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Obadiah the Proselyte (Hebrew: עובדיה הגר), also known as Johannes of Oppido (Italian: Giovanni da Oppido)^[1] was an early-12th-century Italian convert to Judaism. He is best known for his memoirs and the oldest surviving notation of Jewish music, both unique survivals.

Biography

He was born Johannes, son of Dreux, around 1070 in Oppido Lucano, a small town in South Italy, today in the province of Potenza, Basilicata.^{[citation needed]} He converted to Judaism in 1102.^[2] It was common practice for proselytes to choose the name "Obadiah" because of the tradition that Obadiah the prophet was an Edomite converted to Judaism.^[3]^[4]

His reasons are not entirely clear.^[5] It is believed he had been inspired by the Jewish people during the First Crusade, as well as the story of Andreas, the archbishop of Bari who had converted to Judaism circa 1066–1078.^[6] Obadiah's understanding of the Bible may have also played a role.^[7]

He is known for recording medieval Jewish chant in Gregorian notation.^[8] There is a dispute whether this Gregorian melody used is of Jewish origin or of non-Jewish origin.^[9]

Obadiah is known to us exclusively through a variety of documents from the Cairo Geniza, all but one in his own hand.^[12] The key piece of evidence for reconstructing his own varied output came from a single colophon leaf, all that remains of a prayer-book, now preserved in the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati (MS H.U.C. Genizah Collection no. 8). An inscription on the colophon says, in Hebrew, that "Obadiah the Norman proselyte" who converted to Judaism "in the month of Elul" of 1102 has written the prayer-book "with his own hand".^[10]^[13] So, although in all of his writings he invariably refers to himself in the third person,^[14] by directly comparing the handwriting we can be sure that it is indeed he who wrote it.^[10]

It took scholars over half a century to build a full picture of Obadiah's life and deeds. The name "Obadiah the Proselyte" first came up in 1901 in the second volume of Ginzei Yerushalayim (גנזי ירושלם, Treasures of Jerusalem), a collection of scientific and literary works from rare manuscripts, compiled by Jerusalem rabbi Solomon Aaron Wertheimer, an amateur scholar and small-time Cairo Geniza material trader.^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18] From a letter of recommendation written for Obadiah by Baruch ben Isaac, the head of a large yeshivah in the city of Aleppo, Syria,^[19] Wertheimer published only the more poetic parts, mostly the lament for the plight of the Palestinian Jews in verse from the introduction; from what remained, hardly anything but the names could be deduced: "This letter was written in his own hand by our mas[ter Baru]kh ... son of ... [Isaac] ... that it might be kept by Obadiah the Proselyte [for use] in all communities of Israel to which he might go."^[17] It took another 30 years for the letter first to make its way into the Bodleian Library (where it remains to this day)^[20] and then to attract the attention of Hebrew Union College professor Jacob Mann, who published it in its entirety in 1930.^[21]

All of the Cairo Geniza documents relevant to the life of Johannes of Oppido = Obadiah the Proselyte are available at a website dedicated to his life and writings.^[22]

Notes

^ "Johannes of Oppido = Obadiah the Proselyte עבדיה הגר". Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ Golb 1965, p. 155
^ "Obadiah the Proselyte" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
^ "Sanhedrin 39b".
^ M. L. (2004). "Medieval music unmasked". University of Chicago Magazine. 96 (6). Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^ Golb 1987, pp. 10–11
^ Eliezer Segal (1992). "Obadiah the Proselyte". Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^ Golb 1965, pp.153–156
^ Golb 1967
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Golb 1965, p. 156, n. 9
^ Elul is the 6th month of the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to August–September. "4862 of Creation" refers to the Anno Mundi system, still used by Jews today, and translates to 1102. So does "year 1413 of Documents", referring to the "era of Documents", also known as "Alexandrine era", system that had been used in Israel since the time of Alexander the Great (see Gold 2004, p. ii, n. 2).
^ Golb 2004
^ Golb 2004, p. 1
^ Golb 2004, p. 1, n. 2
^ Wertheimer, Solomon Aaron in Jewish Encyclopedia
^ Reif 2000, p. 71
^ ^a ^b Golb 2004, p. i
^ For the Hebrew name, see this auction
^ "Obadiah, the Norman Proselyte". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
^ "MS. Heb. a. 3/1". Cairo Genizah Collection of the Bodleian Libraries. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
^ "Obadya, Prosélyte Normand converti au judaïsme et sa Meguila ...". Revue des Études Juives. 89: 245–259. 1930.
^ "Johannes of Oppido | Home". johannes-obadiah.org. Retrieved 2018-08-21.

