Josephus’ Antiquities 13:9:1 states in part: “... Hyrcanus took also Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would circumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews [sic Jdaeans]; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their [Edomite] forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision, and the rest of the Jewish [sic Judahite] ways of living; at which time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than [Edomite] Jews.

Heinrich Graetz in his History Of The Jews, vol. 2 of 6, p. 7 was well aware of this Edomite conversion to Judaism, stating:

“John Hyrcanus, who until then had acted only in self- defense, was now, after the fall of Alexander Zabina (123 [B.C.]), ready to strike energetically at Syria. Judæa at that time was encompassed on three sides by foreign tribes: on the south by the Idumæans, on the north by the hated Samaritans, and beyond the Jordan by the Greeks, who had never been friendly to the Judæ- ans. Hyrcanus therefore considered it his mission to reconquer all those lands, and either to expel their inhabitants or to incorporate them with the Judæans: for so long as foreign and hostile tribes existed in the very heart of the country, its political independence and religious stability would be in constant danger. Not only were these hostile peoples ever ready to join surrounding nations and assist them in their greed for conquest, but they also often inter- fered with the religious worship of the Judæans, thus frequently giving rise to acts of violence and bloodshed. Hyrcanus was con- sequently impelled by religious as well as by political motives to tear up these hotbeds of constant disturbance and hostility.”[Here, Graetz is admitting the Edomite incorporation!]

Now some excerpts from pp. 55 to 63 from A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica vol. 2 of 4, by John Lightfoot [noted Church cleric who lived 1602-1675]:

“Whensoever any heathen will betake himself, and be joined to the covenant of Israel, and place himself under the wings of the divine Majesty, and take the yoke of the law upon him, voluntary circumcision, baptism, and oblation, are required ... That was a common axiom ... No man is a proselyte until he be circumcised and baptized ... [because none becomes a proselyte without cir- cumcision and baptism] according to the judgment [or right] of the Sanhedrim ... If with a proselyte his sons and his daughters are made proselytes also, that which is done by their father redounds to their good ... A heathen woman, if she is made a proselytess, when she is now big with child,– the child needs not baptism ... for the baptism of his mother serves for him for baptism ...‘If an Israelite take a Gentile child ... or find a Gentile infant, and baptizeth him in the name of a proselyte,– behold, he is a proselyte’ ... First, You see baptism inseparably joined to the circumcision of proselytes. There was indeed some little distance of time; for ‘they were not baptized till the pain of circumcision was healed, because water might be injurious to the wound.’ But certainly baptism ever followed ... Secondly, Observing from these things which have been spoken, how very known and frequent the use of baptism was among the Jews, the reason appears very easy why the Sanhedrim, by their messengers, inquired not of John concerning the reason of baptism, but concerning the authority of the baptizer; not what baptism meant, but whence he had a license so to baptize, John 1:25 ... For the admission of a proselyte was reckoned no light matter ... Proselytes are dangerous to Israel, like the itch ... When a proselyte was to be circumcised, they first asked him concerning the sincerity of his conversion to Judaism: whether he offered not himself to proselytism for the obtaining of riches, for fear, or for love to some Israelite woman ... As soon as he grows whole of the wound of circumcision, they bring him to baptism; and being placed in the water, they again instruct him in some weightier and in some lighter commands of the law. Which being heard ... he plunges himself, and comes up, and behold, he is as an Israelite in all things ... [pile it higher and higher, C.A.E.!]

“... But a proselyte was baptized not only into the washing- off of that Gentile pollution, nor only thereby to be transplanted into the religion of the [Edomite]-jews; but that, by the most accurate rite of translation that could possibly be, he might so pass into an Israelite, that, being married to an Israelite woman, he might produce a free and legitimate seed, and an undefiled offspring. Hence, servants that were taken into a family were baptized, – and servants also that were to be made free: not so much because they were defiled with heathen uncleanness, as that, by that rite ... becoming Israelites in all respects, they might be more fit to match [mate] with Israelites, and their children be accounted as Israelites. And hence the sons of proselytes, in following generations, were circumcised indeed, but not bap- tized. They were circumcised, that they might take upon them- selves the obligation of the law; but they needed not baptism, because they were already Israelites. [bull manure C.A.E.!] ... The baptism of proselytes was the bringing over of Gentiles into the Jewish religion ...”[Many thanks to John Lightfoot.]

You can see from this, things at the Hyrcanus period were not at all like we are led to believe. The people of that “Edomite- jewish” nation had so genetically corrupted themselves, there were hardly any pureblooded Israelites left among them. Here you have the documented facts laid out before you, so that it will save you a lot of research on your part. All you have to do is confirm them (true or false)!

I am sure that most serious Bible students understand that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the twelve tribes of Israel reck- oned their lineage from their fathers! What is not widely known is the fact that the converso Edomite-jews, for the most part reckon their lineage from their mothers! This should wave a red flag to all Christians that those calling themselves “jews” are not the “Israelites” of the Bible! (see website):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrilineality_in_Judaism

“Matrilineality in Judaism is the view that people born of a Jewish mother are themselves Jewish. ... ‘Who is a Jew?’ via descent; matrilineal descent still is the rule within Orthodox Judaism, which also holds that anyone with a Jewish mother has an irrevocable Jewish status, and matrilineal descent is the norm in the Conservative movement ... The Mishnah (Kiddushin 3:12) states that, to be a Jew, one must be either the child of a Jewish mother or a convert to Judaism ... Orthodox opinion regards this rule as dating from receipt of the Torah at Mount Sinai ....”

It is simply dumbfounding how anyone with a healthy intel- lectual capability, upon learning that the Edomite-jews inordi- nately trace their lineage through their mothers, can continue to insist that the present-day people calling themselves “jews” are in any way the descendants of patriarchal Abraham, Isaac, Jacob-Israel, or any one of the twelve legitimate Tribes of Israel!

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