A second edition, “corrected and amended,” sm. 4to, was published in 1651 and reprinted in 1652. It is the latter which is reproduced in the present volume on account of its convenient format, and of the Appendices which throw light on the motives by which the publication in England was actuated.
The following is a list of other editions and translations:—
1659. Spanish by Jedidjah Ibn Gabbai (Smyrna). 1666. Dutch by Jan Bara (Amsterdam). 1691. Judeo-German by Mardochai ben Moses Drucker (Amsterdam). 1697. Hebrew by Eljakim ben Jacob (Amsterdam). 1703. Ibid. 1712. Judeo-German (Frankfort) reprint of 1691 edition. 1723. Spanish (Amsterdam) reprint of original edition. 1792. English by Robert Ingram (Colchester). 1836. Hebrew (Wilna) reprint of 1703 edition. 1850. English (London) reprint of 1650 edition. 1881. Spanish, by Santiago Perez Junquera (Madrid), reprint of original edition.
The Epistle Dedicatory
P. [4], l. 9. “Not onely by your prayers.” This, no doubt, refers to the protection extended by the Government to the Marranos in London. (See Introduction, p. xxx.)
To the Courteous Reader
P. [6], l. 21. “Others to the Ten Tribes.” There is a very voluminous literature of the Ten Tribes, a bibliography of which has long been promised by Mr. Joseph Jacobs. Bancroft in his “Native Races of the Pacific States of North America” discusses the theory of the Hebrew origin of the Americans (vol. v. pp. 77–95). Santiago Perez Junquera in his Spanish reprint of “Esperanza de Israel” gives a bibliography of Spanish writers who have dealt with the problem of the Ten Tribes. The Jewish legends on the subject, none of which admit the American theory, have been summarised by Dr. A. Neubauer in the Jewish Quarterly Review (vol. i. pp. 14, 95, 185, 408). See also M. Lewin, “Wo wären die Zehn Stämme Israels zu suchen” (1901).
The following selections from the vast literature of the Ten Tribes, especially in its relation to Menasseh ben Israel, may be recommended to investigators of this curious craze:—
Enquiries touching the Diversity of Languages and Religions through the chief parts of the world, written by Edw. Brerewood. London, 1635.
Thos. Thorowgood—Jews in America, &c. 1650.