However, in the appreciation of Jewish Legends, it is the
Rabbinic writers that should form the point of departure, and not
the pseudepigrapha. The former represent the main stream of
Jewish thought and feeling, the latter only an undercurrent. If
the Synagogue cast out the pseudepigrapha, and the Church adopted
them with a great show of favor, these respective attitudes were
not determined arbitrarily or by chance. The pseudepigrapha
originated in circles that harbored the germs from which
Christianity developed later on. The Church could thus
appropriate them as her own with just reason.

In the use of some of the apocryphal and pseudepigraphic
writings, I found it expedient to quote the English translations
of them made by others, in so far as they could be brought into
accord with the general style of the book, for which purpose I
permitted myself the liberty of slight verbal changes. In
particulars, I was guided, naturally, by my own conception of the
subject, which the Notes justify in detail.

Besides the pseudepigrapha there are other Jewish sources in
Christian garb. In the rich literature of the Church Fathers many
a Jewish legend lies embalmed which one would seek in vain in
Jewish books. It was therefore my special concern to use the
writings of the Fathers to the utmost.

The luxuriant abundance of the material to be presented made it
impossible to give a verbal rendition of each legend. This would
have required more than three times the space at my disposal. I
can therefore claim completeness for my work only as to content.