References

Norman Golb (1965). "Obadiah the Proselyte: Scribe of a Unique Twelfth-Century Hebrew Manuscript Containing Lombardic Neumes". The Journal of Religion. 45 (2): 153–156. doi:10.1086/485773. JSTOR 1200142. S2CID 170333605.
Norman Golb (1967). "The Music of Obadiah the Proselyte and His Conversion". Journal of Jewish Studies. 18 (1–4): 43–63. doi:10.18647/549/JJS-1967.
Norman Golb (1987). Jewish Proselytism — A Phenomenon in the Religious History of Early Medieval Europe, 10th annual Rabbi Louis Feinberg memorial lecture in Judaic Studies, University of Cincinnati.
Norman Golb (2004) The Autograph Memoirs Of Obadiah The Proselyte Of Oppido Lucano, and The Epistle Of Barukh B. Isaac Of Aleppo
Benjamin Z. Kedar (2005) "The Voyages of Giuan-Ovadiah in Syria and Iraq and the Enigma of his Conversion", in Giovanni-Ovadiah da Oppido, proselito, viaggiatore e musicista dell'età normanna
Stefan C. Reif (2000). A Jewish Archive from Old Cairo: The History of Cambridge University's Genizah Collection. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780700712762. google books preview

[1] "Johannes of Oppido = Obadiah the Proselyte עבדיה הגר". Retrieved 29 March 2024.

[2] Golb 1965, p. 155

[3] "Obadiah the Proselyte" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

[4] "Sanhedrin 39b".

[5] M. L. (2004). "Medieval music unmasked". University of Chicago Magazine. 96 (6). Retrieved 8 May 2016.

[6] Golb 1987, pp. 10–11

[7] Eliezer Segal (1992). "Obadiah the Proselyte". Retrieved 8 May 2016.

[8] Golb 1965, pp.153–156

[9] Golb 1967

[whodoneit-10] Golb 1965, p. 156, n. 9

[11] Elul is the 6th month of the Hebrew calendar, corresponding to August–September. "4862 of Creation" refers to the Anno Mundi system, still used by Jews today, and translates to 1102. So does "year 1413 of Documents", referring to the "era of Documents", also known as "Alexandrine era", system that had been used in Israel since the time of Alexander the Great (see Gold 2004, p. ii, n. 2).

[12] Golb 2004

[13] Golb 2004, p. 1

[14] Golb 2004, p. 1, n. 2

[15] Wertheimer, Solomon Aaron in Jewish Encyclopedia

[16] Reif 2000, p. 71

[golb.2004.i-17] Golb 2004, p. i

[18] For the Hebrew name, see this auction

[jvl-19] "Obadiah, the Norman Proselyte". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 11 May 2016.

[ms.heb.a.3.1-20] "MS. Heb. a. 3/1". Cairo Genizah Collection of the Bodleian Libraries. Retrieved 12 May 2016.

[21] "Obadya, Prosélyte Normand converti au judaïsme et sa Meguila ...". Revue des Études Juives. 89: 245–259. 1930.

