commonly called the Great, son and successor of Philip, king
of Macedon, is denoted in the prophecies of Daniel by a leopard with
four wings, signifying his great strength, and the unusual rapidity of
his conquests, Dan. vii, 6; and by a one-horned he-goat running over the
earth so swiftly as not to touch it, attacking a ram with two horns,
overthrowing him, and trampling him under foot, without any being able
to rescue him, Dan. viii, 4–7. The he-goat prefigured Alexander; the
ram, Darius Codomannus, the last of the Persian kings. In the statue
beheld by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, Dan. ii, 39, the belly of brass
was the emblem of Alexander. He was appointed by God to destroy the
Persian empire, and to substitute in its room the Grecian monarchy.
Alexander succeeded his father Philip, A. M. 3668, and B. C. 336. He was
chosen, by the Greeks, general of their troops against the Persians, and
entered Asia at the head of thirty-four thousand men, A. M. 3670. In one
campaign, he subdued almost all Asia Minor; and afterward defeated, in
the narrow passes which led from Syria to Cilicia, the army of Darius,
which consisted of four hundred thousand foot, and one hundred thousand
horse. Darius fled, and left in the hands of the conqueror, his camp,
baggage, children, wife, and mother.
After subduing Syria, Alexander came to Tyre; and the Tyrians refusing
him entrance into their city, he besieged it. At the same time he wrote
to Jaddus, high priest of the Jews, that he expected to be acknowledged
by him, and to receive from him the same submission which had hitherto
been paid to the king of Persia. Jaddus refusing to comply under the
plea of having sworn fidelity to Darius, Alexander resolved to march
against Jerusalem, when he had reduced Tyre. After a long siege, this
city was taken and sacked; and Alexander entered Palestine, A. M. 3672,
and subjected it to his obedience. As he was marching against Jerusalem,
the Jews became greatly alarmed, and had recourse to prayers and
sacrifices. The Lord, in a dream, commanded Jaddus to open the gates to
the conqueror, and, at the head of his people, dressed in his pontifical
ornaments, and attended by the priests in their robes, to advance and
meet the Macedonian king. Jaddus obeyed; and Alexander perceiving this
company approaching, hastened toward the high priest, whom he saluted.
He then adored God, whose name was engraven on a thin plate of gold,
worn by the high priest upon his forehead. The kings of Syria who
accompanied him, and the great officers about Alexander, could not
comprehend the meaning of his conduct. Parmenio alone ventured to ask
him why he adored the Jewish high priest; Alexander replied, that he
paid this respect to God, and not to the high priest. “For,” added he,
“whilst I was yet in Macedonia, I saw the God of the Jews, who appeared
to me in the same form and dress as the high priest at present, and who
encouraged me and commanded me to march boldly into Asia, promising that
he would be my guide, and give me the empire of the Persians. As soon,
therefore, as I perceived this habit, I recollected the vision, and
understood that my undertaking was favoured by God, and that under his
protection I might expect prosperity.”
Having said this, Alexander accompanied Jaddus to Jerusalem, where he
offered sacrifices in the temple according to the directions of the high
priest. Jaddus is said to have showed him the prophecies of Daniel, in
which the destruction of the Persian empire by Alexander is declared.
The king was therefore confirmed in his opinion, that God had chosen him
to execute this great work. At his departure, Alexander bade the Jews
ask of him what they would. The high priest desired only the liberty of
living under his government according to their own laws, and an
exemption from tribute every seventh year, because in that year the Jews
neither tilled their grounds, nor reaped their fruits. With this request
Alexander readily complied.
Having left Jerusalem, Alexander visited other cities of Palestine, and
was every where received with great testimonies of friendship and
submission. The Samaritans who dwelt at Sichem, and were apostates from
the Jewish religion, observing how kindly Alexander had treated the
Jews, resolved to say that they also were by religion Jews. For it was
their practice, when they saw the affairs of the Jews in a prosperous
state, to boast that they were descended from Manasseh and Ephraim; but
when they thought it their interest to say the contrary, they failed not
to affirm, and even to swear, that they were not related to the Jews.
They came, therefore, with many demonstrations of joy, to meet
Alexander, as far almost as the territories of Jerusalem. Alexander
commended their zeal; and the Sichemites entreated him to visit their
temple and city. Alexander promised this at his return; but as they
petitioned him for the same privileges as the Jews, he asked them if
they were Jews. They replied, they were Hebrews, and were called by the
Phœnicians, Sichemites. Alexander said that he had granted this
exemption only to the Jews, but that at his return he would inquire into
the affair, and do them justice.
