Alexander
Man-defender. (1.) A relative of Annas the high priest, present when Peter and John were examined before the Sanhedrim ( Acts 4:6 ). (2.) A man whose father, Simon the Cyrenian, bore the cross of Christ ( Mark 15:21 ). (3.) A Jew of Ephesus who took a prominent part in the uproar raised there by the preaching of Paul ( Acts 19:33 ). The Jews put him forward to plead their cause before the mob. It was probably intended that he should show that he and the other Jews had no sympathy with Paul any more than the Ephesians had. It is possible that this man was the same as the following. (4.) A coppersmith who, with Hymenaeus and others, promulgated certain heresies regarding the resurrection ( 1 Tim. 1:19 ; 2 Tim. 4:14 ), and made shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience. Paul excommunicated him ( 1 Tim. 1:20 ; comp. 1 Cor. 5:5 ).
Alexander the Great
The king of Macedonia, the great conqueror; probably represented in Daniel by the “belly of brass” ( Dan. 2:32 ), and the leopard and the he-goat (7:6; 11:3, 4). He succeeded his father Philip, and died at the age of thirty-two from the effects of intemperance, B.C. 323. His empire was divided among his four generals.
Alexandria
The ancient metropolis of Lower Egypt, so called from its founder, Alexander the Great (about B.C. 333). It was for a long period the greatest of existing cities, for both Nineveh and Babylon had been destroyed, and Rome had not yet risen to greatness. It was the residence of the kings of Egypt for 200 years. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and only incidentally in the New. Apollos, eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures, was a native of this city ( Acts 18:24 ). Many Jews from Alexandria were in Jerusalem, where they had a synagogue ( Acts 6:9 ), at the time of Stephen’s martyrdom. At one time it is said that as many as 10,000 Jews resided in this city. It possessed a famous library of 700,000 volumes, which was burned by the Saracens (A.D. 642). It was here that the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek. This is called the Septuagint version, from the tradition that seventy learned men were engaged in executing it. It was, however, not all translated at one time. It was begun B.C. 280, and finished about B.C. 200 or 150. (See VERSION .)
Ashkelon
=Askelon=Ascalon, was one of the five cities of the Philistines ( Josh. 13:3 ; 1 Sam. 6:17 ). It stood on the shore of the Mediterranean, 12 miles north of Gaza. It is mentioned on an inscription at Karnak in Egypt as having been taken by king Rameses II., the oppressor of the Hebrews. In the time of the judges ( Judg. 1:18 ) it fell into the possession of the tribe of Judah; but it was soon after retaken by the Philistines ( 2 Sam. 1:20 ), who were not finally dispossessed till the time of Alexander the Great. Samson went down to this place from Timnath, and slew thirty men and took their spoil. The prophets foretold its destruction ( Jer. 25:20 ; 47:5 , 7 ). It became a noted place in the Middle Ages, having been the scene of many a bloody battle between the Saracens and the Crusaders. It was beseiged and taken by Richard the Lion-hearted, and “within its walls and towers now standing he held his court.” Among the Tell Amarna tablets (see EGYPT ) are found letters or official despatches from Yadaya, “captain of horse and dust of the king’s feet,” to the “great king” of Egypt, dated from Ascalon. It is now called ‘Askalan.