Alexandrium
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [1]
( Ἀλεξάνδρειον ) , a place frequently referred to by Josephus as having been originally built by Alexander (hence, doubtless, the name), apparently Jannaeus (Ant . 13:16, 3), on a hill near Coreae (q.v.), toward Jericho (Ant. 14, 3, 4); fortified by Alexander the son of Aristobulus (Ant. 14, 5, 2; War, 1, 8, 2), and demolished by Gabinius (Ant. 14, 5, 4; War, 1, 8, 5), but again restored by Herod (Ant. 14, 15, 4). It was the burial-place of the founder's family, and here accordingly the bodies of Herod's sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, were removed by night for interment (Ant. 16, 11, 7; War, 1, 17, 6). It has been identified by Schultz (Ritter, Erdk. 15, 452-454) as the modern village Kefr Istuna, about four miles S.E. of Shiloh, containing the ruins of an ancient castle built with very large stones (Van de Velde, Memoir, p. 284).
