Pt1 Alexander the Great’s Dialogue with the Elders of the Negev: Philosophical Insights on Creation, Life, and Power (Tamid 32a)

Twelve Questions with Alexander the Great: Rabbinic Wisdom Meets Hellenistic Inquiry

Outline

1. Intro

   1. Distance Between Heaven, Earth, and Horizons

   2. Creation of Heaven and Earth

   3. Creation of Light and Darkness

   4. Definitions of Wisdom, Might, and Wealth

   5. Living and Dying Well

   6. Gaining Social Acceptance

   7. Life at Sea vs. Land

   8. Collective Wisdom

   9. Confrontation with the Jewish Elders

2. Appendix - Table Summarizing

The Passage

Tamid.31b.15-32a.11

Intro

The Talmud states that Alexander the Great¹ asked the rabbinic “Elders of the Negev” about ten matters.

These questions and the Elders’ responses are given in the following sections.²

עשרה דברים שאל אלכסנדרוס מוקדון את זקני הנגב,

אמר להן:

With regard to the position of the sun, the Gemara relates that Alexander of Macedon asked the Elders of the Negev about ten matters.

He said to them:

Distance Between Heaven, Earth, and Horizons

Question: Alexander asked which distance is greater: the distance from the heavens to the earth, or the distance from east to west.

Answer: The Elders of the Negev stated that east to west is farther. They explained this by noting that the sun's position affects how one perceives its distance: the sun can be looked at in the east or west without harm, but not when it is overhead.³

מן השמים לארץ רחוק, או ממזרח למערב?

אמרו לו:

ממזרח למערב.

תדע, שהרי

1. חמה במזרח – הכל מסתכלין בה,

2. חמה במערב – הכל מסתכלין בה,

3. חמה באמצע רקיע – אין הכל מסתכלין בה.

[...]

Is the distance from the heavens to the earth further, or is the distance from east to west further?

They said to him: From east to west is a greater distance.

Know that this is so, as

1. when the sun is in the east, everyone looks at it without hurting their eyes,

2. and when the sun is in the west, everyone looks at it without hurting their eyes.

3. By contrast, when the sun is in the middle of the sky, no one looks at it, as it would hurt their eyes.

This shows that the sun’s place in the middle of the sky is not as far from the earth as its remote positions in the extreme east and west.

[...]

Creation of Heaven and Earth

Question: Alexander inquired which was created first: heaven or earth.

Answer: The Elders responded that the heavens were created first, citing Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Heaven is mentioned before earth.)

אמר להן: שמים נבראו תחלה או הארץ?

אמרו:

שמים נבראו תחלה,

שנאמר: ״בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ״.

Alexander continued to ask questions of the Elders of the Negev. He said to them: Were the heavens created first or was the earth created first?

They said:

The heavens were created first,

as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

Creation of Light and Darkness

Question: Alexander asked if light or darkness was created first.

Answer: The Elders admitted this question has no clear solution, as the Bible does not specify.

אמר להן: אור נברא תחלה, או חשך?

אמרו לו: מילתא דא אין לה פתר.

[...]

He said to them: Was the light created first, or was the darkness created first?

They said to him: This matter has no solution, as the verses do not indicate an answer.

[...]

1. אלכסנדרוס מוקדון - literally: Alexander of Macedon.

For more on Alexander the Great in talmudic stories, see Hebrew Wikipedia, “אלכסנדר הגדול באגדות היהודיות“, and the bibliography cited there.

And see my previous piece: “'The Land of Canaan is Ours': Alexander the Great as Moderator of Territorial Claims on 'Canaan' by Africans and Arabs in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 91a)“.

2. The actual count appears to total twelve. Refer to my summary table at the end of the upcoming Part 2.

3. On the Talmud’s cosmology, see my piece on the Tehom, here.