[22] "Johannes of Oppido | Home". johannes-obadiah.org. Retrieved 2018-08-21.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+'''Obadiah the Proselyte''' (Hebrew: {{lang|he|עובדיה הגר}}), also known as '''Johannes of Oppido''' (Italian: {{lang|it|Giovanni da Oppido}})<ref>{{cite web|title=Johannes of Oppido = Obadiah the Proselyte עבדיה הגר|url=https://johannes-obadiah.org/|accessdate=29 March 2024}}</ref> was an early-12th-century Italian convert to Judaism. He is best known for his memoirs and the oldest surviving notation of Jewish music, both unique survivals.
-'''Obadiah the Proselyte''' (born Johannes son of Dreux around 1070 in [[Oppido Lucano]])<ref name="jvl">{{cite web|title=Obadiah, the Norman Proselyte|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14998.html|website=[[Jewish Virtual Library]]|accessdate=11 May 2016}}</ref> was a Catholic priest{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} or a Norman-Italian baronet{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} who converted to Judaism in 1102.<ref>Golb 1965, p. 155</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Nissan Mindel|title=Ovadiah the Ger (early 12th century)|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112385/jewish/Ovadiah-the-Ger.htm|accessdate=8 May 2016}}</ref>
-It was common practice for [[proselytes]] to choose the name "Obadiah" because of the tradition that [[Obadiah]] the prophet was an [[Edomite]] converted to Judaism.<ref>"Obadiah the Proselyte" in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]''</ref>{{Failed verification|date=May 2016}}
+==Biography==
+He was born Johannes, son of Dreux, around 1070 in [[Oppido Lucano]], a small town in South Italy, today in the [[province of Potenza]], [[Basilicata]].{{cn|date=December 2024}} He converted to Judaism in 1102.<ref>Golb 1965, p. 155</ref> It was common practice for [[proselytes]] to choose the name "Obadiah" because of the tradition that [[Obadiah]] the prophet was an [[Edomite]] converted to Judaism.<ref>"Obadiah the Proselyte" in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]''</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sefaria.org.il/Sanhedrin.39b?lang=he | title=Sanhedrin 39b }}</ref>
 His reasons are not entirely clear.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=M. L.|title=Medieval music unmasked|journal=University of Chicago Magazine|date=2004|volume=96|issue=6|url=http://magazine.uchicago.edu/0408/research/music.shtml|accessdate=8 May 2016}}</ref> It is believed he had been inspired by the Jewish people during the [[First Crusade]], as well as the story of [[Andreas (archbishop of Bari)|Andreas]], the [[archbishop of Bari]] who had converted to [[Judaism]] circa 1066–1078.<ref>Golb 1987, pp. 10–11</ref> Obadiah's understanding of the [[Bible]] may have also played a role.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Eliezer Segal|title=Obadiah the Proselyte|url=http://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/920617_Obadiah.html|accessdate=8 May 2016|date=1992}}</ref>
@@ Line 6: / Line 8: @@
 He is known for recording medieval Jewish chant in Gregorian notation.<ref>Golb 1965, pp.153–156</ref> There is a dispute whether this Gregorian melody used is of Jewish origin or of non-Jewish origin.<ref>Golb 1967</ref>
-[[File:Cairo Geniza - Obadiah the Proselyte, Document I - colophon of a prayer-book (HUC fragment 8) text.jpg|thumb|right|350px|"Obadiah the Norman Proselyte who entered the covenant of the God of Israel in the month of Ellul, year 1413 of Documents which is 4862 of Creation — he, Obadiah the Proselyte, has written [this prayer-book] with his own hand"<ref name=whodoneit /><ref>[[Elul]] is the 6th month of the [[Hebrew calendar]], corresponding to August–September. "4862 of Creation" refers to the [[Anno Mundi]] system, still used by Jews today, and traslates to 1102. So does "year 1413 of Documents", referring to the "era of Documents", also known as "Alexandrine era", system that had been used in Israel since the time of [[Alexander the Great]] (see Gold 2004, p. ii, n. 2).</ref>]]
+[[File:Cairo Geniza - Obadiah the Proselyte, Document I - colophon of a prayer-book (HUC fragment 8) text1 converted in 1102.jpg|thumb|right|350px|"Obadiah the Norman Proselyte who entered the covenant of the God of Israel in the month of Ellul, year 1413 of Documents which is 4862 of Creation"<ref name=whodoneit /><ref>[[Elul]] is the 6th month of the [[Hebrew calendar]], corresponding to August–September. "4862 of Creation" refers to the [[Anno Mundi]] system, still used by Jews today, and translates to 1102. So does "year 1413 of Documents", referring to the "era of Documents", also known as "Alexandrine era", system that had been used in Israel since the time of [[Alexander the Great]] (see Gold 2004, p. ii, n. 2).</ref>]]
