Samaritanism

Samaritans (He)
Samaritans on Mount Gerizim.
Populations
Total population	712 (2007)
Palestine	308 (2003)
Other
Language (s)	Languages Spoken Arabic , Hebrew Liturgical languages Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic
Religion (s)	Samaritanism
Group (s) connected (s)	Jews
change

The Samaritans ( autoethnonyme : Shamerim, which means or , in Hebrew modern Shomronim - , that is to Samaria, or "Israelite-Samaritans" ) are a few people defining themselves as descendants of ancient Israelites, and living in Israel and West Bank. Sometimes called religion Samaritanism.

The Samaritans offer the paradox of being both one of the smallest populations in the world, they are 712 in 2007 ^Origins

The Israelites around the year 1000 BC. BC apparently lived there in the highlands lying west of the Jordan , and a little beyond the territory of present Jordan. According to the Bible , they were divided into 12 tribes more or less rivals and unified about the year 1000 BC. BC by King Saul , then by King David and his son Solomon.

After the death of Solomon, around 930 BCE. AD , the 10 northern tribes had seceded and formed the kingdom of Israel , also known as "kingdom of Samaria," the name of the city which became his capital in ^the ninth century BC. AD This kingdom then became a neighbor and sometimes the enemy of the southern kingdom: the kingdom of Judah around Jerusalem.

The two Israelite kingdoms

The kingdom of Samaria and Judea were defined ambiguously one relative to another. They were part of a Jewish religious community, but they were also competing territorial, political and religious in the end. One can read in this competition the origin of the Samaritans.

Estimated borders of the States of the Levant to 800 BC. AD

In a context where religion and politics are not separate, control of religion is an important aspect of control of power, and the respective places of worship were set up by the two kingdoms. That of Judah in Jerusalem has been installed, while the kingdom of Samaria was installing more than one, the two main ones being located "on the north and south of the kingdom, Bethel and Dan . In the early centuries, this diversity of temples, however, did not seem to pose too many problems, and in any case does not result in formal schism. It should be remembered that, until around the year one thousand BC, there was no after Bible places of worship permanent and stationary. The prophet Samuel is a priest and the sanctuary of Shiloh. It was the translation of a historic lack of centralized back to the existence of separate tribes. With the structure into kingdoms, competition began to be felt, and every place of worship has been gradually put forward by the Kingdom which ran.

The Bible "we invariably portrayed the northern tribes

"The children of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that are not good. They built them high places their son and daughters . "

The books 'historical' in the Bible relating to periods prior to the destruction of the First Temple -586 , commonly called " Deuteronomistic History , "are dated from the reign of Josiah ( -639 to -609 ) or the period following her reign, after the destruction of Samaria, but incorporate older sources, some northerners (like the prophets Amos and Hosea ).

"The Deuteronomistic historian sends his readers a double message, rather contradictory. On the one hand, he depicts Judah and Israel . "Violence, idolatry, greed characterize the unedifying picture of Yankee kingdom of Israel that we paint the two Books of Kings "

It is impossible to know if all these accusations are unfounded, but they show a strong hostility to the kingdom and the religious practices of the north, long before the "official" of the Samaritans.

Map of the region after the expansion Assyrian. Judah and Samaria are part of the empire, Judah a vassal status and not a mere province.

The kingdom of Samaria was invaded and destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC, who made one of its provinces. The kingdom of Judah by cons accepted the suzerainty of Assyria, and therefore survived. Judah did not regain full independence until the reign of Josiah (from -639 to -609) , until its destruction by the Babylonians and the deportation of its population in 586-587 BC.

Origin of the Samaritans: according to Orthodox Jewish tradition

According to the Bible ( Second Book of Kings ), estimated drafted in the mid- ^sixth century BC. BC (at least 150 years after the events ), the population of the kingdom of Samaria was deported to other parts of the Assyrian Empire as a punishment for his sins. It would then mysteriously disappeared. This would be the " ten lost tribes of Israel. "

The Bible says that foreign people have been displaced and replaced them on their territory. These aliens have created a Jewish religion mixing influences and pagan , giving rise to the Samaritans.

"And Israel was taken captive far from home in Assyria, where he remained until this day. The king of Assyria brought people .
. "

There is a contradiction in the second Book of Kings: the new inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Samaria (now an Assyrian province) are described as foreigners, but it also says that "the LORD made a covenant with them," as they were descendants of ancient Israelites. On the one hand they "feared the Lord," the other "they were serving their own gods." The population now identified as "Samaritan" becomes ambiguous and a population, a mixture of foreign and pagan influences Israelites rejected the whole community.

