Alexander the Great in the Jerusalem Talmud and Genesis Rabbah: a critique of Roman power, greed and cruelty

Tales and traditions about Alexander the Great were popular throughout the Greco-Roman world. These sources present wide-ranging accounts of Alexander and his character, with the aim of delivering messages on numerous subjects, including power and its limits. Rabbinic literature also presents more than one perspective on Alexander. The earliest rabbinic narratives about Alexander take the form of two passages in the Jerusalem Talmud: Avodah Zarah 3:1, 42c and Baba Metzi‘a 2:4, 8c. In this paper, I re-evaluate these two talmudic tales and Genesis Rabbah 33:1 to demonstrate that they use the figure of Alexander to criticize Rome, specifically to refute the Roman illusion of unlimited power and its claim to a superior legal system, which in practice it justified enriching the emperor’s coffers over protecting the lives of ordinary people. While scholars have viewed the mention of Alexander as a symbol of the Hellenistic world, and even the Greco-Roman world, the placement of these tales in a context that criticizes Rome is rarely considered.