Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/407

359 —



THE

359

,Ii:VISH

Mariaiiuic to the Iilunican Ilcrod. as kin^' (if .IikImi, uppoiiiti'd ti) the liiirh pricslhodd the iiliscurc Haiiaiicl. she protested publicly against this injustice, and claimed the jxist for her young son Aristobulus. rpon the advice of Delius. the friend of Antony, wlio had assured her that nothing woidd he refused to the mother of two such pretty childien, Ale.an<lra even sent the iiictiires of Aristobulus and -Mariamne to Antony and Cleopatra, begging them loaid her in obtaining lier rights. Ilerod must have realized that he had committed a grave error: for, upon learning of the step Alexandra had taken, lie installed the sixteen-year-old Ijitriitliiiij;

licr ilaiiijliter

CDiKHU'ior.

And when

Ari:',lol)ulus in the

Iiighpriesthood (n.c.

3o),

having done so

that his reason for not

staling

in the first

was till' extreme youlli of his brother-in law. But he jiublicly chargc'd Alexandra with eonspi|-acv against him: and it wa.s only llinmijh her consummate liypocrisy that she exiricati'd herself from the inculpation. When the unfortunate MarianuK' was condemned to deatli, Alexandra again escaped her doom liy puljlicly denouncing her own daughter as a proud and vile woman and an enemy of Ilerod. This action, however, seems to have displeased all ])lace

Alexander Zablnaa Alexandra

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Alexander Jannteus.* The statement, made by Josephus (" Ant." xiii. 11. t;^ 1, 2), that during the reign of Aristobulus she brought about the death of the young prince Antigouus I., because she saw in him a rival of her husband, lacks confirmation. On Aristobulus' death (103 n.c), she lifjerated his brother Alexander Janna-us, who had been held in prison. During the reign of Alexander, who married her shortly after his accession. Alexandra seemed to have wielded only slight political influence, as is evidenced by the hostile attitude of the king to the Pharisees. The freiiuent visits of the chief of the Pharisaic party. Simon ben .Shetah, who was said to be the queen's brother, to the palace, must have occurred in the early years of Alexander's reign, before he had openly broken with the Pharisees. Alexandra iloes not seem to have been able to prevent the

who

witnessed the scene. In the end, Alexandra shared the fate of her two children. Ilerod. after the execution of Mariamne, whom lie had dearly loved, became addicted to tits of fury and was attacked by a dangerous malady.

Alexandra thought

this

an opportune moment for

the usurpation of power, and attenqited to iiersuade the authorities of .lerusulem to surrender to her and III her sons the citadel and the Temple, lest at Herod's death they should fall into the hands of some other ruler. Her words were reported to Ilerod, and he decreed her execution (li.c. 'i)*). BliiLioiiRAPIIV: Josepluis. .Int. xv. SeliiiriT, (Irxrii. I. .M). :tl7 1711 : IM' Siiuli-y, liixtuirc

Hcrinlg,



2. 8 ft;

Idem.

I}.

J.

1. 1.">,

dtr Juilrn.

(Jrillz. (Jefcli.

d'Hirutlc, 1807



F.

W.

111.

Fiirrar,

B3; liis.

The

IsllS.

AV.

M.

ALEXANDRA (Aramaic form of Alexander) Palesliniaii haggadist of the fourth century,

contem-

porary of U. Levi. Commentiii!; on Cant. iii. 1, H. Levi observes: "The congregation of Israel says to 'Lord of the Unithe Holy One blessed be He! verse In the past Thou wert wont to gi-ant me intervals of light bel Weill nights: thus there was such an interval between the night I had s]>ent in Egypt anil the night I spent in Babylon, between that niglit and the one of .Media prrscculion of Hainan |, and

—

—

I



between the Median and the (iieeiau liighls. and between the Grecian and the Komaii nights: but in these presi'iit times

naiiglil but nights!'" says, " Yea, because I

There-

am asleep, neglect fill of the study of Thy Law and the observance of Thy commandmenis, nights follow niglils" (Cant. H. to l.r.). It is chronologically |)iissible that this l{. Alexandra is identical with l{. Alexandra of Zadokii, of whom I{. Zeira L soiighl legal advice (Ver. Dim. ii. 'i'ii-): they stand, however, too isolated to allow of idenlitiealion with each oilier or with Alexandri. As lo the name Alexandni, an Aramaic form of Alexander, the Midrashim inform us that in those days Jews used lo adopt the name Alexandra as an ei|uiviilent of Henjamin (Cant. H. to iv. VI, for which Lev, U. xxxii. reails Alexandri). y. .S. upon
 * {. Alexandra

Copper Coin of (Afur

M»d,ii'n,

,Ie.an(lrn Siiluiiie. " Uistorr of Jtwi-.h Coinacr."}

cruel persecution of that sect by her lord neverlheless the married life of the royal pair seems to have been a happy one. and on his deathbed Alexander entrusted the government, not to his sons, but to his wife. This last political act of the king was his wisest: for the queen fully justified the confidence reposed She succeeded especially in quieting the in her. vexatious infernal dissensions of the kingdom that existed at the time of Ah-xander's death: and she did this peacefully and without detriment to the political relations of the Jewish state to the ouLside world. Alexandra received the reins of government (TO or "I'l B.C.) at the camp before Her Hagaba. and concealed the king'sdeath

until llie fortress had fallen, in order that the rigor of the siege might be

Political

Ability.

Her next care was

maintained.

to

open negotialions with the leaders of the Pharisees, whose placesof concealment she knew: and. having been given assurances as to her future policy, they declared Ihemselves ready to give Alexander's remains the obsequies due to a monarch. Hy Ibis step she astutely avoided any public afTront to the dead king, which, owing lo the embitlerinent of the people, would certainly have found expression at the iiiternienl. and niighl have been alleuded with dangerous results to the Hasmonean dynasty. Tile queen's acces.sion brouirht fn-edoin to hundreds whom .MexandiT had sent to languish in dungeons, and liberly to return home to thonsands 'Tliat

Alpxnndm. the

with her iinwht'n*

vhi>

iiiiirrliKl

wliliiw of ArliiliMitil liy JuM-pIiiii*.

wlio im

wax

lili>n(i<-nl

Jiiniiti'iiK,

iloiilii

timk

II

U for

frninttil Unit thi'liiUiT iHTf'iniiiil ilie li'vlmt** iiiiirrlHirt' prt*mtIIm-iI tiv llir liov fur Uir H idinv nt » hitilli-is liniihiTili'<-i'n.'<«il. nl C'.Mit." .XV. II, iM. ilnil ll iiiiii.>>. JuiiJiw'iilius' * w 1

ALEXANDRA (SALOME l'i>iiiij.

full.leui>li

iiaiiii'

Eusebius Zion): The only

face, to

Shalom

.hwish i|Ueeii regnant with the exception of the usurper .tlialiali born K!it ii.i died I'lT ii.r. slie Was the wife of Aristobulus L, and afterward of

.





iiii'iiH*

ilriith

I'titi-st

liv

Mill.

wiiM

lienHl. In


 * tl

I'lirlity

yi'iirs

li.e., inii.it

util

when

hi'

wilh |miI to

U' iTpiniiMiH. fur thut wmilil

iiml Juiiiiii'ii!i hliii.'u'tf wilh l»ini In li'i, w> Hull hi' iimlil hiive Ui'ii hut riumii'ii whi'ii llyr11 Is ilinii'iili lo iiniliTsliinil tiow > 1111111.4 Willi Imni In hliii. thlru-en-year-olil boy uiurrltKl a widow of ttilny. si't

the vi'iiruf hli

lilrth lui III

li.e..