His father, Boldizsár Jeszenszky de Nagyjeszen, left Turóc County (today the Turiec region in Slovakia) because of the Ottomans' military campaign against Upper Hungary and settled down in Silesia in 1555.

After 1600 he settled down in Prague as professor and anatomical consultant for Rudolf II, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor.

In 1618, Jesenius was arrested in Pressburg (Bratislava) after being sent as a deputy by the Bohemian estates, and was held in a prison of Vienna.

Ferdinand explained this as Imperator Mathias Mense Martio Morietur (Latin for "Emperor Mathias will die in the month of March"), and he wrote another prophecy next to it: Iesseni, Mentiris, Mala Morte Morieris ("Jesenius, you lie, you will die a horrible death").

Jesenius was honored during the 450th anniversary of his birth (2016) by a postage stamp jointly issued by Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, & Slovakia.