Difference between revisions of "Alexander"

<p> '''1.''' [[Alexander The Great]]  Born at Pella, 356 B.C., son of Philip, king of Macedon; not named, but described prophetically: "an he-goat" '')Symbol Of Ogility, The Graeco-Macedonian Empire)'' coming from the W. on the face of the whole earth and not touching the ground ''(Implying The [[Incredible]] Swiftness Of His Conquests)'' ; and the goat had A [[Notable Horn]]  ''(Alexander)'' between his eyes, and he came to the ram that had two horns ''(Media And Persia, The Second Great World Kingdom, The Successor Of Babylon; Under Both Daniel [[Prophesied]] Long Before The [[Rise]] Of The Macedon-Greek Kingdom)'' standing before the river ''(At The River Granicus Alexander [[Gained]] His First [[Victory]] Over Darius Codomanus, 334 B.C.)'' and ran unto him in the fury of his power, moved with choler against him ''(On Account Of The Persian Invasions Of [[Greece]] And Cruelties To The Greeks)'' , and smote the ram and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand: therefore the he-goat waxed very great, and when he was strong the great horn was broken, and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven" (&nbsp;Daniel 8:5-8). </p> <p> The "he-goat" answers to the "leopard" (&nbsp;Daniel 7:6) whose "wings" similarly marked the winged rapidity of the Greek conquest of Persia. In 331 B.C. Alexander finally defeated Darius, and in 330 burned Persepolis, the Persian capital. None, not even the million composing the Persian hosts, could deliver the ram, Persia, out of his hand. But "when he was strong, the great horn [[Alexander]] was broken." The Graeco-Macedonian empire was in full strength at Alexander's death by fever, the result of drunken excesses, at Babylon. At the time it seemed least likely to fall it was "broken." Alexander's natural brother, [[Philip]] Aridaeus, and his two sons Alexander AEgus and Hercules, in 15 months were murdered; "and for it ''The He-Goat'' came up four notable ones, toward the four winds of heaven": [[Seleucus]] in the E. obtained Syria, Babylonia, Mede-Persia; [[Cassander]] in the W. Macedon, Thessaly, Greece; [[Ptolemy]] in the S. Egypt, Cyprus, etc.; [[Lysimachus]] in the N. Thrace, Cappadocia, and the northern regions of Asia Minor. </p> <p> The" leopard" is smaller than the "lion" (&nbsp;Daniel 7:4; &nbsp;Daniel 7:6); swift (&nbsp;Habakkuk 1:8), cruel (&nbsp;Isaiah 11:6), springing suddenly on its prey (&nbsp;Hosea 13:7). So Alexander, king of a small kingdom, overcame Darius at the head of an empire extending from the AEgean sea to the Indies, and in 12 years attained the rule from the Adriatic to the Ganges. Hence the leopard has four wings, whereas the lion (Babylon) had but two. The "spots" imply the variety of nations incorporated, perhaps also the variability of Alexander's own character, by turns mild and cruel, temperate and drunken and licentious. "Dominion was given to it" by God, not by Alexander's own might; for how unlikely it was that 30,000 men should overthrow hundreds of thousands. [[Josephus]] (Ant. 11:8, section 5) says that Alexander meeting the high priest [[Jaddua]] (&nbsp;Nehemiah 12:11-22) said that at Dium in [[Macedonia]] he had a divine vision so habited, inviting him to Asia and promising him success. </p> <p> Jaddua met him at Gapha (Mizpeh) at the head of a procession of priests and citizens in white. Alexander at the sight of the linen arrayed priests, and the high priest in blue and gold with the miter and gold plate on his head bearing Jehovah's name, adored it, and embraced him; and having been shown Daniel's prophecies concerning him, he sacrificed to God in the court of the temple, and granted the Jews liberty to live according to their own laws, and freedom from tribute in the sabbatical years. The story is doubted, from its not being alluded to in secular histories: Arrian, Plutarch, Diodorus, Curtius. But their silence may be accounted for, as they notoriously despised the Jews. The main fact is strongly probable. It accords with Alexander's character of believing himself divinely chosen for the great mission of Greece to the civilized world, to join the east and west in a union of equality, with [[Babylon]] as the capital. </p> <p> "Many kings of the East met him wearing (linen) fillets" (Justin). Jews were in his army. Jews were a strong element in the population of that city which he founded and which still bears his name, Alexandria. The remission of tribute every sabbatical year existed in later times, and the story best explains the privilege. When [[Aristotle]] urged him to treat the Greeks as freemen and