Samaritanism is the

Abrahamic The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. Jewish tradition ...

monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...

ethnic religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a pri ...

of the

Samaritan people Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samarit ...

, an

ethnoreligious group An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of people who are unified by a common religious and ethnic background. Furthermore, the term ethno-religious group, along with ethno-regional and ethno-linguistic groups, is a s ...

who, alongside

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, originate from the ancient

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

. Its central holy text is the

Samaritan Pentateuch The Samaritan Torah ( Samaritan Hebrew: , ''Tōrāʾ''), also called the Samaritan Pentateuch, is a text of the Torah written in the Samaritan script and used as sacred scripture by the Samaritans. It dates back to one of the ancient version ...

, which Samaritans believe is the original, unchanged version of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

. Samaritans describe their religion as the holy faith that began with

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

, unchanged over the millennia that have since passed. Samaritans believe that the Jewish Torah, and

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

, have been corrupted by time and no longer serve the duties that God mandated to the Israelites on

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

. The holiest site for Samaritans in their faith is

Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim (; Samaritan Hebrew: ''ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzēm''; Hebrew: ''Har Gərīzīm''; ar, جَبَل جَرِزِيم ''Jabal Jarizīm'' or جَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ ''Jabal at-Ṭūr'') is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinit ...

near

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

, while Jews view the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compoun ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

as their most sacred location.

History

Samaritanism holds that the summit of

is the true location of God's Holy Place. Samaritans trace their history as a separate entity to a period soon after the Israelites' entry into the

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

. Samaritan historiography traces the schism itself to

High Priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...

Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

leaving Mount Gerizim, where stood the first Israelite altar in Canaan, and building a competing altar in nearby Shiloh. The dissenting group of Israelites who had followed Eli to Shiloh would be the ones who in later years would head south to conquer

(the Jews), whereas the Israelites who stayed on Mount Gerizim, in Samaria, would become known as the Samaritans.

Abu l-Fath Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

, who in the 14th century wrote a major work of Samaritan history, comments on Samaritan origins as follows:

A terrible civil war broke out between Eli son of Yafni, of the line of Ithamar, and the sons of Pincus ( Phinehas), because Eli son of Yafni resolved to usurp the High Priesthood from the descendants of Pincus. He used to offer sacrifices on an altar of stones. He was 50 years old, endowed with wealth and in charge of the treasury of the Children of Israel. ... He offered a sacrifice on the altar, but without salt, as if he were inattentive. When the Great High Priest Ozzi learned of this, and found the sacrifice was not accepted, he thoroughly disowned him; and it is (even) said that he rebuked him. Thereupon he and the group that sympathized with him, rose in revolt and at once he and his followers and his beasts set off for Shiloh. Thus Israel split in factions. He sent to their leaders saying to them, ''Anyone who would like to see wonderful things, let him come to me.'' Then he assembled a large group around him in Shiloh, and built a Temple for himself there; he constructed a place like the Temple [on
Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim (; Samaritan Hebrew: ''ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzēm''; Hebrew: ''Har Gərīzīm''; ar, جَبَل جَرِزِيم ''Jabal Jarizīm'' or جَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ ''Jabal at-Ṭūr'') is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinit ...
]. He built an altar, omitting no detail—it all corresponded to the original, piece by piece. At this time the Children of Israel split into three factions. A loyal faction on
Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim (; Samaritan Hebrew: ''ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzēm''; Hebrew: ''Har Gərīzīm''; ar, جَبَل جَرِزِيم ''Jabal Jarizīm'' or جَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ ''Jabal at-Ṭūr'') is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinit ...
; a heretical faction that followed false gods; and the faction that followed Eli son of Yafni in Shiloh.

Further, the ''Samaritan Chronicle Adler'', or New Chronicle, believed to have been composed in the 18th century using earlier chronicles as sources, states: Modern genetic studies (2004) suggest that Samaritans' lineages trace back to a common ancestor with Jews in the paternally-inherited Jewish high priesthood (

Cohanim Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally b ...

) temporally proximate to the period of the Assyrian conquest of the kingdom of Israel, and are probably descendants of the historical Israelite population, albeit isolated given the people's reclusive history. Conflicts between the Samaritans and the Jews were numerous between the end of the Assyrian diaspora and the

Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Judea (Roman province), Roman province of Judea, led b ...

. Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan also gives evidence of conflict. The great Temple of the Samaritans, on top of

, was destroyed under the orders of Jewish leader John Hyrcanus. Following the failed revolts, Mount Gerizim was rededicated with a new temple, which was ultimately again destroyed during the

Samaritan revolts The Samaritan revolts (c. 484–573) were a series of insurrections in Palaestina Prima province, launched by the Samaritans against the Eastern Roman Empire. The revolts were marked by great violence on both sides, and their brutal suppression a ...

. Persecution of Samaritans was common in the following centuries.

Beliefs

The principal beliefs of Samaritanism are as follows: * There is one God,

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

, the same God recognized by the Jewish prophets. Faith is in the unity of the Creator which is absolute unity. It is the cause of the causes, and it fills the entire world. His nature can not be understood by human beings, but according to his actions and according to his revelation to his people and the kindness he showed them. * The

is the only true holy book and was given by God to

. The Torah was created before the creation of the world and whoever believes in it is assured a part in the World to Come. The status of the Torah in Samaritanism as the only holy book causes Samaritans to reject the

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ� ...

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

, and all prophets and scriptures except for Joshua, whose book in the Samaritan community is significantly different from the Book of Joshua in the

Jewish Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Rabbinical works (the

, comprising the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

and the

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...

) is rejected. Moses is considered to be the last of the line of prophets. * Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the one true sanctuary chosen by God. The Samaritans do not recognize the sanctity of Jerusalem and do not recognize the

, claiming instead that

was the place where the

binding of Isaac The Binding of Isaac ( he, , ), or simply "The Binding" (, ), is a story from Genesis 22 of the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. As Abraham begins to comply, having bound Isaa ...

took place. * The apocalypse, called "the day of vengeance", will be the end of days, when a figure called the Taheb (essentially the Samaritan equivalent of the

Jewish Messiah The Messiah in Judaism () is a savior and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology, who is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jewish people. The concept of messianism originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible a messiah is a king or Hig ...

) from the tribe of Joseph, will come, be a prophet like Moses for forty years and bring about the return of all the Israelites, following which the dead will be resurrected. The Taheb will then discover the tent of Moses'

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

on Mount Gerizim, and will be buried next to Joseph when he dies.

Festivals and observances

The Samaritans

preserve The word preserve may refer to: Common uses * Fruit preserves, a type of sweet spread or condiment * Nature reserve, an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or other special interest, usually protected Arts, entertainment, and media ...

the proto-Hebraic script, conserve the institution of a High Priesthood, and the practice of slaughtering and eating lambs on

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

eve. They celebrate

Pesach Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or ...

Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...

Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tishre ...

but use a different mode from that employed in Judaism in order to determine the dates annually. Yom Teru'ah (the Biblical name for "

Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...

"), at the beginning of

Tishrei Tishrei () or Tishri (; he, ''tīšrē'' or ''tīšrī''; from Akkadian ''tašrītu'' "beginning", from ''šurrû'' "to begin") is the first month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year ...

, is not considered a

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

as it is in

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

. Passover is particularly important in the Samaritan community, climaxing with the sacrifice of up to 40 sheep. The

Counting of the Omer Counting of the Omer (, Sefirat HaOmer, sometimes abbreviated as Sefira or the Omer) is an important verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days starting with the Wave Offering of a sheaf of ripe grain with a sacrifice immediately following ...

remains largely unchanged; however, the week before

is a unique festival celebrating the continued commitment Samaritanism has maintained since the time of Moses. Shavuot is characterized by nearly day-long services of continuous prayer, especially over the stones on Gerizim traditionally attributed to Joshua. During

, the

sukkah A or succah (; he, סוכה ; plural, ' or ''sukkos'' or ''sukkoth'', often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated w ...

is built inside houses, as opposed to outdoor settings that are traditional among Jews. Samaritan historian Benyamim Tsedaka traces the indoor-sukkah tradition to persecution of Samaritans during the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The roof of the Samaritan sukkah is decorated with citrus fruits and the branches of palm, myrtle, and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

trees, according to the Samaritan interpretation of the four species designated in the Torah for the holiday. File:Samaritans.jpg, Samaritans, from a photo c. 1900 by the

Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, and is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study ...

. File:2106 WLM - OVEDC - Mount Gerizim - SUKUT 15.jpg,

on Mount Gerizim File:Bitknest2.jpg, Entrance to a modern Samaritan synagogue in the city of

Holon Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...

