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Samaritans
- Thread starter Tellyontellyon
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Reluctant Theologian
אַבְרָהָם
The Samaritans as a people is a mix of a remnant of some of 10 tribes of Israel and people who moved there from Assyria as a colonisation effort when the Assyrians conquered the 10 tribe Kingdom of Israel. The Kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms (Judah (2 tribes) and Israel (10 tribes)) around 922 to 721 BC.
After the split the rulers of the 10 tribe kingdom wanted its inhabitants to not travel to Jerusalem to worship but do that in Samaria area instead. The Samaritans up to this day have their own version of the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses), they still sacrifice up to this day, and currently only about 400 actual Samaritans are left.
Their version of the Pentateuch/Torah instructs them to worship on Mount Gerizim near Shechem instead of Jerusalem - the Samaritan Pentateuch has several thousand significant differences with the main Masorete Torah that is the basis for most English translations now. But surprisingly in some places the Samaritan version lines up well with the Septuagint Greek translation of the TNK (Torah, Prophets, Writings). It will remain up to scholarly research which textual variants are likely to be closest to the original Torah.
Given the political motivations after the kingdom split it would be expected that at least some significant changes/differences in the Samaritan version have been inserted deliberately.
After the split the rulers of the 10 tribe kingdom wanted its inhabitants to not travel to Jerusalem to worship but do that in Samaria area instead. The Samaritans up to this day have their own version of the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses), they still sacrifice up to this day, and currently only about 400 actual Samaritans are left.
Their version of the Pentateuch/Torah instructs them to worship on Mount Gerizim near Shechem instead of Jerusalem - the Samaritan Pentateuch has several thousand significant differences with the main Masorete Torah that is the basis for most English translations now. But surprisingly in some places the Samaritan version lines up well with the Septuagint Greek translation of the TNK (Torah, Prophets, Writings). It will remain up to scholarly research which textual variants are likely to be closest to the original Torah.
Given the political motivations after the kingdom split it would be expected that at least some significant changes/differences in the Samaritan version have been inserted deliberately.
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Joseph G
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Remember, you asked! Probably more than you intended, but I found the info fascinating so thought I'd share it all...
From Samaritans - Wikipedia
Per their tradition, the Samaritans are descended from the Israelites who, unlike the Ten Lost Tribes of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, were not subject to the Assyrian captivity after the northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and annexed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. Regarding the Samaritan Pentateuch as the unaltered Torah, the Samaritans view the Jews as close relatives, but claims that Judaism fundamentally alters the original Israelite religion. The most notable theological divide between Jewish and Samaritan doctrine concerns the world's holiest site, which the Jews believe is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and which Samaritans believe is Mount Gerizim near modern Nablus and ancient Shechem.[3][4] Both Jews and Samaritans assert that the Binding of Isaac occurred at their respective holy sites, identifying them as Moriah. The Samaritans attribute their schism with the Jews to Eli, who was a High Priest of Israel around the 11th century BCE and who is accused in Samaritan belief of having established a religious shrine at Shiloh to oppose the original one at Mount Gerizim.
Once a large community, the Samaritan population shrank significantly in the wake of the Samaritan revolts, which were brutally suppressed by the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century. Their numbers were further reduced by Christianization under the Byzantines and later by Islamization following the Arab conquest of the Levant.[5] In the 12th century, the Jewish explorer and writer Benjamin of Tudela estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Palestine and Syria.[6]
As of 2024, the Samaritan community numbers around 900 people, split almost evenly between Israel (some 460 in Holon) and the West Bank (some 380 in Kiryat Luza).[7] The Samaritans in Kiryat Luza speak Levantine Arabic, while those in Holon primarily speak Israeli Hebrew. For liturgy, they also use Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic, both of which are written in the Samaritan script. According to Samaritan tradition, the position of the community's leading Samaritan High Priest has continued without interruption over the course of the last 3600 years, beginning with the Hebrew prophet Aaron. Since 2013, the 133rd Samaritan High Priest has been Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach.