the Orientals as slaves, he declared that "his mission from God was to be the more fit together and reconciler of the whole world in its several parts." Arrian says: "Alexander was like no other man, and could not have been given to the world without the special interposition of God." </p> <p> He was the providential instrument of breaking down the barrier wall between kingdom and kingdom, of bringing the contemplative east and the energetic west into mutually beneficial contact. The Greek language, that most perfect medium of human thought, became widely diffused, so that a Greek version of the Old [[Testament]] was needed and made (the Septuagint) for the Greek speaking Jews at [[Alexandria]] and elsewhere in a succeeding generation; and the fittest lingual vehicle for imparting the New Testament to mankind soon came to be the language generally known by the cultivated of every land. [[Commerce]] followed the breaking down of national exclusiveness, and everywhere the Jews had their synagogues for prayer and reading of the Old Testament in the leading cities. preparing the way and the place for the proclamation of the gospel, which rests on the Old Testament, to the Jews first, and then to the Gentiles. </p> <p> '''2.''' Son of Simon of [[Cyrene]] (&nbsp;Mark 15:21). He and his brother [[Rufus]] are spoken of as well known in the [[Christian]] church. </p> <p> '''3.''' A kinsman of [[Annas]] the high priest (&nbsp;Acts 4:6); supposed the same as Alexander the alabarch (governor of the Jews) at Alexandria, brother of Philo-Judaeus, an ancient friend of the emperor Claudius. </p> <p> '''4.''' A Jew whom the Jews put forward during Demetrius' riot at [[Ephesus]] to plead their cause before the mob who suspected that the Jews were joined with the [[Christians]] in seeking to overthrow Diana's worship (&nbsp;Acts 19:33). Calvin thought him a convert to [[Christianity]] from Judaism, whom the Jews would have sacrificed as a victim to the fury of the rabble. </p> <p> '''5.''' The coppersmith at Ephesus who did Paul much evil. Paul had previously "delivered him to Satan" (the lord of all outside the church) (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 5:5; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 12:7), i.e. excommunicated, because he withstood the apostle, and made shipwreck of faith and of good conscience, and even blasphemed, with Hymenaeus. The excommunication often brought with it temporal judgment, as sickness, to bring the excommunicated to repentance (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:20; &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:14-15). </p>

<p> (Ἀλέξανδρος, ‘helper of men’) </p> <p> This name is found in the NT in five different connexions, and possibly designates as many different individuals. </p> <p> <b> 1. </b> The son of Simon of Cyrene, who bore the cross to [[Calvary]] (&nbsp;Mark 15:21), and the brother of Rufus. In all probability Alexander and his brother were well-known and honoured men in the Church of Rome (cf. &nbsp;Romans 16:13 and articleRufus), to which the [[Gospel]] of Mark was addressed, as St. Mark identifiés the father by a reference to the sons. We may regard the allusion as an interesting instance of the sons being blessed for the father’s sake. </p> <p> <b> 2. </b> A leader of the priestly party in [[Jerusalem]] at the period subsequent to the death of Christ. After the healing of the impotent man we are told that Alexander was present at a meeting of the Jewish authorities along with Annas, Caiaphas, and John, and ‘as many as were of the kindred of the high priest’ (&nbsp;Acts 4:6). It is probable, though not quite certain, that this indicates that Alexander belonged to the high-priestly class; and it is impossible to identify him with Alexander the ‘alabarch’ of Alexandria and brother of Philo. </p> <p> <b> 3. </b> A leading member of the Jewish community at Ephesus (&nbsp;Acts 19:33), who was put forward by the Jews at the time of the [[Ephesian]] riot to clear themselves of any complicity with St. Paul or his teaching, but whom the mob refused to hear. He may have been one of the ‘craftsmen,’ though on the whole it is unlikely that a Jew would have any connexion with the production of the symbols of idolatry. There are, however, slight variations in the Manuscriptsof &nbsp;Acts 19:33, and different views have been taken with regard to Alexander and the intention of the Jews. Meyer holds that Alexander was a Jewish Christian who was put forward maliciously by the Jews in the hope that he might be sacrificed (cf. <i> Com. in loco </i> ). The omission of τις, ‘a