+[[File:Cairo Geniza - Obadiah the Proselyte, Document I - colophon of a prayer-book (HUC fragment 8) text2 with his own hand.jpg|thumb|left|150px|"he, Obadiah the Proselyte, has written [this prayer-book] with his own hand"<ref name=whodoneit />]]
 Obadiah is known to us exclusively through a variety of documents from the [[Cairo Geniza]], all but one in his own hand.<ref>Golb 2004</ref> The key piece of evidence for reconstructing his own varied output came from a single [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]] leaf, all that remains of a prayer-book, now preserved in the [[Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion|Hebrew Union College]], [[Cincinnati]] (MS H.U.C. Genizah Collection no. 8). An inscription on the colophon says, in Hebrew, that "Obadiah the Norman proselyte" who converted to Judaism "in the month of [[Elul]]" of 1102 has written the prayer-book "with his own hand".<ref name=whodoneit>Golb 1965, p. 156, n. 9</ref><ref>Golb 2004, p. 1</ref> So, although in all of his writings he invariably refers to himself in the third person,<ref>Golb 2004, p. 1, n. 2</ref> by directly comparing the handwriting we can be sure that it is indeed he who wrote it.<ref name=whodoneit />
-It took scholars over half a century to build a full picture of Obadiah's life and deeds. The name "Obadiah the Proselyte" first came up in 1901 in the second volume of ''Ginzei Yerushalayim'' (Hebrew: {{lang|he|גנזי ירושלם}}), a collection of scientific and literary works from rare manuscripts, published by [[Jerusalem]] rabbi [[Solomon Aaron Wertheimer]], an amateur scholar and small-time Cairo Geniza material trader.<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14869-wertheimer-solomon-aaron Wertheimer, Solomon Aaron] in [[Jewish Encyclopedia]]</ref><ref>Reif 2000, p. 71</ref><ref name=golb.2004.i>Golb 2004, p. i</ref><ref name="jvl" /><ref>For the Hebrew name, see [http://www.virtualjudaica.com/Item/23336/Ginzei_Yerushalayim this auction]</ref> From a letter of recommendation written for Obadiah by [[Baruch ben Isaac of Aleppo|Baruch ben Isaac]], the head of a large [[yeshivah]] in the city of [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]],<ref name="jvl" /> Wertheimer published only the more poetic parts, mostly the lament for the plight of the [[Palestine (region)|Palestinian]] Jews in verse from the introduction; still, the some information creeped in: "This letter was written in his own hand by our mas[ter Baru]kh ... son of ... [Isaac] ... that it might be kept by Obadiah the Proselyte [for use] in all communities of Israel to which he might go."<ref name=golb.2004.i />
+It took scholars over half a century to build a full picture of Obadiah's life and deeds. The name "Obadiah the Proselyte" first came up in 1901 in the second volume of ''Ginzei Yerushalayim'' ({{lang|he|גנזי ירושלם}}, ''Treasures of Jerusalem''), a collection of scientific and literary works from rare manuscripts, compiled by [[Jerusalem]] rabbi [[Solomon Aaron Wertheimer]], an amateur scholar and small-time Cairo Geniza material trader.<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14869-wertheimer-solomon-aaron Wertheimer, Solomon Aaron] in [[Jewish Encyclopedia]]</ref><ref>Reif 2000, p. 71</ref><ref name=golb.2004.i>Golb 2004, p. i</ref><ref>For the Hebrew name, see [http://www.virtualjudaica.com/Item/23336/Ginzei_Yerushalayim this auction]</ref> From a letter of recommendation written for Obadiah by [[Baruch ben Isaac of Aleppo|Baruch ben Isaac]], the head of a large [[yeshivah]] in the city of [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]],<ref name="jvl">{{cite web|title=Obadiah, the Norman Proselyte|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14998.html|website=[[Jewish Virtual Library]]|accessdate=11 May 2016}}</ref> Wertheimer published only the more poetic parts, mostly the lament for the plight of the [[Palestine (region)|Palestinian]] Jews in verse from the introduction; from what remained, hardly anything but the names could be deduced: "This letter was written in his own hand by our mas[ter Baru]kh ... son of ... [Isaac] ... that it might be kept by Obadiah the Proselyte [for use] in all communities of Israel to which he might go."<ref name=golb.2004.i /> It took another 30 years for the letter first to make its way into the [[Bodleian Library]] (where it remains to this day)<ref name="ms.heb.a.3.1">{{cite web|title=MS. Heb. a. 3/1|url=http://genizah.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/profile/manuscript/c5844e03-5c01-4d0f-a2ca-7c2a4425e874|website=Cairo Genizah Collection of the [[Bodleian Libraries]]|accessdate=12 May 2016}}</ref> and then to attract the attention of Hebrew Union College professor Jacob Mann, who published it in its entirety in 1930.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Obadya, Prosélyte Normand converti au judaïsme et sa Meguila ...|journal=[[Revue des Études Juives]]|date=1930|volume=89|pages=245–259}}</ref>
