Samaritanism

Did You Know?

• Samaritan elders usually wear a red turban and cassock, changing to more striking clothing on Saturdays and sacred days.
• In the Babylonian Talmud, conversion to Judaism requires a Samaritan to renounce belief in the sanctity of Mount Gerizim.

History

Samaritanism holds that Mount Gerizim is the true location of God's Holy Place, and traces its distinct identity to a period soon after the Israelites entered the Promised Land. Samaritan historiography attributes the schism to High Priest Eli leaving Mount Gerizim, where the first Israelite altar in Canaan stood, and building a competing altar in Shiloh. The Israelites who followed Eli later settled Jerusalem and became Jews, while those who remained on Mount Gerizim became Samaritans.

The 14th-century Samaritan historian Abu l-Fath and the 18th-century Adler chronicle both comment on these origins. Modern genetic studies from 2004 suggest that Samaritan lineages share a common ancestor with Jews in the paternally-inherited Jewish high priesthood, temporally near the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel, and are probably descendants of the historical Israelite population. The religion of the proto-Samaritans was likely identical to that of Judea for several centuries after the Kingdom of Israel's destruction.

Samaritanism probably emerged as a distinct tradition only during the Hasmonean and Roman era, by which time Yahwism had become Second Temple Judaism. The temple on Mount Gerizim was built in the 5th century BCE, but large-scale construction beginning around the 4th century BCE indicates its pre-eminent status was established then. Theological debates between Jews and Samaritans are attested from the 2nd century BCE, suggesting the Samaritan Pentateuch had already taken shape.

Beliefs

Samaritanism affirms one God called YHWH, the same God recognized by Jewish prophets. The Torah is the only true holy book, given by God to Moses; a variation of the Book of Joshua exists but is not regarded as scripture. Moses is considered the final Prophet, with authority passing to the successive Samaritan Priesthood from Aaron's line. Shechem, not Jerusalem, is the one true sanctuary chosen by God; Mount Gerizim is held as the site of the Binding of Isaac.

An apocalypse called 'the day of vengeance' will occur at the end of days. A figure called the Taheb from the Tribe of Joseph will emerge as a prophet like Moses for 40 years, restore the Kingdom of Israel, resurrect the dead, discover the Tabernacle, bring it to Mount Gerizim, and be buried next to Joseph. Samaritans reject the sanctity of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, all other books of the Tanakh, and later Jewish literature such as the Talmud, Midrash, and Tosefta.

Festivals and observances

Samaritans maintain a high priesthood and practice slaughtering and eating lambs on Passover eve. They celebrate Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot using a different method than Judaism to determine dates annually; Yom Teru'ah is not considered a New Year. The Sabbath is observed weekly from Friday to Saturday at sundown, with electricity disconnected except minimal lighting, no work, cooking, or driving, and seven prayer services. Passover is particularly important, climaxing with the sacrifice of up to 40 sheep.

The Counting of the Omer is largely unchanged, but the week before Shavuot features a unique festival celebrating Samaritan continuity since Moses; Shavuot includes nearly day-long services over stones on Gerizim attributed to Joshua. During Sukkot, the sukkah is built inside houses, a tradition traced to Byzantine persecution; its roof is decorated with citrus fruits and branches of palm, myrtle, and willow. During holidays, Samaritans recite liturgy with an audible pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton as Yahúwēh.

Religious texts

Samaritan law differs from Halakha and other Jewish movements. The Abisha Scroll is a Pentateuch manuscript attributed to Abishua, grandson of Aaron, traditionally compiled during the Bronze Age. Historical writings include the Tolidah (creation to Abishah), the Chronicle of Joshua (4th century, in Arabic and Aramaic), the Adler chronicle, and the Kitab al-Tarikh of Abu 'l-Fath. Halakhic texts comprise the Hillukh (code of Halakha, marriage, circumcision), the Kitab at-Tabbah (12th century by Abu Al Hassan), and the Kitab al-Kafi (14th century by Yosef Al Ascar). Haggadic Midrash texts include Al-Asatir (11th–12th century Aramaic legends), works by Abu'l Hasan al-Suri and Memar Markah (3rd or 4th century), and treatises on the Taheb and the birth of Moses. Liturgical texts include the Defter prayer book and the Samaritan Haggadah.