, Israel

Religious texts

Samaritan law differs from

Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

(Rabbinic Jewish law) and other Jewish movements. The Samaritans have several groups of religious texts, which correspond to Jewish Halakha. A few examples of such texts are: Samaritan High Priest and Old Pentateuch, 1905

Samaritan High Priest and Old Pentateuch, 1905

: There are some 6,000 differences between the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Masoretic Jewish Pentateuch text; and, according to one estimate, 1,900 points of agreement between it and the Greek LXX version. Several passages in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

would also appear to echo a Torah textual tradition not dissimilar to that conserved in the Samaritan text. There are several theories regarding the similarities. The variations, some corroborated by readings in the Old Latin, Syriac and Ethiopian translations, attest to the antiquity of the Samaritan text, although the exact date of composition is still largely unclear. Granted special attention is the so-called " Abisha Scroll", a manuscript of the Pentateuch tradition attributed to

Abishua Abishua ( ''ʾĂḇīšūaʿ'', "my father is rescue") was an early High priest of Israel. z,, Name and namesakes *The meaning of the name "Abishua" is uncertain, but may be "the (divine) father is opulence."Cheyne and Black (1899), ''Encyclopaedi ...

, grandson of

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

, traditionally compiled during the Bronze Age. However, testing on the scroll revealed it was created no earlier than the 14th century CE, in fact around a century younger than the world's oldest Torah scroll. * Historical writings ** ''

Samaritan Chronicle, The Tolidah The ''Tolidah'' or ''Tulida'' (meaning "Genealogy") is the oldest Samaritan historical work. Written mainly in Hebrew, with sections in hybrid Samaritan Hebrew and Aramaic, the book provides a concise summary of Samaritan history and the dynast ...

'' (Creation to the time of Abishah) ** ''Samaritan Chronicle'', The Chronicle of Joshua (Israel during the time of divine favor) (4th century, in Arabic and Aramaic) ** ''Samaritan Chronicle, Adler'' (Israel from the time of divine disfavor until the exile) *

Hagiographical A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

texts ** ''Samaritan Halakhic Text'', The Hillukh (Code of Halakha, marriage, circumcision, etc.) ** ''Samaritan Halakhic Text'', the Kitab at-Tabbah (Halakha and interpretation of some verses and chapters from the Torah, written by Abu Al Hassan 12th century CE) ** ''Samaritan Halakhic Text'', the Kitab al-Kafi (Book of Halakha, written by Yosef Al Ascar 14th century CE) ** ''Al-Asatir''—legendary Aramaic texts from the 11th and 12th centuries, containing: *** ''Haggadic Midrash'', Abu'l Hasan al-Suri *** ''Haggadic Midrash'', Memar Markah—3rd or 4th century theological treatises attributed to ''Hakkam'' Markha *** ''Haggadic Midrash'', Pinkhas on the Taheb *** ''Haggadic Midrash'', Molad Maseh (On the birth of Moses) * ''Defter'', prayer book of psalms and hymns. * ''Samaritan Haggadah''זבח קרבן הפסח : הגדה של פסח, נוסח שומרוני (Samaritan Haggada & Pessah Passover / Zevaḥ ḳorban ha-Pesaḥ : Hagadah shel Pesaḥ, nusaḥ Shomroni = Samaritan Haggada & Pessah Passover), Avraham Nur Tsedaḳah, Tel Aviv, 1958

References

Bibliography

* * Anderson, Robert T., Giles, Terry (2005)
"Tradition kept: the literature of the Samaritans"
Hendrickson Publishers. * Bourgel Jonathan,
Brethren or Strangers Samaritans in the Eyes of Second Century ʙ ᴄ ᴇ Jews
, ''Biblica'' 98/3 (2017), pp. 382–408. * * * * * Heinsdorff, Cornel (2003). ''Christus, Nikodemus und die Samaritanerin bei Juvencus. Mit einem Anhang zur lateinischen Evangelienvorlage'' (= Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte, Bd. 67), Berlin/New York. * * * * * * * * * * Zertal, Adam (1989). "The Wedge-Shaped Decorated Bowl and the Origin of the Samaritans". ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', No. 276. (November 1989), pp. 77–84. {{Authority control Samaritans

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...