Does this military figure depict Alexander the Great meeting with the Jewish high priest? The full Huqoq mosaic from a Late Roman–Byzantine synagogue can be viewed below. Photo: Jim Haberman.

A 1,500-year-old mosaic that might depict a meeting between Alexander the Great and the Jewish high priest has been unveiled in full byNational Geographic. The mosaic was unearthed during excavations of a fifth-century C.E. synagogue at Huqoq, a site in Israel’s Lower Galilee. Led by Jodi Magness, the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Huqoq excavations have each year revealed vibrant mosaic floors depicting a variety of scenes, from the exploits of the Biblical hero Samson to the Exodus and Noah’s Ark.

The possible depiction of Alexander the Great at Huqoq was first reported in 2014. In a Bible History Daily guest post, Magness and mosaics specialist Karen Britt described the magnificent scene:

The bottom register shows a dying soldier grasping his shield as he falls and a bull pierced by spears, with blood gushing from his gaping wounds. In the middle register, the arches of an arcade frame a seated elderly man and the young men who flank him. Lighted oil lamps are shown above each arch. The top register … depicts an encounter between two large male figures. One figure is clearly intended to represent a military commander and ruler: He is bearded and has a diadem on his head, is outfitted in ornate battle dress, and wears a purple cloak (see accompanying photo). This figure leads a large bull by the horns, and he is accompanied by a row of soldiers arranged as a Greek phalanx and by battle elephants with decorated collars and shields tied to their sides. The commander/ruler is nodding to a bearded, elderly man wearing a ceremonial white tunic and mantle. The elderly man is escorted by young men holding sheathed swords or daggers who are also dressed in ceremonial white tunics and mantles.

Now, National Geographic has published the Huqoq mosaic in full:

Photo: Mark Thiessen/National Geographic.

Because the mosaic doesn’t label the figures, the scene is open for interpretation. According to National Geographic, Magness and Britt diverge on their opinions of what the Huqoq mosaic portrays.

This is one of two battle elephants who, along with a bull and a row of soldiers, accompanies what may be Alexander the Great. Photo: Jim Haberman.

Magness, National Geographic reports, believes the Huqoq mosaic, which should be read from the bottom up, portrays Macedonian king Alexander the Great’s fourth-century B.C.E. conquests in the eastern Mediterranean. The top portion of the mosaic, Magness argues, shows Alexander the Great in a purple cloak meeting Jerusalem’s high priest, who is wearing a white tunic. While this meeting did not actually occur in history, the legend appears in the writings of ancient Jewish historian Josephus and in rabbinic literature.

“After Alexander’s death in 323 B.C.E., when his fame spread and his importance became clear because of the way that he changed the face of the Near East, the Jews—like other ancient people—sought to associate themselves with him and his greatness,” Magness told National Geographic. “That’s why stories like this legend began to circulate.”

On the other hand, Karen Britt, along with history scholar and fellow Huqoq excavation member Ra’anan Boustan, believes the Huqoq mosaic portrays Seleucid king Antiochus VII’s attack on Jerusalem in 132 B.C.E. The top portion, Britt and Boustan say, represents a meeting to discuss a truce between Antiochus VII in the purple cloak and John Hyrcanus I, the Hasmonean leader and Jewish high priest, in the white tunic.

“The Jews were frequently conquered by other people,” Britt explained to National Geographic. “The message here is that not only could they hold their own in battle, but they could also reach an honorable and mutually agreeable treaty with their overseers.”

Explore the stunning Huqoq mosaic further in National Geographic.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publishes editions of the Bible in English and Spanish. In many other non-English languages, the Church has approved a non–Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible for use in Church meetings and classes.

English

The Church publishes an English-language edition of the King James Version of the Holy Bible. It includes LDS footnotes and chapter headings, a Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, Bible Chronology, Harmony of the Gospels, Bible Maps, Bible Photographs, Guide to the Scriptures, and selections from the Joseph Smith Translation. The latest edition was updated in 2013 and is available in various printed, electronic, and audio formats.

Spanish

In 2009, the LDS Church published a Spanish-language edition of the Bible entitled Santa Biblia: Reina-Valera 2009. The text is based on the 1909 version of the Reina-Valera translation, with modernized grammar and vocabulary. It includes LDS footnotes and chapter headings, as well as a Guide to the Scriptures and selections from the Joseph Smith Translation. It is available in various printed, electronic, and audio formats.

Other Languages

Below is a list of non–Latter-day Saint editions of the Bible that have been reviewed by the Church and approved for use in Church meetings and classes:

Other scripture verifies this fact.  After His resurrection, Jesus visited the Book of Mormon people, who were mostly descendants of Joseph through his son, Manasseh.  See this account from 3 Nephi 11:6 – 14:

And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:

Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.   And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.

 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:   Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.   And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his ascension into heaven.   And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:   Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.

When Jesus ascended, according to the biblical account, an angel announced to His disciples: “…why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Many believers in the Lord Jesus Christ believe in the “Trinity” — three personages of one essence.  In Trinitarian belief, God is a spirit without body parts or passions, while Christ is God incarnate.  Mormon belief holds that resurrection to a perfect immortal body is the eternal ideal for God and Man.  Both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are glorious, resurrected beings of flesh and bone.  When Christ ascended into heaven He remained the resurrected being as He will be when He returns.  Modern revelation speaks to this truth…

And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about.  And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness;

And saw the holy angels, and them who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever.   And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father— That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God (Doctrine and Covenants 76:19-24).

Only after a person is resurrected can he or she experience a “fullness of joy.”

The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy (Doctrine and Covenants 93:33, 34).

This fullness of joy is the kind of life that God the Father and God the Son enjoy, and it is their greatest desire to share with us a fullness of what they enjoy.  Jesus said through revelation to modern prophets:

I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.   For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace (D&C 93:19, 20).

And in the Book of Mormon:

And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one (3 Nephi 28:10).

Additional Resource:

Resurrection