ALBEIT

ALBEIT. — Albeit is a contraction tor 'all be it,' and means ' although it be.' It occurs in Ezk 13', Philem ", and in the Apocrypha.

ALCIMTTS (the Greeli for ' valiant,' suggested by the Hebrew Ellakim, 'God sets up') was son or nephew of Jose ben-Joeser, pupil to Antigonus of Socho (b.c. 190). Antiochus v. (Eupator), king of Syria, appointed him high priest (b.c. 162). Either because he was not of high priestly family (though of the stock of Aaron, 1 Mac 7"), or, more probably, from his Hellenizing tendencies, his appointment was stoutly opposed by Judas Maccabseus, and received but scanty recognition at Jerusalem. Demetrius Soter, cousin and successor to Antiochus, in response to Alcimus's solicitations, reinstated him by the means of Nicanor, the Syrian general. He now received, moreover, considerable local support from the Hellenizing party. It was not, however, till the defeat and death of Judas at Elasa that he was in a position to commence his Hellenizing measures, and shortly after-wards he died of paralysis (B.C. 160). A. W. Streane.

ALCOVE.— RVm (Nu 2S») for RV 'pavilion,' AV 'tent.' See Pavilion.

ALEMA (1 Mac S^*). — A city in Gilead; site unknown.

ALEMETH. — 1. A son of Becher the Benjamite (1 Ch 7»). 2. A descendant of Saul (1 Ch 8»» 9«).

ALEPH. — First letter of Heb. alphabet, and so used to introduce the first part of Ps 119.

ALEXANDER.— 1. Son of Simon of Cyrene; like his brother Rufus, evidently a well-known man (Mk 15'' only). 2. One of the high-priestly family (Ac i'). 3. The would-be spokesman of the Jews in the riot at Ephesus, which endangered them as well as the Christians (Ac 19^); not improbably the same as the coppersmith (2 Ti 4") who did St. Paul 'much evil,' and who was probably an Ephesian Jew; possibly the same as the Alexander of 1 Ti 1'° (see HvMEN^ns), in which case we may regard him as an apostate Christian who had relapsed into Judaism. A. J. Maclean.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT.— A Jewish tradition, reported by Josephus and the Talmud, relates that whilst the renowned Macedonian conqueror was besieging Tyre (B.C. 333), rival embassies from the Jews and the Samaritans solicited his protection. At the close of the siege he set out for Jerusalem, and was met outside by the entire population, with the high priest at their head. Recognizing the latter as the person who had appeared to him in a dream and promised him victory, the king prostrated himself. He then entered the city, offered sacrifice, was shown the passages in Daniel relating to himself, granted the people unmolested use of their customs, promised to befriend their eastern settle-ments, and welcomed Jews to his army (,Ant. xi. viii.). The objections to this story are: (1) that although there are references to Alexander and his successors in Daniel (24off. 77 g6. 8. 21 1131), tjiey were not written till the 2nd cent. B.C.; and (2) that the accounts given by Arrian and Curtius do not mention these events. It is also most likely that when Josephus declares that Alex-ander gave to the Jews in Alexandria equal privileges with the Macedonians (c. Ap. ii. 4), he is anticipating by some years what happened under the Ptolemys.

The deep impression made by Alexander's successes is evinced by the numerous legends connected with his name in later Jewish literature. But his real importance to the Biblical student consists in this — he brought the Jews into contact with Greek literature and life.

J. Tatlob.

ALEXABDER BALAS.— A low-born youth called Balas, living in Smyrna, was put forward by the enemies of Demetrius i. as son of Antiochus iv., king of Syria. In their struggle for the throne the rivals sought to out-bid each other for the support of Jonathan Maccabaeus, who elected to side with Alexander, and was appointed high priest by him (b.c. 153). Jonathan defeated

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ALEXANDRIA

Apollonius, one of the generals of Demetrius, and received still further honours (1 Mac 10). But Alexander Balas cared more for sensual pleasures than for kingly duties : his father-in-law Ptolemy turned against him, and Alexander, fleeing to Arabia, was assassinated there (1 Mac 11"). J. Taylor.

ALEXANDRIA was founded (b.c. 332) by Alex-ander the Great after his conquest of Egypt. Recog-nizing the inconvenience caused by the want of a harbour for 600 miles along the shore, he selected as the site of a new port the village of Rhacotis, lying on a strip of land between Lake Mareotis and the sea. This he united to the little island of Pharos by a huge mole about a mile long, and thus he formed two splendid havens, which speedily became the commercial meeting- place of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The city was laid out in shape Uke the outspread cloak of a Macedonian soldier; in circumference about 15 miles: and it was divided into quarters by a magnificent street nearly 5 miles long, and 100 feet wide, running from E. to W., and crossed by another of somewhat lesser dimensions from N. to S. One of these quarters (Soma, ' the body ') received the corpse of Alexander, and preserved it embalmed in the Royal Mausoleum. The Ptolemys, who succeeded to the Egyptian portion of Alexander's divided empire, made Alexandria their capital, and by their extensive building operations rendered the city famous for the magnificence and beauty of its public edifices. Besides the Royal Palace, the Royal Mausoleum, the Temple of Neptune, the Great Theatre, the Gymnasium, and the vast Necropolis, Alexandria possessed three other structures for which it was cele-brated. (1) The Museum, which was not a place where collections were laid out for instruction, but a spot where the fine arts, science, and literature were studied. The Museum of Alexandria became in course of time practically the centre of the intellectual life of the world. It answered very largely to what we associate with the idea of a great modern university. It had its staff of State-paid professors, its professorial dining-hall, its shaded cloisters, where eager students from all parts of the world walked to and fro, listening to lectures from men like Euclid, Eratosthenes, and Hipparchus. (2) The Library, which was the greatest treasure of the city, was founded by the first Ptolemy. His successors increased the number of volumes till the collection embraced upwards of 700,000 MSS, in which were inscribed the intellectual efforts of Greece, Rome, Asia Minor, Palestine, and even India. The value of this unrivalled collection was immense. The Library was in two portions; and, in the siege of Alexandria by Julius Caesar, the part stored in the Museum was burned; a loss, however, which was largely made up by the presentation to Cleopatra, by Mark Antony, of the Royal Library of Pergamum. The other portion was stored in the Serapeum, which in 1895 was discovered to have been situated where 'Pompey's Pillar' now stands. History is undecided as to whether this celebrated Library was destroyed in a.d. 391 by Bishop Theophilus or by the Caliph Omar in a.d. 641. (3) The third structure which attracted the attention of the world to Alexandria was the Pharos (Lighthouse), erected by Ptol. II. Philadelphus.on the island which had been joined to the mainland by Alexander. Rising in storeys of decreasing dimensions to a height of 450-490 ft., adorned with white marble columns, balustrades, and statues, it was justly reckoned one of the 'Seven Wonders of the World.' Though it was destroyed by an earth-quake in A.D. 1303, it has nevertheless exercised a permanent infiuence on mankind. The idea of humanity to the mariner which it embodied was accepted by almost every civilized nation, and the thousands of lighthouses throughout the world to-day can all be traced to the gracious thoughtfulness which was dis-played in the costly erection of this first Pharos.