certain,’ before his name has been regarded as an indication that Alexander was a well-known man in Ephesus at the time. </p> <p> <b> 4. </b> A Christian convert and teacher, who along with [[Hymenaeus]] ( <i> q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] </i> ) and others apostatized from the faith, and was excommunicated by the [[Apostle]] Paul (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:19-20). </p> <p> <b> 5. </b> Alexander the coppersmith, who did St. Paul much evil and whom the Apostle desires to be rewarded according to his works (&nbsp;2 Timothy 4:14-15). This Alexander has been identified with both <b> 3 </b> and <b> 4. </b> We are able to gather certain facts regarding him which would seem to connect him with <b> 3. </b> -(1) His trade was that of a smith (see Coppersmith), a worker in metal, originally brass, but subsequently any other metal, which might associate him with the craftsmen of Ephesus. (2) The statement regarding him was addressed to Timothy, who was settled in Ephesus. On the other hand, we are told that Alexander greatly withstood St. Paul’s words-a reference which seems to indicate a bitter personal hostility between the two men, as well as controversial disputes on matters of doctrine which might rather connect him with <b> 4 </b> , the associate of Hymenaeus. It is possible that <b> 3, 4 </b> , and <b> 5 </b> may be the same person, but Alexander was a very common name, and the data are insufficient to allow of any certain identification. Those who hold the [[Epistles]] to Timothy to be non-Pauline regard the statement in &nbsp;Acts 19:33 as the basis of the references in the Epistles, but the only thing in common is the name, while there is no indication in Acts that Alexander had any personal connexion with St. Paul. </p> <p> Literature.-R. J. Knowling, <i> Expositor’s Greek Testament </i> , ‘Acts,’ 1900; Comm. of Meyer, Zeller, Holtzmann; W. M. Ramsay, <i> St. Paul </i> , 1895, p. 279; articles in <i> Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) </i> and <i> Encyclopaedia Biblica </i> . </p> <p> W. F. Boyd. </p>

<p> 1. The Great, the famous son and successor of Philip, king of Macedon. He is alluded to in &nbsp;Daniel 7:6 &nbsp; 8:4-7 , under the figures of a leopard with four wings, and a one-horned he-goat, representing the swiftness of his conquests and his great strength. He was appointed by God to destroy the Persian [[Empire]] and substitute the Grecian. In the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, &nbsp;Daniel 2:39 , the belly of brass was the emblem of Alexander. He succeeded his father B. C. 336, and within twelve years overran Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, founded Alexandria, conquered the Persians, and penetrated far into the Indies. He died at the age of thirty-two, from the effects of intemperance, and left his vast empire to be divided among his four generals. </p> <p> 2. Son of Simon the Cyrenian, &nbsp;Mark 15:21 , apparently one of the more prominent early Christians. </p> <p> 3. One of the council who condemned Peter and John, &nbsp;Acts 4:6 </p> <p> 4. A Jew of Ephesus, who sought in vain to quiet the popular commotion respecting Paul, &nbsp;Acts 4:6 </p> <p> 5. A coppersmith, and apostate from Christianity, &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:20 &nbsp; 2 Timothy 4:14 . </p>

<p> <strong> ALEXANDER </strong> . <strong> 1 </strong> . Son of Simon of Cyrene; like his brother Rufus, evidently a well-known man (&nbsp; Mark 15:21 only). <strong> 2 </strong> . One of the high-priestly family (&nbsp; Acts 4:6 ). <strong> 3 </strong> . The would-he spokesman of the Jews in the riot at Ephesus, which endangered them as well as the Christians (&nbsp; Acts 19:33 ); not improbably the same as the coppersmith (&nbsp; 2 Timothy 4:14 ) who did St. Paul ‘much evil,’ and who was probably an Ephesian Jew; possibly the same as the Alexander of &nbsp; 1 Timothy 1:20 (see Hymenæus), in which case we may regard him as an apostate Christian who had relapsed into Judaism. </p> <p> A. J. Maclean. </p>

