A decorative woodcut header featuring a repeating pattern of stylized floral motifs arranged in two horizontal rows.

TO THE BENEVOLENT READER

GREETINGS.

I present to you Obadiah, a prophet small in size but great in the weight of his mysteries. St. Jerome Saint Jerome (c. 347–420 AD), the primary translator of the Latin Vulgate Bible. says of him in his Preface to the Epistle to Philemon that he is so wonderful and grand that he does not know whether he should marvel more at the brevity of the language or the magnitude of the meanings; Isidore Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636 AD), a scholar and archbishop known for his encyclopedic writings. moreover, in his book on the Allegories of Holy Scripture, calls him among the prophets shorter in the number of words but equal in the grace of his mysteries; and Hugh of St. Victor A 12th-century Saxon philosopher and mystic. describes him as simple in speech and manifold in sense, sparse in words, but rich in thoughts; finally, Blessed Luther says he is small in body, greatest in meaning, just as what is more precious is usually stored in smaller vessels. In addition to his interpretation Exegesis; the critical explanation or interpretation of a text (in which you will see that I have practiced fullness of thought rather than a multitude of words original: "πολύνοιαν μᾶλλον ἢ πολυλογίαν ἀσκῆσαι." A Greek phrase emphasizing quality of insight over quantity of speech.), you have here the Commentary of Abarbanel Isaac Abarbanel (1437–1508), a renowned Jewish statesman, philosopher, and biblical commentator. (or Abravanel), translated into Latin by me some fifteen years ago. Four years ago, I revised that version, and when I saw that Abarbanel had selected the strongest arguments from the whole of Jewish vain-talk original: "Matæologia Judaica." A polemical term used by Christian scholars of this era to describe Jewish theological discourse they considered useless or erroneous., I added a Refutation, and finally those things which might serve the purpose of a proper commentary. Now, it has pleased me to present this same modest work to you once more, but in a more corrected form. To this end, I wanted to list here those things which I thought should be changed or added while re-reading either the Interpretation of the Prophecy or the translation of Abarbanel's Commentary, so that you may restore them or turn them to the better as you please. In the Latin translation of Abarbanel, the following occur: P. 12. line 13. it was translated, through the whole world, I would prefer, in the world. P. 14. last line: for submission substitute modesty. P. 24. l. 16. for they wrote read they narrated. ibid. l. 25. for this Prophe-