It is the examination, as such, of how the thoughts of Jesus, the formulation of which has been transmitted to us in Greek, were expressed in the original idiom, that I consider of importance. But this cannot be separated from the consideration of the conceptions and thoughts which the Jewish sources offer for a comparison as regards subject matter and the relation of the thoughts and words of our Lord to them. Examples of such weighings of language and subject matter in connection with momentous words of our Lord are now presented in this book. At the same time I have attempted to illumine the background, and depict the environment in which our Lord's words were uttered, and have, therefore, thought it necessary to discuss the Jewish synagogal service, the Passover meal, and the Cross. Gustaf Dalman, from the Foreword
