Alexander in Jewish Mythology

6 myths

Each story names the sources it was written from.

Myth 4 min

Alexander Lay Dying and Divided the World He Had Taken

He had silenced the earth, lifted his heart, and taken the ends of the world. Then he fell into bed in Babylon and gave everything away.

DeathMaccabeesAlexanderEmpireApocryphaWarAllianceRomeSecond Temple
Myth 5 min

The Eye That Outweighed Alexander's Entire Treasury

Alexander followed a fragrant stream to the end of the earth, reached the gate of Eden, and was turned away with a bone and a riddle.

AlexanderGarden Of EdenAngelsWisdomMoralityTalmud
Myth 7 min

Alexander Bowed to the High Priest He Had Already Seen in a Dream

Jaddua had sworn not to fight Darius. Alexander came to punish him. He went down in the dust before the Name on the gold.

AlexanderHigh PriestTempleDreamsSimeon The JustJosephusJerusalem
Myth 7 min

Alexander Reached for Heaven and Sank Toward the Deep

Jaddua would not break his oath to Darius. Alexander marched up from Gaza to punish him. He bowed to the Name cut in gold on the priest's mitre.

AlexanderKingsHumilitySeaWisdom
Parshat Ki Teitzei 7 min

Three Empires Reached the Temple and One Asked for a Statue Inside It

Alexander offered gold for a statue of himself between the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies. The High Priest offered him a generation of children instead.

Chronicles Of JerahmeelCyrusAlexanderRomeMaccabeesHistory
Parshat Emor 6 min

Alexander Watched Justice That Would Not Kill

Gold apples, gold pomegranates, gold loaves. Alexander asked if they ate metal here. The king fed him a verdict that left two honest men alive.

AlexanderJusticeAfricaTreasureHeaven