<p> ''''' al ''''' - ''''' eg ''''' - ''''' zan´dẽr ''''' ( Ἀλέξανδρος , <i> ''''' Aléxandros ''''' </i> , literal meaning "defender of men." This word occurs five times in the New Testament, &nbsp;Mark 15:21; &nbsp;Acts 4:6; &nbsp;Acts 19:33; &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:19 , &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:20; &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:14 ): It is not certain whether the third, fourth and fifth of these passages refer to the same man. </p> 1. A S on of Simon of Cyrene <p> The first of these Alexanders is referred to in the passage in Mk, where he is said to have been one of the sons of Simon of Cyrene, the man who carried the cross of Christ. Alexander therefore may have been a North African by birth. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the fact, with varying detail, that Simon happened to be passing at the time when Christ was being led out of the city, to be crucified on Calvary. Mark alone tells that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. From this statement of the evangelist, it is apparent that at the time the Second Gospel was written, Alexander and Rufus were Christians, and that they were well known in the Christian community. Mark takes it for granted that the first readers of his Gospel will at once understand whom he means. </p> <p> There is no other mention of Alexander in the New Testament, but it is usually thought that his brother Rufus is the person mentioned by Paul in &nbsp;Romans 16:13 , "Salute Rufus the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine." If this identification is correct, then it follows, not only that the sons of Simon were Christians, but that his wife also was a Christian, and that they had all continued faithful to Christ for many years. It would also follow that the households were among the intimate friends of Paul, so much so that the mother of the family is affectionately addressed by him as "Rufus' mother and mine." The meaning of this is, that in time past this lady had treated Paul with the tender care which a mother feels and shows to her own son. </p> <p> This mention of Rufus and his mother is in the list of names of Christians resident in Rome. Lightfoot ( <i> Comm. on Phil </i> , 176) writes: "There seems no reason to doubt the tradition that Mk wrote especially for the Romans; and if so, it is worth remarking that he alone of the evangelists describes Simon of Cyrene, as 'the father of Alexander and Rufus.' A person of this name therefore (Rufus) seems to have held a prominent place among the Roman Christians; and thus there is at least fair ground for identifying the Rufus of Paul with the Rufus of Mark. The inscriptions exhibit several members of the household (of the emperor) bearing the names Rufus and Alexander, but this fact is of no value where both names are so common." </p> <p> To sum up, Alexander was probably by birth a North African Jew; he became a Christian, and was a well-known member of the church, probably the church in Rome. His chief claim to recollection is that he was a son of the man who carried the cross of the [[Saviour]] of the world. </p> 2. A R elative of Annas <p> The second Alexander, referred to in &nbsp;Acts 4:6 , was a relative of Annas the Jewish high priest. He is mentioned by Lk, as having been present as a member of the Sanhedrin, before which Peter and John were brought to be examined, for what they had done in the cure of the lame man at the gate of the temple. Nothing more is known of this Alexander than is here given by Luke. It has been conjectured that he may have been the Alexander who was a brother of Philo, and who was also the alabarch or magistrate of the city of Alexandria. But this conjecture is unsupported by any evidence at all. </p> 3. Alexander and the [[Riot]] at Ephesus <p> The third Alexander is mentioned in &nbsp;Acts 19:33 : "And some of the multitude instructed Alexander, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made defense unto the people. But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice," etc., the Revised Version, margin. In the matter of the riot in Ephesus the whole responsibility rested with [[Demetrius]] the silversmith. In his anger against the Christians generally, but specially against Paul, because of his successful preaching of the gospel, he called together a meeting of the craftsmen; the trade of the manufacture of idols was in jeopardy. From this meeting there arose the riot, in which the whole city was in commotion. The Jews were wholly innocent in the matter: they had done nothing to cause any disturbance. But the riot had taken place, and no one could tell what would happen. Modern anti-Semitism, in [[Russia]] and other European countries, gives an idea of an excited mob stirred on by hatred of the Jews. [[Instantly]] recognizing that the fury of the Ephesian people might expend itself in violence and bloodshed, and that in that fury they would be the sufferers, the Jews "put forward" Alexander, so that by his skill as a speaker he might clear them, either of having instigated the riot, or of being in complicity with