For censuses, Israeli law treats Samaritans as a distinct religious community, but the Chief Rabbinate of Israel defines them as ethnically Jewish (i.e., Israelite).[8] Rabbinic literature, however, rejected the Samaritans' Halakhic Jewishness unless the community renounced Mount Gerizim as the historical Israelite holy site, though Jewish–Samaritan marriages have become increasingly common and accepted in Israel.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans#cite_note-10 All Samaritans in both Holon and Kiryat Luza are Israeli citizens, but those in Kiryat Luza also hold Palestinian citizenship.
There are also a significant and growing number of communities, families, and individuals around the world who, despite not being part of the Samaritan community, identify with and observe the tenets and traditions of the Samaritans' ethnic religion. The largest community globally, the "Shomrey HaTorah" of Brazil, has approximately 20,000 members as of February 2023.[9]
=====
Why were the Samaritans of Jesus' time despised?
From Pastor explains ongoing feud between Jews and Samaritans
The Jews had an ongoing feud with the Samaritans from the time they returned from Babylonian captivity. Bible students call this the Samaritan Schism.
When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was conquering most of the Middle Eastern world, he used a tactic designed to keep his captives from uniting and rebelling. He played a kind of "Fruit Basket Turn-Over" by moving large populations of countries to different locations. So, when he took most of Judah to Babylon he resettled other people in their place.
Not all the Jews were carried off. The elderly and sickly were left, and many Temple scribes were left to care for them. With the country almost vacant, the scribes and other able-bodied people moved into the plantations on the rolling pasturelands of Samaria. These intermarried with those who were brought in, so that the Samaritans were no longer a pure Jewish race. Seventy years later, when the Jews returned, the Samaritans came to help rebuild Jerusalem. The Jews called them "half-breeds" and sent them home. The Samaritans built their own temple which the Jews considered pagan. The feud grew, and by the time of Christ, the Jews hated the Samaritans so much they crossed the Jordan river rather than travel through Samaria.
But, John 4:4 says Jesus had to go through Samaria. Why? Because he had a divine appointment with a woman there who later said she believed when the Messiah came he would teach her about God (verse 25). Later, to shame the Jews for their prejudice, Jesus made the main character in one of his parables a Good Samaritan (Luke 10); and the 1 leper of 10 in Luke 17 who returned to thank Jesus was a Samaritan. On a side note, the scribes later became so wealthy they hired servants to copy the scrolls. They became the lawyers who interpreted the Laws of Moses and gave Jesus much opposition.
In John 4:26 we find an important revelation. It was to a sinful Samaritan woman that Jesus announced he was the promised Messiah. Jesus was not prejudiced, and he taught his followers to respect all people.
- Dr. Tom Lovorn is pastor of God's Storehouse Baptist Church in Richmond, and writes a weekly column on religion for The Progress-Index. You may send your Bible questions to Dr. Tom in care of this newspaper or via his web site at www.tomlovorn.us.
From Samaritans - Wikipedia
Per their tradition, the Samaritans are descended from the Israelites who, unlike the Ten Lost Tribes of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, were not subject to the Assyrian captivity after the northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and annexed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. Regarding the Samaritan Pentateuch as the unaltered Torah, the Samaritans view the Jews as close relatives, but claims that Judaism fundamentally alters the original Israelite religion. The most notable theological divide between Jewish and Samaritan doctrine concerns the world's holiest site, which the Jews believe is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and which Samaritans believe is Mount Gerizim near modern Nablus and ancient Shechem.[3][4] Both Jews and Samaritans assert that the Binding of Isaac occurred at their respective holy sites, identifying them as Moriah. The Samaritans attribute their schism with the Jews to Eli, who was a High Priest of Israel around the 11th century BCE and who is accused in Samaritan belief of having established a religious shrine at Shiloh to oppose the original one at Mount Gerizim.
