diff --git a/CHANGES.rst b/CHANGES.rst
index f0f94fda396..aada4097bc2 100644
--- a/CHANGES.rst
+++ b/CHANGES.rst
@@ -68,6 +68,8 @@ Features added
   Patch by Jean-François B.
 * #13508: Initial support for :pep:`695` type aliases.
   Patch by Martin Matouš, Jeremy Maitin-Shepard, and Adam Turner.
+* #14023: Allow ``mathjax3_config`` to be a string pointing to a JS file.
+  Patch by Randolf Scholz.
 
 Bugs fixed
 ----------
diff --git a/doc/usage/extensions/math.rst b/doc/usage/extensions/math.rst
index fb41d66d8fb..d44624b070f 100644
--- a/doc/usage/extensions/math.rst
+++ b/doc/usage/extensions/math.rst
@@ -264,12 +264,13 @@ Sphinx but is set to automatically include it from a third-party site.
       or "defer" key is set.
 
 .. confval:: mathjax3_config
-   :type: :code-py:`dict[str, Any] | None`
+   :type: :code-py:`str | dict[str, Any] | None`
    :default: :code-py:`None`
 
    The configuration options for MathJax v3 (which is used by default).
-   The given dictionary is assigned to the JavaScript variable
-   ``window.MathJax``.
+   Expects a string with the relative path to a JavaScript file with the config.
+   Alternatively, a dictionary can be given, which is converted to a JSON object
+   and assigned to the JavaScript variable ``window.MathJax``.
    For more information, please read `Configuring MathJax`__.
 
    __ https://docs.mathjax.org/en/latest/web/configuration.html#configuration
diff --git a/sphinx/ext/mathjax.py b/sphinx/ext/mathjax.py
index 62220cc697f..3f45bb5e675 100644
--- a/sphinx/ext/mathjax.py
+++ b/sphinx/ext/mathjax.py
@@ -105,9 +105,26 @@ def install_mathjax(
                 )
             body = 'MathJax.Hub.Config(%s)' % json.dumps(app.config.mathjax2_config)
             builder.add_js_file('', type='text/x-mathjax-config', body=body)
-        if app.config.mathjax3_config:
-            body = 'window.MathJax = %s' % json.dumps(app.config.mathjax3_config)
-            builder.add_js_file('', body=body)
+        match app.config.mathjax3_config:
+            case _ if not app.config.mathjax3_config:
+                # None, empty string or empty dict
+                pass
+            case str(config_filename):
+                config_filepath = app.srcdir / config_filename
+                if not config_filepath.exists():
+                    msg = f'mathjax3_config file not found: {config_filepath!s}'
+                    raise ExtensionError(msg)
+                if not config_filepath.is_file() or config_filepath.suffix != '.js':
+                    msg = f'mathjax3_config: expected a .js file, but got {config_filepath!s}'
+                    raise ExtensionError(msg)
+                body = config_filepath.read_text(encoding='utf-8')
+                builder.add_js_file('', body=body)
+            case dict(config_dict):
+                body = f'window.MathJax = {json.dumps(config_dict)}'
+                builder.add_js_file('', body=body)
+            case _:
+                msg = 'mathjax3_config must be a str (filename), dict, or None'
+                raise ExtensionError(msg)
 
         options = {}
         if app.config.mathjax_options:
@@ -147,7 +164,7 @@ def setup(app: Sphinx) -> ExtensionMetadata:
         types=frozenset({dict, NoneType}),
     )
     app.add_config_value(
-        'mathjax3_config', None, 'html', types=frozenset({dict, NoneType})
+        'mathjax3_config', None, 'html', types=frozenset({dict, str, NoneType})
     )
     app.connect('html-page-context', install_mathjax)
 
diff --git a/tests/roots/test-ext-math/_static/custom_mathjax_config.js b/tests/roots/test-ext-math/_static/custom_mathjax_config.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7a2bda39383
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/roots/test-ext-math/_static/custom_mathjax_config.js
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+window.MathJax = {"extensions": ["tex2jax.js"]}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test_extensions/test_ext_math.py b/tests/test_extensions/test_ext_math.py
index 9c8e620d655..629997ea4aa 100644
--- a/tests/test_extensions/test_ext_math.py
+++ b/tests/test_extensions/test_ext_math.py
@@ -376,6 +376,23 @@ def test_mathjax3_config(app: SphinxTestApp) -> None:
     assert '<script>window.MathJax = {"extensions": ["tex2jax.js"]}</script>' in content
 
 
+@pytest.mark.sphinx(
+    'html',
+    testroot='ext-math',
+    confoverrides={
+        'extensions': ['sphinx.ext.mathjax'],
+        'mathjax3_config': '_static/custom_mathjax_config.js',
+    },
+)
+def test_mathjax3_js_config(app: SphinxTestApp) -> None:
+    app.build(force_all=True)
+
+    content = (app.outdir / 'index.html').read_text(encoding='utf8')
+    assert MATHJAX_URL in content
+    assert '<script defer="defer" src="%s">' % MATHJAX_URL in content
+    assert '<script>window.MathJax = {"extensions": ["tex2jax.js"]}</script>' in content
+
+
 @pytest.mark.sphinx(
     'html',
     testroot='ext-math',