Another colony of Idumaeans, flying from the sword of David, took refuge in the dominions of Romulus.

For these, or for other reasons of equal weight, the name of Edom was applied by the Jews to the Roman empire.

* Note: The false Josephus is a romancer of very modern date, though some of these legends are probably more ancient.

It may be worth considering whether many of the stories in the Talmud are not history in a figurative disguise, adopted from prudence.

The Jews might dare to say many things of Rome, under the significant appellation of Edom, which they feared to utter publicly.