Clivedurdle

BBC Series on about Alexander. I did not realise he traipsed through Palestine before founding Alexandria, and on his way fought a Persian named Darius. Alexander was also a son of God.

Is Alexander mentioned in the Hebrew Bible or New Testament?

Anyone discussed any effects of Alexander on Judaism and xianity?

graymouser

I ran a search on bible.gospelcom.net and found no mention of Alexander of Macedon in the Bible (search on English versions); not sure if there might be something in the apocrypha / deuterocanonicals on him.

Alexander has a few parallels to Jesus - messianic figure, son of God, young death - but while Alexander was a major figure for Hellenistic kings to pattern themselves upon, there's little about Jesus that seems directly based on the life of Alexander. However, as the bringer of Hellenism to the whole Mediterranean world, Alexander definitely had an indirect influence on Judaism and Christianity inasmuch as they reflect Hellenistic thought and elements of Greek culture that were imported into the religions. I know many consider Christianity to be a Hellenized Judaism, and thus this impact would be considerable.

-Wayne

Vivisector

There's a little on him in 1 Maccabees.

V.

Clivedurdle

Bit like writing about the second world war without mentioning Hitler then?

Julius Caesar has been mentioned as a prototype of Jesus - what if its not goddidit but Alexanderdidit!

graymouser

Something like that, yes. Alexander was the pre-eminent king figure of his time (the Roman Emperors were something of an outgrowth of the Hellenistic monarch, who themselves were modeled on Alexander), and ignoring him would be unjustified. His historical impact was epoch-forming. But, as a model for Jesus, I'm skeptical; not much about Jesus seems at all similar to the folk mythology surrounding Alexander as we see in documents like The Greek Alexander Romance of Pseudo-Callisthenes.

-Wayne

Diogenes the Cynic

Jesus' traditional age at death may have come from Alexandrian legend. Alexander died at 33.

Julian

Alexander is mentioned in Daniel, symbolically as the one horn which splits into four. The four horns being the four generals who inherited Alexander's conquest. Daniel specifically focuses on the horn which represents the Seleucid presence, of course.

Julian

dongiovanni1976x

Alexander's impact on the Jewish people and as a direct result, the Bible as well, was very significant. The Jews, having returned from the Babylonian captivity by order of Darius the Persian, went about rebuilding their temple and assimilating with the local population that had taken up residence in their absence.
The competition between the returnees and the indigenous populace caused economic strain and its concomitant suffering. More and more Jews found it difficult (economically) to assist with the rebuilding and ultimately not worth their while. It was around this time that the book of Job was believe to be written. It was a story about a man who kept God’s commandments even in the face of every possible hardship. This led to doubts about following the Law of Moses unless there was some “reward� (e.g. an afterlife) for which keeping the commandments would be beneficial.
When Alexander burst onto the scene in the early 4th century BC, he brought with him a weapon far more powerful than any sword- Greek culture.
The materialism of Greek culture had such a profound affect on the Jewish people that in order to save their own identity and not be assimilated into it, a handful of zealots chose to resist (This story is recounted in the book of Maccabees).
Their fight, against Antiochus IV (one of the successors of Alexander’s generals), was the first recorded event of a people choosing to fight, and willing to die for their religious beliefs, in the history of the world. The brief victory the Jews had over the Seleucids, is the foundation of Hanukkah.
But more importantly, the agreement made between the Maccabees and the Seleucids established the independence of the Jews for the first time since King Josiah- or the lineage of David. Thus when the Romans came and incorporated them into their Republic/Empire, messianic prophecies of a “new David/Maccabean leader� were entertained by a large number of Jews.
Hence Alexander and his legacy impacted not only Judaism, but the foundation of Christianity as well.

Clivedurdle

Can anyone help here? I thought Alexander defeated Darius, so why did Darius allow the return from captivity? Wasn't it Alexander who allowed this major change point in Jewish history?

Benni72

Wasn't it Darius I who allowed the return (or confirmed a Cyrus' decree on the subject), rather than the much later Darius III, the rival of Alexander?