The Letter of Mordecai to Alexander the Great : An English Translation

Abstract

The Letter of Mordecai to Alexander the Great is a philosophical and theological treatise in the form of a pseudepigraphic letter preserved in manuscripts of the Latin J³ recension of the Alexander Romance beginning in the fourteenth century CE and in German, Italian, and French vernacular translations beginning in the fifteenth century CE. Following a brief introduction to the letter, this article presents for the first time both the Latin text (following the edition of Karl Steffens) and a new English translation. Merging scriptural and philosophical idiom, the letter positions Mordecai the Jew, a biblical figure known from the book of Esther for wise and challenging counsel and diplomatic acumen in the context of foreign imperial rule, as teacher to the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. The letter’s intricate and metaphor-rich arguments pertain to epistemology, monotheism, cosmology, anthropology, and eschatology. The letter’s relationship to biblical traditions and its inclusion within the Alexander Romance exhibit creative interplay of genres and discursive frames. The letter’s provenance remains a matter of debate, with proposals ranging from ancient Jewish-Hellenistic origins to later Christian authorship, reflecting rich intertextual, intellectual, and cultural intersections across multiple traditions.