This prince having conquered Egypt, and regulated it, gave orders for
the building of the city of Alexandria, and departed thence, about
spring, in pursuit of Darius. Passing through Palestine, he was informed
that the Samaritans, in a general insurrection, had killed Andromachus,
governor of Syria and Palestine, who had come to Samaria to regulate
some affairs. This action greatly incensed Alexander, who loved
Andromachus. He therefore commanded all those who were concerned in his
murder to be put to death, and the rest to be banished from Samaria; and
settled a colony of Macedonians in their room. What remained of their
lands he gave to the Jews, and exempted them from the payment of
tribute. The Samaritans who escaped this calamity, retired to Sichem, at
the foot of mount Gerizim, which afterward became their capital. Lest
the eight thousand men of this nation, who were in the service of
Alexander, and had accompanied him since the siege of Tyre, if permitted
to return to their own country, should renew the spirit of rebellion, he
sent them into Thebais, the most remote southern province of Egypt,
where he assigned them lands.
Alexander, after defeating Darius in a pitched battle, and subduing all
Asia and the Indies with incredible rapidity, gave himself up to
intemperance. Having drunk to excess, he fell sick and died, after he
had obliged “all the world to be quiet before him,” 1 Macc. i, 3. Being
sensible that his end was near, he sent for the grandees of his court,
and declared that “he gave the empire to the most deserving.” Some
affirm that he regulated the succession by a will. The author of the
first book of Maccabees says, that he divided his kingdom among his
generals while he was living, 1 Macc. i, 7. This he might do; or he
might express his foresight of what actually took place after his death.
It is certain, that a partition was made of Alexander’s dominions among
the four principal officers of his army, and that the empire which he
founded in Asia subsisted for many ages. Alexander died, A. M. 3684, and
B. C. 323, in the thirty-third year of his age, and the twelfth of his
reign. The above particulars of Alexander are here introduced because,
from his invasion of Palestine, the intercourse of the Jews with the
Greeks became intimate, and influenced many events of their subsequent
history.
On the account above given of the interview between Alexander and the
Jewish high priest, by Josephus, many doubts have been cast by critics.
But the sudden change of his feelings toward them, and the favour with
which the nation was treated by him, render the story not improbable.
of Macedon, is denoted in the prophecies of Daniel by a leopard with
four wings, signifying his great strength, and the unusual rapidity of
his conquests, Dan. vii, 6; and by a one-horned he-goat running over the
earth so swiftly as not to touch it, attacking a ram with two horns,
overthrowing him, and trampling him under foot, without any being able
to rescue him, Dan. viii, 4–7. The he-goat prefigured Alexander; the
ram, Darius Codomannus, the last of the Persian kings. In the statue
beheld by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, Dan. ii, 39, the belly of brass
was the emblem of Alexander. He was appointed by God to destroy the
Persian empire, and to substitute in its room the Grecian monarchy.
Alexander succeeded his father Philip, A. M. 3668, and B. C. 336. He was
chosen, by the Greeks, general of their troops against the Persians, and
entered Asia at the head of thirty-four thousand men, A. M. 3670. In one
campaign, he subdued almost all Asia Minor; and afterward defeated, in
the narrow passes which led from Syria to Cilicia, the army of Darius,
which consisted of four hundred thousand foot, and one hundred thousand
horse. Darius fled, and left in the hands of the conqueror, his camp,
baggage, children, wife, and mother.
After subduing Syria, Alexander came to Tyre; and the Tyrians refusing
him entrance into their city, he besieged it. At the same time he wrote
to Jaddus, high priest of the Jews, that he expected to be acknowledged
by him, and to receive from him the same submission which had hitherto
been paid to the king of Persia. Jaddus refusing to comply under the
plea of having sworn fidelity to Darius, Alexander resolved to march
against Jerusalem, when he had reduced Tyre. After a long siege, this
city was taken and sacked; and Alexander entered Palestine, A. M. 3672,
and subjected it to his obedience. As he was marching against Jerusalem,
the Jews became greatly alarmed, and had recourse to prayers and
sacrifices. The Lord, in a dream, commanded Jaddus to open the gates to
the conqueror, and, at the head of his people, dressed in his pontifical
ornaments, and attended by the priests in their robes, to advance and
meet the Macedonian king. Jaddus obeyed; and Alexander perceiving this
company approaching, hastened toward the high priest, whom he saluted.
