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...were begun, as Flavius Josephus says in Antiquities book 13, chapter 17, and they were called Jews, as witnessed by Ammonius. Josippon original: Gorionides, referring to the author of the Josippon, a 10th-century history of the Jews falsely attributed to Josephus ben Gorion. truly says in book 4, chapter 4: original Hebrew: ביום ההוא והיו מולים ושומרים משמרת תורת יהודה עד באה הגולה From that time and further they circumcised themselves and observed the Jewish laws until the final deportation. Therefore, if the Idumaeans The Edomites, descendants of Esau. are still to be punished, it is necessary that they be punished along with the Jews. From this, Rupert, Paul of Burgos, and Cocceius directly understood the "Jews" to be meant by "Idumaeans" in the present prophecy. We, however, will deal a little more mildly with the Jews once we approach Abarbanel; whose subtleties we shall more easily defeat after we have subverted his disastrous hypothesis. Furthermore, regarding our superior argument, one may further consult Paul of Burgos in his Additions to Obadiah & Isaiah 34 & Daniel 7 (whom Abarbanel attempted to refute regarding Isaiah chapter 34), Petrus Galatinus in Secrets of Catholic Truth book 4, chapter 2, Dr. Salomon Gesner on Obadiah page 80, Ribera on Obadiah page 317, Johannes Cocceius on Obadiah page 238, Antonius Hulsius in Jewish Theology page 116, Sebastian Schnell in his Dissertation against Abarbanel on Isaiah 34 & Obadiah, and others.

ABARBANEL.

The words of the Prophet Obadiah contain only one single coherent prophecy from beginning to end: therefore, I did not wish to establish a formal partition, but I have chosen to propose six questions here:

THE FIRST QUESTION is this: Whether the present prophecy, which Obadiah prophesied concerning Idumaea, has already been fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar? For after he had subjugated the land of Israel and desolated Jerusalem, he also subjected the kingdoms of the neighboring nations to himself—namely the Egyptians, Ammonites, Moabites, Idumaeans, and others, as is recorded in Jeremiah from chapters 46 to 50. Or, was it fulfilled only later in the time of King Hyrcanus John Hyrcanus I (ruled 134–104 BCE), a Hasmonean leader who famously forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism. of the descendants of the Hasmoneans, who, invading Idumaea, struck down its cities, namely Reviva and Marissa, and crushed the pride of the Idumaeans, making them his tributaries and binding them to the rite of circumcision, as all these things are reported by Josippon in his History book 4, chapter 4, and by Flavius Josephus in Antiquities book 13, chapter 17? Or finally, is this prophecy not yet fulfilled, but remains to be fulfilled in the future?

THE SECOND QUESTION: What is the intended meaning of Edom and Mount Esau, about which Obadiah prophesies in the present prophecy? Should we understand the Idumaea that borders the land of Israel, past which the Israelites traveled,