  Halevi introduces the dialogue by assuming the voice of an anonymous narrator. This figure identifies the overall concern of the ensuing discussions by indicating that he had been asked about whatever argumentation he had against those who differ or take issue with the Jews, naming as examples the philosophers generally, the adherents of the other major religions of the time (Christianity and Islam), and those who have seceded from the great majority of Jews because of their differences with them. Among the latter, it is likely that the Karaites were foremost in his mind. The narrator then establishes the context of the dialogue by recalling what he had heard of the arguments used by a Jewish sage approximately four hundred years earlier that persuaded the king of the Khazars to adopt the Jewish religion based on testimony recorded in historical chronicles of the time. This recollection leads directly to the frame story on which all that follows is predicated.