Paul. "A certain Alexander was put forward by the Jews to address the mob; but this merely increased the clamor and confusion. There was no clear idea among the rioters what they wanted: an anti-Jewish and an anti-Christian demonstration were mixed up, and probably Alexander's retention was to turn the general feeling away from the Jews. It is possible that he was the worker in bronze, who afterward did Paul much harm" (Ramsay, <i> St. Paul the Traveler </i> , etc., 279). </p> 4. Alexander an Ephesian [[Heretic]] <p> The fourth of the New Testament Alexanders is one of two heretical teachers at Ephesus - the other being Hymeneus: see article under the word - against whom Paul warns Timothy in &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:19 , &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:20 . The teaching of [[Hymeneus]] and Alexander was to the effect that Christian morality was not required - antinomianism. They put away - "thrust from them," the Revised Version (British and American) - faith and a good conscience; they willfully abandoned the great central facts regarding Christ, and so they "made shipwreck concerning the faith." </p> 5. His [[Heresy]] Incipient [[Gnosticism]] <p> In &nbsp;2 Timothy 2:17 , &nbsp;2 Timothy 2:18 , Hymeneus is associated with Philetus, and further details are there given regarding their false teaching. What they taught is described by Paul as "profane babblings," as leading to more ungodliness, and as eating "as doth a gangrene." Their heresy consisted in saying that the resurrection was past already, and it had been so far successful, that it had overthrown the faith of some. The doctrine of these three heretical teachers, Hymeneus, Alexander and Philetus, was accordingly one of the early forms of Gnosticism. It held that matter was originally and essentially evil; that for this reason the body was not an essential part of human nature; that the only resurrection was that of each man as he awoke from the death of sin to a righteous life; that thus in the case of everyone who has repented of sin, "the resurrection was past already," and that the body did not participate in the blessedness of the future life, but that salvation consisted in the soul's complete deliverance from all contact with a material world and a material body. </p> <p> So pernicious were these teachings of incipient Gnosticism in the Christian church, that they quickly spread, eating like a gangrene. The denial of the future resurrection of the body involved also the dental of the bodily resurrection of Christ, and even the fact of the incarnation. The way in which therefore the apostle dealt with those who taught such deadly error, was that he resorted to the same extreme measures as he had employed in the case of the immoral person at Corinth; he delivered Hymeneus and Alexander to Satan, that they might learn not to blaspheme. Compare &nbsp;1 Corinthians 5:5 . </p> 6. Alexander the [[Coppersmith]] <p> The fifth and last occurrence of the name Alexander is in &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:14 , &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:15 , "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord will render to him according to his works: of whom do thou also beware (the King James Version "of whom be thou ware also"); for he greatly withstood our words." This Alexander was a worker in copper or iron, a smith. It is quite uncertain whether Alexander number 5 should be identified with Alexander number 4, and even with Alexander number 3. In regard to this, it should be remembered that all three of these Alexanders were resident in Ephesus; and it is specially to be noticed that the fourth and the fifth of that name resided in that city at much the same time; the interval between Paul's references to these two being not more than a year or two, as not more than that time elapsed between his writing 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. It is therefore quite possible these two Alexanders may be one and the same person. </p> <p> In any case, what is stud of this last Alexander is that he had shown the evil which was in him by doing many evil deeds to the apostle, evidently on the occasion of a recent visit paid by Paul to Ephesus. These evil deeds had taken the form of personally opposing the apostle's preaching. The personal antagonism of Alexander manifested itself by his greatly withstanding the proclamation of the gospel by Paul. As Timothy was now in Ephesus, in charge of the church there, he is strongly cautioned by the apostle to be on his guard against this opponent. </p>