+All of the Cairo Geniza documents relevant to the life of Johannes of Oppido = Obadiah the Proselyte are available at a website dedicated to his life and writings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://johannes-obadiah.org/|title=Johannes of Oppido {{!}} Home|website=johannes-obadiah.org|access-date=2018-08-21}}</ref>
 ==Notes==
@@ Line 16: / Line 21: @@
 ==References==
 {{Commons category}}
-* {{cite journal|author1=[[Norman Golb]]|title=Obadiah the Proselyte: Scribe of a Unique Twelfth-Century Hebrew Manuscript Containing Lombardic Neumes|journal=[[The Journal of Religion]]|date=1965|volume=45|issue=2|pages=153–156|jstor=1200142}}
+* {{cite journal|author1=Norman Golb|author-link=Norman Golb|title=Obadiah the Proselyte: Scribe of a Unique Twelfth-Century Hebrew Manuscript Containing Lombardic Neumes|journal=[[The Journal of Religion]]|date=1965|volume=45|issue=2|pages=153–156|doi=10.1086/485773 |jstor=1200142|s2cid=170333605 |doi-access=free}}
-* {{cite journal|author1=[[Norman Golb]]|title=The Music of Obadiah the Proselyte and His Conversion |journal=Journal of Jewish Studies|date=1967|volume=18|issue=1–4|pages=43–63|url=http://www.jjs-online.net/archives/article/549|doi=10.18647/549/JJS-1967}}
+* {{cite journal|author1=Norman Golb|author-link=Norman Golb|title=The Music of Obadiah the Proselyte and His Conversion |journal=Journal of Jewish Studies|date=1967|volume=18|issue=1–4|pages=43–63|url=http://www.jjs-online.net/archives/article/549|doi=10.18647/549/JJS-1967}}
 * [[Norman Golb]] (1987). ''[https://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/jewish_proselytism.pdf Jewish Proselytism — A Phenomenon in the Religious History of Early Medieval Europe]'', 10th annual Rabbi Louis Feinberg memorial lecture in Judaic Studies, [[University of Cincinnati]].
-* [[Norman Golb]] (2004) ''[https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/individual-scholarship/autograph-memoirs-obadiah-proselyte-oppido-lucano-and-epistle-barukh The Autograph Memoirs Of Obadiah The Proselyte Of Oppido Lucano, and The Epistle Of Barukh B. Isaac Of Aleppo]
+* [[Norman Golb]] (2004) ''[https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/individual-scholarship/autograph-memoirs-obadiah-proselyte-oppido-lucano-and-epistle-barukh The Autograph Memoirs Of Obadiah The Proselyte Of Oppido Lucano, and The Epistle Of Barukh B. Isaac Of Aleppo]''
 * [[Benjamin Z. Kedar]] (2005) "The Voyages of Giuan-Ovadiah in Syria and Iraq and the Enigma of his Conversion", in ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ke3aXnldRMEC Giovanni-Ovadiah da Oppido, proselito, viaggiatore e musicista dell'età normanna]''
-* {{cite book|author1=Stefan C. Reif|title=A Jewish Archive from Old Cairo: The History of Cambridge University's Genizah Collection|date=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780700712762}}
+* {{cite book|author1=Stefan C. Reif|title=A Jewish Archive from Old Cairo: The History of Cambridge University's Genizah Collection|date=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780700712762}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=LPON0YDp4XwC&pg=PA152&lpg=PA152 google books preview]
 {{Authority control}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Proselyte, Obadiah the}}
-[[Category:Converts to Judaism]]
 [[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
 [[Category:11th-century births]]
 [[Category:12th-century deaths]]
+[[Category:12th-century converts to Judaism]]
 [[Category:Italian musicians]]
-[[Category:Medieval Italian Jews]]
 [[Category:People from the Province of Potenza]]
-[[Category:Converts to Judaism from Christianity]]
 [[Category:Converts to Judaism from Roman Catholicism]]
-[[Category:11th-century Italian people]]
+[[Category:11th-century Italian Jews]]
-[[Category:12th-century Italian people]]
+[[Category:11th-century Italian writers]]
+[[Category:12th-century Italian Jews]]
+[[Category:12th-century Italian writers]]
+[[Category:Byzantine Jews]]
-{{Italy-musician-stub}}
-{{Jewish-hist-stub}}
+[[Category:Jewish musicians]]

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