Samaritan

A Samaritan is a member of a group of people who inhabited the town of Samaria in ancient times or who is descended from these ancient people. Samaritans follow a form of Judaism that depends on an alternate version of the Pentateuch, or ancient Hebrew scriptures. In biblical times, Samaritans were considered outcasts who followed unholy practices. A few hundred descendants of Samaritans still exist, though as a people, they are nearly extinct. In contemporary times, the word Samaritan often is used to refer to a person who performs good deeds. The usage stems from a parable in the Christian Bible.

Background

The people of Israel trace their origins to Abraham, a revered figure not only in Judaism but also in Christianity and Islam, who lived around 1800 Before the Common Era. Abraham established monotheism, or the belief in one god. Through one of his sons, Isaac, Abraham had a grandson named Jacob. According to the Jewish and Christian Bibles, God renamed Jacob "Israel." He had twelve sons; each son later became the head of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The descendants of these twelve sons eventually formed the Israelites, also known as the Hebrew people. This is generally considered to have happened around the year 1300 BCE, after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into an area promised to them by God. Beginning around the year 1000 BCE, a series of kings, including David and his son Solomon, ruled the Israelites.

Solomon died between 926 and 922 BCE. After his death, ten of the twelve tribes refused to follow the new king, Rehoboam, who was Solomon's son. As a result, the Israelites split into two kingdoms, the Israelites in the north and the Judeans in the south. The Judeans worshiped in Jerusalem and made the city their capital, whereas the Israelites settled and worshiped in Samaria. The people of Samaria considered Mount Gerizim to be their holiest site because it was where, according to their tradition, a number of biblical events occurred, such as the formation of Adam and the resting of the ark after the Great Flood. Through time and poor leadership, the two nations shrank in size and became vulnerable to outside attacks.

In 722 BCE, the Assyrians conquered the Israelites in Samaria. According to the common practices of conquering nations at the time, the Assyrians sent many Israelites to live in other areas and resettled their homes and towns with Assyrians. The Assyrians worshiped many gods. However, like many of their contemporaries, the Assyrians were superstitious and did not want to risk offending any god—even one they did not believe in. As a result, the Assyrians adopted most of the religious practices of the Israelites. Intermarriage further blended the Assyrians and Israelites, until they all came to be known as Samaritans.

The Judeans did not consider these Samaritans to be true Jews. The Judeans had several reasons for thinking this way. The Samaritans worshiped outside Jerusalem, which was not acceptable to the Judeans. The Judeans also considered the Samaritans to be renegades because their beliefs did not align completely with the Judeans' beliefs. Over the years, political and ideological differences led to hatred and animosity between the two groups that persisted for decades.

Overview

Samaritans consider themselves to be Jews, but they developed key differences in their religious practices. The most significant difference is the Samaritans' rejection of any religious practice that is not included in the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, which are attributed to Moses. Samaritans adhere to the requirements of these books in a very literal fashion. For instance, they conduct ritual sacrifices of lambs on Passover and use the blood in a marking ceremony that recalls the way the Israelites marked their door frames to escape one of the plagues of Egypt, the death of the firstborn. They engage in ritual prayer, which is performed barefoot and involves wearing matching robes for Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath). In addition, they adhere to the biblical practice of having women live in separate homes during their monthly menstrual period.

While Samaritans follow the books of the Pentateuch more literally than most Jews do, they reject several practices that are part of the larger Jewish tradition. They do not engage in any of the practices or follow any of the rules developed by rabbinic traditions. They do not celebrate any holidays that are not mentioned in the Pentateuch, such as Hanukkah or Purim.

A number of differences exist in the wording between the Samaritans' version of the Pentateuch and the more widely used version included in the Hebrew Bible. Many of these are simple variations in the wording that appear to have been included to improve the flow for readers. Others affect the meaning of the text. In all, about six thousand differences exist between the Samaritan Torah and the mainstream Jewish Bible. For many years, scholars tended to refer more often to the version included in the longer Jewish Bible. However, the discovery of ancient texts commonly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 caused biblical scholars to realize that both versions may have been used and studied in ancient times. This gave the Samaritan version greater validity.

In the 2020s, about nine hundred people claim to be descended from the original Israelite tribes that formed when the kingdoms split after Solomon's death. They continue to live in the same region where their ancestors lived, and they form the smallest religious group in the Holy Land. They live in both Israel and the West Bank. They hold many religious ceremonies on Mount Gerizim. The community enjoyed a resurgence after the formation of the State of Israel in the 1940s. Samaritans have escaped the animosity traditionally found between Jews and Arabs; many Samaritans speak both Hebrew and Arabic and have names reflecting both traditions. Interest in the culture and history of the Samaritans, specifically in relation to the Jewish tradition, was once again ignited in 2024 when auction house Sotheby's announced the auctioning of a 1,500-year-old tablet containing the Samaritan version of the Ten Commandments.

Additional Significance

Since around the year 1630, the term Samaritan has been used to refer to a person who does good deeds for others. This usage stems from a parable, or story, in the Christian New Testament (Luke 10:25–37) in which a Samaritan provides care to a man who was beaten by robbers. The parable has resulted in the widespread application of the title "Good Samaritan" to any person who does something kind for another.

Bibliography

"Ancient Jewish History: The Two Kingdoms." Jewish Virtual Library, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-two-kingdoms-of-israel. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Balint, Benjamin. "Good Samaritans." Tablet, 18 May 2010, www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/33879/good-samaritans. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Collins, John C. A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Fortress Press, 2007, pp. 147–51.

Flanders, Henry Jackson, et al. People of the Covenant: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 463–4.

Hanukoglu, Israel. "A Brief History of Israel and the Jewish People." Israel Science and Technology Directory, www.science.co.il/israel-history. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Lieber, Chavie. "The Other Torah." Tablet, 14 May 2013, www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/132004/the-other-torah. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

“Oldest Inscribed Ten Commandments to be Auctioned in December.” The Times of Israel, 13 Nov. 2024, www.timesofisrael.com/oldest-inscribed-ten-commandments-to-be-auctioned-in-december. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

The Samaritan Update, 5 Nov. 2024, www.thesamaritanupdate.com. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

"Who Were the Samaritans and Why Were They Important?" Catholic Answers, www.catholic.com/qa/who-were-the-samaritans-and-why-were-they-important. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.