambres—who reproduced the miracle performed by Moses and Aaron of converting their rods to serpents in front of Pharaoh (Exodus 7:11).

1 an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is not in accordance with a generally accepted reality.

Delusions are usually classified as bizarre (fragmented, poorly formed ideas) or systematized (fixed, elaborate ideas related to a few false beliefs). Bizarre delusions, such as “someone removed my heart and replaced it with an alien’s heart,” are usually associated with schizophrenia. Systematized delusions, such as “the FBI is monitoring me,” are usually associated with delusional disorder or paranoid personality disorder. Bizarre delusions generally respond better to treatment (medication and a structured, therapeutic environment), while systematized delusions are often refractory to treatment.

After these things had happened, this is what followed. A man named Naboth owned a vineyard in Jezreel, near the palace of Ahab king of Israel. One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard. It is near my palace, and I want to make it into a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in its place, or, if you prefer, I will pay you what it is worth.”

Naboth answered, “May the LORD keep me from ever giving my land to you. It belongs to my family.”

Ahab went home angry and upset, because he did not like what Naboth from Jezreel had said. (Naboth had said, “I will not give you my family’s land.”) Ahab lay down on his bed, turned his face to the wall, and refused to eat.

His wife, Jezebel, came in and asked him, “Why are you so upset that you refuse to eat?”

Ahab answered, “I talked to Naboth, the man from Jezreel. I said, ‘Sell me your vineyard, or, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ But Naboth refused.”

Jezebel answered, “Is this how you rule as king over Israel? Get up, eat something, and cheer up. I will get Naboth’s vineyard for you.”

So Jezebel wrote some letters, signed Ahab’s name to them, and used his own seal to seal them. Then she sent them to the elders and important men who lived in Naboth’s town. The letter she wrote said: “Declare a day during which the people are to fast. Call the people together, and give Naboth a place of honor among them. Seat two troublemakers across from him, and have them say they heard Naboth speak against God and the king. Then take Naboth out of the city and kill him with stones.”

The elders and important men of Jezreel obeyed Jezebel’s command, just as she wrote in the letters. They declared a special day on which the people were to fast. And they put Naboth in a place of honor before the people. Two troublemakers sat across from Naboth and said in front of everybody that they had heard him speak against God and the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city and killed him with stones. Then the leaders sent a message to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been killed.”

When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been killed, she told Ahab, “Naboth of Jezreel is dead. Now you may go and take for yourself the vineyard he would not sell to you.” When Ahab heard that Naboth of Jezreel was dead, he got up and went to the vineyard to take it for his own.

At this time the LORD spoke his word to the prophet Elijah the Tishbite. The LORD said, “Go to Ahab king of Israel in Samaria. He is at Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take it as his own. Tell Ahab that I, the LORD, say to him, ‘You have murdered Naboth and taken his land. So I tell you this: In the same place the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, they will also lick up your blood!’ ”

When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, “So you have found me, my enemy!”

Elijah answered, “Yes, I have found you. You have always chosen to do what the LORD says is wrong. So the LORD says to you, ‘I will soon destroy you. I will kill you and every male in your family, both slave and free. Your family will be like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah. I will destroy you, because you have made me angry and have led the people of Israel to sin.’

“And the LORD also says, ‘Dogs will eat the body of Jezebel in the city of Jezreel.’

“Anyone in your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds.”

There was no one like Ahab who had chosen so often to do what the LORD said was wrong, because his wife Jezebel influenced him to do evil.

At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard the reports about Jesus. So he said to his servants, “Jesus is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why he can work these miracles.”

Sometime before this, Herod had arrested John, tied him up, and put him into prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, who had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to be married to Herodias.” Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they believed John was a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and his guests, and she pleased him. So he promised with an oath to give her anything she wanted. Herodias told her daughter what to ask for, so she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” Although King Herod was very sad, he had made a promise, and his dinner guests had heard him. So Herod ordered that what she asked for be done. He sent soldiers to the prison to cut off John’s head. And they brought it on a platter and gave it to the girl, and she took it to her mother. John’s followers came and got his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.