What harm did Alexandar the great cause to Jews during his reign?

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2004

Answers

I heard that Jews have a legend that Alexander was very respectful of the Jewish high priest when he met him and even prostrated before him. It might be an exaggeration but I am inclined to believe that Alexander must indeed have been very kind to Jews since they agreed to reward his kindness by naming all the newborn male babies during the year he crossed their land by his name, that is "Alexander". This is a Jewish legend which may not be exactly true. Yet, one of the Jewish prophets, Daniel, had long predicted the coming of Alexander in most bright colors. It is interesting that all the people who lived in that area were usually called Phoenicians by the contemporaries and historians.

-- Anonymous, March 14, 2004

Alexander had little or no conception of what a "jew" was and did not have any conciously-formed relationship with them. They just happened to be there at the time he was reducing Tyre and marching on Egypt. In that way they closely resembled Samaritans and Philistines - rather more like speedbumps than like obstacles in hs path.

Consequently, any harm Alexander may have caused the jews was like the harm WalMart caused the local pet store when they built a megastore near Emporium, Kansas. Which is to say, the jews never crossed Alexander's mind for more than a few hours of his life at most. He had bigger fish to fry.

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2004