He then adored God, whose name was engraven on a thin plate of gold,
worn by the high priest upon his forehead. The kings of Syria who
accompanied him, and the great officers about Alexander, could not
comprehend the meaning of his conduct. Parmenio alone ventured to ask
him why he adored the Jewish high priest; Alexander replied, that he
paid this respect to God, and not to the high priest. “For,” added he,
“whilst I was yet in Macedonia, I saw the God of the Jews, who appeared
to me in the same form and dress as the high priest at present, and who
encouraged me and commanded me to march boldly into Asia, promising that
he would be my guide, and give me the empire of the Persians. As soon,
therefore, as I perceived this habit, I recollected the vision, and
understood that my undertaking was favoured by God, and that under his
protection I might expect prosperity.”
Having said this, Alexander accompanied Jaddus to Jerusalem, where he
offered sacrifices in the temple according to the directions of the high
priest. Jaddus is said to have showed him the prophecies of Daniel, in
which the destruction of the Persian empire by Alexander is declared.
The king was therefore confirmed in his opinion, that God had chosen him
to execute this great work. At his departure, Alexander bade the Jews
ask of him what they would. The high priest desired only the liberty of
living under his government according to their own laws, and an
exemption from tribute every seventh year, because in that year the Jews
neither tilled their grounds, nor reaped their fruits. With this request
Alexander readily complied.
Having left Jerusalem, Alexander visited other cities of Palestine, and
was every where received with great testimonies of friendship and
submission. The Samaritans who dwelt at Sichem, and were apostates from
the Jewish religion, observing how kindly Alexander had treated the
Jews, resolved to say that they also were by religion Jews. For it was
their practice, when they saw the affairs of the Jews in a prosperous
state, to boast that they were descended from Manasseh and Ephraim; but
when they thought it their interest to say the contrary, they failed not
to affirm, and even to swear, that they were not related to the Jews.
They came, therefore, with many demonstrations of joy, to meet
Alexander, as far almost as the territories of Jerusalem. Alexander
commended their zeal; and the Sichemites entreated him to visit their
temple and city. Alexander promised this at his return; but as they
petitioned him for the same privileges as the Jews, he asked them if
they were Jews. They replied, they were Hebrews, and were called by the
Phœnicians, Sichemites. Alexander said that he had granted this
exemption only to the Jews, but that at his return he would inquire into
the affair, and do them justice.
This prince having conquered Egypt, and regulated it, gave orders for
the building of the city of Alexandria, and departed thence, about
spring, in pursuit of Darius. Passing through Palestine, he was informed
that the Samaritans, in a general insurrection, had killed Andromachus,
governor of Syria and Palestine, who had come to Samaria to regulate
some affairs. This action greatly incensed Alexander, who loved
Andromachus. He therefore commanded all those who were concerned in his
murder to be put to death, and the rest to be banished from Samaria; and
settled a colony of Macedonians in their room. What remained of their
lands he gave to the Jews, and exempted them from the payment of
tribute. The Samaritans who escaped this calamity, retired to Sichem, at
the foot of mount Gerizim, which afterward became their capital. Lest
the eight thousand men of this nation, who were in the service of
Alexander, and had accompanied him since the siege of Tyre, if permitted
to return to their own country, should renew the spirit of rebellion, he
sent them into Thebais, the most remote southern province of Egypt,
where he assigned them lands.
Alexander, after defeating Darius in a pitched battle, and subduing all
Asia and the Indies with incredible rapidity, gave himself up to
intemperance. Having drunk to excess, he fell sick and died, after he
had obliged “all the world to be quiet before him,” 1 Macc. i, 3. Being
sensible that his end was near, he sent for the grandees of his court,
and declared that “he gave the empire to the most deserving.” Some
affirm that he regulated the succession by a will. The author of the
first book of Maccabees says, that he divided his kingdom among his
generals while he was living, 1 Macc. i, 7. This he might do; or he
might express his foresight of what actually took place after his death.
It is certain, that a partition was made of Alexander’s dominions among
the four principal officers of his army, and that the empire which he
founded in Asia subsisted for many ages. Alexander died, A. M. 3684, and
B. C. 323, in the thirty-third year of his age, and the twelfth of his
reign. The above particulars of Alexander are here introduced because,
from his invasion of Palestine, the intercourse of the Jews with the
Greeks became intimate, and influenced many events of their subsequent
history.
On the account above given of the interview between Alexander and the
Jewish high priest, by Josephus, many doubts have been cast by critics.
But the sudden change of his feelings toward them, and the favour with
which the nation was treated by him, render the story not improbable.