Later rabbinical literature is also shared. The Talmud speaks occasionally of the Samaritans, in terms of competing, but sometimes settle with total rejection. The Treaty 'Houllin accepts meat from animals they have killed as kosher , if a Jew has witnessed the slaughter , and the treaty Orlah the Jerusalem Talmud admits their bread under certain conditions. In another treatise of the Jerusalem Talmud, which dates from the ^first century , their food is considered lawful . A treaty minor (Massekhet Kouthim) confirmed their acceptance in part: "When will they be received in the Jewish community? When they have given up on Har Gerizim (on Mount Gerizim ) and recognized Jerusalem and the resurrection of the dead " . The treaty recognizes that even in most of their uses, they are like Jews.
Thus, from the early Christian era, the charge of paganism is it abandoned by some religious Jews. But the accusation of not being Jewish ancestry remains, although the approach Massecheth Kuthim shows some changes: the Samaritans could be accepted "in the Jewish community" (despite their origins) if they reform their practices. Such "open" approach to the second major Jewish historical charge (not to be of Jewish origin) is however quite marginal in the Talmud.

Origin of the Samaritans: according to Samaritan tradition

According to their book of Chronicles (Sefer ha-Yamim), the Samaritans consider themselves the descendants of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two tribes from the tribe of Joseph ) living in the kingdom of Samaria before its destruction - 722. The family claims descent from the priestly tribe of Levi. The vision of bringing down the ancient Israelites of the North is quite similar to that of most historians.

They add that "it is the Jews who have separated from them at the time of transfer of the Ark in ^the eleventh century "BC . The second of their seven chronic "is Elijah that caused the schism by establishing Shiloh sanctuary in order to replace the sanctuary of Mount Gerizim .

The issue of Mount Gerizim

The centrality of Mount Gerizim is not the only specificity of the Samaritans. Besides the question of their supposed origin of the Jews not Jewish, there are also significant differences in terms of sacred texts, accepting only the Samaritan Pentateuch. But Mount Gerizim as the main shrine, instead of Jerusalem, is a fundamental marker of difference with the Jews.

The Samaritans believe that at all times, the Mount Gerizim , which was appointed by God to be the center of worship. They cite passages of why Deuteronomy : "When you have crossed the Jordan, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin, will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people "and more" And when the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land which you go to possess, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal . There are other quotes, as in the Book of Judges or in that of Joshua .
For the Samaritans, Jerusalem would have been imposed by the Israelites of the South (Kingdom of Judah, Judeans: Jews) against this ancient holiness.

Some facts seem to deviate from the vision Samaritan prominently on the Mount Gerizim in the worship of the ancient Israelites. The construction of the temple on Mount Gerizim is indeed at odds with the diversity of worship ancient Samaria: places of worship in Bethel and Dan who ruled the kingdom of Samaria disappear. It is possible that this Judean influence, a willingness to respond except by another legitimacy.

Conversely, it is notable that Mount Gerizim is known to the Pentateuch (first five books), while the centrality of Jerusalem appears in the Books of Samuel and Kings , describing the reigns of David and Solomon ( but written several centuries later).

Thus, if the Mount Gerizim appears much like an ancient Israelite sacred place, older perhaps than Jerusalem (at least until the city cited in the textual sources), it was certainly not at the time of ancient kingdom of Samaria the worship center, or even the place of worship is most important.

Origin of the Samaritans: theses historians

Historians and archaeologists have tried to put the religious theories to the test of critical analysis, especially based on textual and archaeological sources outside the Bible. These sources are fragmentary, however, there are still differing interpretations among historians.

Facts

Sargon II and a high dignitary. Bas-relief of the palace of Dur-Sharrukin

Archaeologists have unearthed much of the archives of the Assyrian Empire. The chronicles of the Assyrian Sargon II , king who conquered the kingdom of Samaria, indicate:

"I besieged and occupied the city of Samaria, and took him 27,280 of its people captive. I've taken them 50 tanks, but they've left the rest of their business . "

Some translators do not agree with the clarification ("city of Samaria"), whereas the original casts doubt between the city and state of Samaria.

Tiglath-pileser III, bas-relief from his palace at Nimrud , late ^eighth century BC. BC , Muse du Louvre

There is something in common with the Books of Kings : the deportation of Jews did take place. But there is also an important difference: the number of deportees. For the Second Book of Kings , the entire population, or nearly who was deported. To Sargon II is a minority. Archaeologists estimate because the population of the kingdom of Samaria in 200 000 people, according to the towns and villages found. There had been a good first deportation a decade earlier, when the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III had conquered the Galilee. But she also has been encrypted by the Assyrian texts. The total of these deportations reached about 40,000 people, only 20% of total population. Probably mainly the elite. Historians believe that some northern Israelites were also left as refugees to the Kingdom of Judah .

