Note to the Reader: Masoret ha-masoret

Notification to those who are interested

This is to announce to all interested in my book that when the head of the printers, the princely Daniel Bomberg, the Christian, decided to print the Twenty Four Books [of the Hebrew Bible] in large and small print, he printed them with the signs called in their language “chapters” [kapitolim] according to the order of the Christian books. And this thing is very helpful, as I wrote more in detail in the introduction to Sefer ha-bahur. And the said person who introduced the divisions into chapters, divided the book of Samuel and Kings each into two parts and so I am also obliged to conform to the same. [ . . . ] And I also wish to let you know that at every place in this book where I introduce something new or an important rule, which nobody found before me, you shall find the shape of a hand, touching the border of the margin and pointing with its finger, saying “look here, there is something new and innovative for you.”