Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

BY JOSEPH BEN-GORION. 413
wealth increased in that sanctuary. And its priests
and ministers waxed rich, and the Sanctuary in The sanctu-
Salem suffered, and the fame of Manasseh increased, saiem for.
and his wealth grew, and the renown thereof^*''^"'
pushed aside the fame of the true Sanctuary; and
many of the Jews went there, until at length Hyrcanus,
the son of Simeon, destroyed it. And we
make known concerning it according to what we
have found written in the history thereof
And ' it came to pass that when Alexander had Alexander
set out
^
for
,
the east to
,
make war
T-N « sets out for
upon Uarius, pe^sia.
he encamped by the river Euphrates, and when
Darius heard news of him, he wrote a letter to
him, saying:
"From Darius, the king of the kings of all
"nations, to Alexander the Macedonian. Know,
"O Alexander, that God Almighty hath magnified Letter of
to
"mine honour and my dominion over all the world, Alexander
"and He hath set it under my sovereignty and
"authority. Why hast thou with the Macedonians
"dared to come to the Euphrates without my de-
"sire? Would nothing serve thee but that thou
"must set thy foot upon my territory, and invade that
"of my friends? It is more meet for thee to ask
"[my permission] in every matter which thou
"wouldst do, in the manner in which a man en-
"treateth his God, and thou shouldst have done
"nothino- whatsoever without my order. Now I
"command thee to come to me quickly, and to
See Joseph ben-Gorion, Bk. ii. chap. 15 (p. 115).