Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/14

 constantly-quoted Elpherar and Maraccius) need not be dwelt upon in detail. The Jewish writings which I have used consist almost entirely of the Bible, the Talmud, and the Midrashim, and in accordance with my determination to reject all Jewish writings later than Muhammad's time, they had to be thus limited. The few passages which are taken from other writings, of which the age is not so exactly known, such as the sections of Rabbi Elieser, the Book Hayyashar, and the two differing Recensions of the Jerusalem Targum on the Pentateuch (which are placed in a somewhat later period than that of the composition of the Quran by the learned Zunz in his latest valuable work Die Gottesdienstlichen Vortrage der Juden historisch entwickelt : Berlin, 1832, A. Asher) are all of such a kind that one can generally point to some decided declaration in Holy Scripture itself from which such opinions and traditions may have arisen, and therefore their priority of existence in Judaism can be accepted without hesitation.

I must publicly offer my thanks to Professor Freytag for the many different kindnesses he has shown me in connection with this work, and also to my dear friends S. Frensdorf and J. Dernburg for their help in the correction of the proofs. Finally, I here express my heartfelt wish that this little work may be true to the spirit of our time, the striving after true knowledge, and that learned men may give me the benefit of their criticisms upon it.


 * THE AUTHOR.


 * WIESBADEN,
 * May 12th, 1833.