A decorative woodcut headpiece featuring symmetrical floral scrollwork and foliage motifs.

To the Kind Reader.

Scholarly matters Gelehrte Sachen: matters of academic or theological study belong to learned people, for whose sake such things are published in the world. Learned people seek learned books so that they may become even more learned through them. It is indisputable that no more learned book can be found than the divine Holy Scripture. For wisdom has truth as its foundation, upon which the former is built as the most beautiful edifice. Since the Holy Scripture the Bible thus encompasses both divine and natural wisdom original: "Weisheit", I may surely venture—with this little work (which is grounded upon the same, and which I have compiled and prepared according to my modest knowledge of the ancient Hebrew language)—to [present it] The original German sentence breaks off here; the catchword "ter" suggests the next page begins with "unter," meaning "among" or "to." to the learned world...