Once a large community, the Samaritan population shrank significantly in the wake of the Samaritan revolts, which were brutally suppressed by the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century. Their numbers were further reduced by Christianization under the Byzantines and later by Islamization following the Arab conquest of the Levant.[5] In the 12th century, the Jewish explorer and writer Benjamin of Tudela estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Palestine and Syria.[6]
As of 2024, the Samaritan community numbers around 900 people, split almost evenly between Israel (some 460 in Holon) and the West Bank (some 380 in Kiryat Luza).[7] The Samaritans in Kiryat Luza speak Levantine Arabic, while those in Holon primarily speak Israeli Hebrew. For liturgy, they also use Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic, both of which are written in the Samaritan script. According to Samaritan tradition, the position of the community's leading Samaritan High Priest has continued without interruption over the course of the last 3600 years, beginning with the Hebrew prophet Aaron. Since 2013, the 133rd Samaritan High Priest has been Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach.
For censuses, Israeli law treats Samaritans as a distinct religious community, but the Chief Rabbinate of Israel defines them as ethnically Jewish (i.e., Israelite).[8] Rabbinic literature, however, rejected the Samaritans' Halakhic Jewishness unless the community renounced Mount Gerizim as the historical Israelite holy site, though Jewish–Samaritan marriages have become increasingly common and accepted in Israel.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans#cite_note-10 All Samaritans in both Holon and Kiryat Luza are Israeli citizens, but those in Kiryat Luza also hold Palestinian citizenship.
There are also a significant and growing number of communities, families, and individuals around the world who, despite not being part of the Samaritan community, identify with and observe the tenets and traditions of the Samaritans' ethnic religion. The largest community globally, the "Shomrey HaTorah" of Brazil, has approximately 20,000 members as of February 2023.[9]
=====
Why were the Samaritans of Jesus' time despised?
From Pastor explains ongoing feud between Jews and Samaritans
The Jews had an ongoing feud with the Samaritans from the time they returned from Babylonian captivity. Bible students call this the Samaritan Schism.
When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was conquering most of the Middle Eastern world, he used a tactic designed to keep his captives from uniting and rebelling. He played a kind of "Fruit Basket Turn-Over" by moving large populations of countries to different locations. So, when he took most of Judah to Babylon he resettled other people in their place.
Not all the Jews were carried off. The elderly and sickly were left, and many Temple scribes were left to care for them. With the country almost vacant, the scribes and other able-bodied people moved into the plantations on the rolling pasturelands of Samaria. These intermarried with those who were brought in, so that the Samaritans were no longer a pure Jewish race. Seventy years later, when the Jews returned, the Samaritans came to help rebuild Jerusalem. The Jews called them "half-breeds" and sent them home. The Samaritans built their own temple which the Jews considered pagan. The feud grew, and by the time of Christ, the Jews hated the Samaritans so much they crossed the Jordan river rather than travel through Samaria.
But, John 4:4 says Jesus had to go through Samaria. Why? Because he had a divine appointment with a woman there who later said she believed when the Messiah came he would teach her about God (verse 25). Later, to shame the Jews for their prejudice, Jesus made the main character in one of his parables a Good Samaritan (Luke 10); and the 1 leper of 10 in Luke 17 who returned to thank Jesus was a Samaritan. On a side note, the scribes later became so wealthy they hired servants to copy the scrolls. They became the lawyers who interpreted the Laws of Moses and gave Jesus much opposition.
In John 4:26 we find an important revelation. It was to a sinful Samaritan woman that Jesus announced he was the promised Messiah. Jesus was not prejudiced, and he taught his followers to respect all people.
- Dr. Tom Lovorn is pastor of God's Storehouse Baptist Church in Richmond, and writes a weekly column on religion for The Progress-Index. You may send your Bible questions to Dr. Tom in care of this newspaper or via his web site at www.tomlovorn.us.
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