The Samaritans

The Samaritans
Name	Samaritans
Population	~800 (2020s)
Regions	Nablus, Holon, Mount Gerizim, West Bank
Languages	Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan Aramaic, Modern Hebrew, Arabic
Religions	Samaritanism
Related	Ancient Israelites, Jews, Phoenicians, Aramaeans

The Samaritans The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious community centered historically on Mount Gerizim and the city of Shechem (near modern Nablus), with diasporic presence in Holon and global scholarly networks. They claim descent from the Israelite tribes associated with Levi and Ephraim and maintain a distinct Samaritan Pentateuch tradition, priesthood under a High Priest, and liturgical calendar divergent from rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. Their history intersects with empires and polities including the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Babylonian captivity, Achaemenid Empire, Hasmonean dynasty, Herodian Kingdom, and Ottoman Empire.

Etymology and Name

Scholars debate the ethnonym's origins with proposals linking it to the Hebrew Bible term "Shomron" and the region of Samaria, attested in Assyrian inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II. Classical sources such as Josephus and Strabo record Greek forms; rabbinic texts in the Babylonian Talmud and Jerusalem Talmud and Christian writings like the Gospel of John reflect evolving exonyms. Modern scholarship invokes comparative linguistics with Ugaritic and Akkadian corpora, epigraphy from Tel Megiddo, and toponymy from Shechem.

Origins and Early History

Origins narratives appear in the Hebrew Bible and in Samaritan chronicle traditions linking to the Israelite settlement of Canaan and the construction of an alternative sanctuary on Mount Gerizim contemporaneous with the First Temple in Jerusalem. Archaeological data from sites such as Mount Gerizim excavations, Tell Balata, and finds at Samaria (ancient city) intersect with Assyrian deportation records and Sennacherib-era materials, while Persian period documents and the Elephantine papyri illuminate Persian administrative contexts. Conflicts with the Hasmonean dynasty and episodes recorded by Josephus and 1 Maccabees mark sectarianization during the late Second Temple period, paralleled by interactions with Pharisees, Sadducees, and emergent Early Christianity communities.

Religion and Beliefs

Samaritan theology centers on exclusive veneration of the Pentateuch as preserved in the Samaritan Pentateuch and on Mount Gerizim as the chosen place of worship, in opposition to Jerusalem and the Temple in Jerusalem. Doctrinal distinctives include observance of Passover sacrifice rituals, a liturgical calendar with feasts such as the annual Passover sacrifice on Mount Gerizim, and messianic expectations involving a Taheb or restorer figure compared to messianic motifs in Second Temple Judaism, Qumran, and Rabbinic literature. Ecclesiastical structure features a hereditary priesthood culminating in a High Priest with parallels and contrasts to the Kohanim tradition and priestly families attested in Ezra–Nehemiah.

Texts and Liturgy

The Samaritan corpus centers on the Samaritan Pentateuch, with textual variants relative to the Masoretic Text and Septuagint that bear on chronology, covenantal formulations, and the place-name for worship. Additional Samaritan writings include the Samaritan Book of Joshua and liturgical hymns preserved in Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic. Liturgical practice employs a ritual calendar synchronized with ancient Israelite festivals, psalmody with parallels to Psalms, and legal interpretations that intersect with Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Numbers traditions. Manuscript collections in institutions such as the British Library and the Vatican Library have been instrumental in textual criticism alongside editions by scholars like Gotthelf Bergsträsser and G. J. Holscher.

Community and Demographics

Historically concentrated in Samaria, the community's demography shifted through episodes including Roman Judea disturbances, Byzantine persecutions, Crusader era disruptions, Mamluk and Ottoman administrative changes, and modern national transformations involving British Mandate Palestine and the State of Israel. Contemporary population estimates number fewer than a thousand individuals divided between a village on Mount Gerizim near Nablus and a community in Holon, with diasporic families active in academic centers such as Cambridge University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and museums like the Israel Museum. Demographic challenges include endogamy, genetic studies linking to ancient Israelite lineages, and public health initiatives in collaboration with World Health Organization-affiliated projects.

Relations with Jews and Christians

Relations with Jews have ranged from cooperative interactions involving shared scriptures to polemical disputes recorded in Rabbinic literature and polemical accounts by Maimonides and Benjamin of Tudela. Christian encounters include testimonia in the New Testament—notably the Gospel of John's Samaritan episode—and pilgrim narratives from Egeria, Simeon Stylites, and medieval Crusader chronicles. Modern ecumenical and interfaith dialogues have engaged institutions such as Pontifical Biblical Commission-linked scholars, World Council of Churches programs, and university departments specializing in Near Eastern Studies.

Modern History and Contemporary Issues

Under British Mandate for Palestine policies, Ottoman Empire legacies, and the geopolitics of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the community navigated citizenship, land rights around Mount Gerizim, and cultural preservation. Israeli and Palestinian authorities, NGOs such as UNESCO and heritage bodies, and academic centers have addressed issues of minority protection, ritual practice continuity, and manuscript conservation. Contemporary challenges include demographic sustainability, representation in legal frameworks of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, tourism at sacred sites, and scholarship by historians and geneticists at institutions like University of Oxford, Tel Aviv University, and the Max Planck Institute.

Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East Category:Religious groups