TO THE LITTLE BOOK.

A single line of Persian calligraphy in a fluid Nasta'liq script, featuring diacritics.

original Persian: "اِنِّي اِنْ خَطَبْتُ زَمين بوس" (Inni in khata'btu zamin-bous). This phrase reflects a traditional Eastern gesture of extreme humility before a superior or the Divine, setting a tone of scholarly reverence.

WHILE SPEAKING,

KISS THE GROUND.

COMMENTARY

ON

OBADIAH,

original: "VERRIONEM," which appears to be a typographical error in the Latin source for "VERSIONEM" (Version).

OF THE COMMENTARY OF

DON ISAAC ABRAVANEL,

Isaac Abravanel (1437–1508) was a renowned Jewish statesman, philosopher, and Bible commentator. Christian scholars of this era often studied his work both to learn Hebrew traditions and to argue against his anti-Christian stances.

THAT CHRISTIANS ARE EDOMITES, AND THAT

THE PUNISHMENTS DENOUNCED AGAINST THE EDOMITES IN THE

SACRED CODE AWAIT THEM.

In medieval Jewish-Christian polemics, "Edom" or "Idumaea"—traditionally the descendants of Esau—was frequently used by Jewish scholars as a coded reference to the Roman Empire and, subsequently, the Christian Church. This title page highlights the author's intent to refute this identification.

ENOCH,

A "philological exercise" in this period refers to a scholarly study focusing on the linguistic and historical analysis of a text or figure, in this case, the biblical patriarch Enoch.

AUGUSTUS PFEIFFER,

Augustus Pfeiffer (1640–1698) was a noted German Lutheran theologian and orientalist who taught at Wittenberg. He was famous for his works on biblical hermeneutics and his knowledge of Near Eastern languages.