The implantation of foreign settlers is mentioned several times in the rest of the text , but on other conquests. This settlement policy was clearly current, and thus may have been made in Samaria, as indicated in the Book of Kings. Was found at Gezer and the surrounding area, cuneiform texts of ^the seventh century BC. AD containing Babylonian names. The deportation of alien populations in Samaria (at least in some areas), affirmed by the Books of Kings , is therefore affirmed. The Archaeology cons indicates that repopulation is far from solid. Pottery, inscriptions, Villages, etc.. show great continuity with the previous period . The Book of Jeremiah relates that 150 years after the fall of the northern kingdom, just after the fall of Jerusalem in -586 , the Israelites of the North are presented with offerings for the temple of Jerusalem : "eighty men came from Shechem , of Shiloh and Samaria , shaved his beard, his clothes torn, slashed skin incisions . They brought offerings of grain and the incense to be offered in the Temple of the Lord . "

Last fact contradicts the Bible : the current religion of the Samaritans, based strictly on the Pentateuch , shows no trace of paganism. Rabbinical treaties dating from the early Christian era and the previously cited indicate that this strict monotheism is very old. In ^the sixth century BC. AD , the Book of Jeremiah, already quoted, shows them making offerings to the temple. However, there is a lack of independent sources to discuss the religion of the Samaritans in ^the fourth and ^fifth century BC. AD It is therefore possible, but unproven, that there was a period of several centuries when religion was a Samaritan syncretism Gentile-Jewish, according to the charge of the Books of Kings.

Genetics has been asked to provide some answers as to the origin of the Samaritans. The study by Shen et al. in 2004 The interpretation of the facts

The prevailing argument among historians is more that 80% of the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Samaria remained behind and became the Samaritans (the religious sense of the word) mentioned in the Book of Kings .

In this context, the 10 tribes of Israel disappeared mysteriously would be a myth invented to justify the exclusion of the Samaritans from the Jewish community: we do not break with other Israelites, there was mysterious disappearance and replacement by foreigners.

The reasons for this final break would be mainly:

• The question of the centrality of the Temple Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem than in worship.
• Instead of the oral Torah (later compiled into the Mishna , the Gemara and the Talmud ) in Judah, and rejected by the Samaritans.

The study cited previously ( Shen et al. Dating the break

Cyrus II the Great and the Hebrews

In 586 BC, the King aume of Judah fell to turn and part of its population was deported to Babylon. After the liberation of the exiles by Cyrus II in -537 , they decide to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem destroyed in -586. The Samaritans then offer their assistance:

"The enemies of Judah and Benjamin . "

Exile has indeed changed the ethno-religious identities. As written by the Rabbi Josy Eisenberg "The ^sixth century BC. AD has been decisive in the history of the Jews. In fact, one can say he is the real beginning, because he sees effected a fundamental change: the end time of the Hebrews and Judaism, the birth time of the Jews and Judaism ". For former exiles from Babylon , the Holy Land is poorly understood. The old definitions are reinterpreted. The Babylonian captivity the Jews created the modern sense . It therefore creates the Samaritans versus "modern", rejected the Jewish body.

According to the citation of the Book of Ezra reported above, the religious break with Samaritans seems consumed as early as 500 BC. But many uncertainties remain regarding the dates of drafting, the changes in their content and how they were applied in practice, no certainty is possible. Other sources confirm a definitive break to -330. Ursula Schattner-Rieser says "Today, most specialists Samaritan believes that the" sect "of the Samaritans broke away from the Judean religious group in the Persian period, upon return of Nehemiah in 445 before J .- C. and the early history of the Samaritans itself is on the eve of the Hellenistic period with the construction of a temple to rival that of Jerusalem, on Mount Gerizim " , at Shechem , now Nablus.

The issue of the Temple does seem important in the rupture. Both the kingdom of Judah than the North had maintained diverse places of worship. The Bible was offended by the way, and some kings of the South, like Josiah , had fought against. After the return of exiles to -537, the debate is finally settled: only the temple of Jerusalem is legitimate. The denial of " Zerubbabel , Joshua, and other heads of families of Israel "to leave the northerners bind to the Temple leads inevitably to create their own religious center, and complete failure. This temple is built a little before the conquest of Alexander le Grand , or just after .

This disruption does not prevent the resumption of the Pentateuch , from various sources, but compiled in its final form in the south, in Judea , to the ^sixth century BC. AD can therefore be assumed after this step, unfortunately not dated.

Origin of the Samaritans: Conclusions

Model of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

Of growing political and religious differences were first Israelites away from North and South, as the accusations against the religious biblical North testify. It is not known exactly when was the final break between Jews and Samaritans. At the earliest, it occurs around 520 BC. AD , during the construction of the second temple of Jerusalem by some of the old Jewish exiles in Babylon. At the latest, it is attested to 330 BC. AD.

Whatever the reasons for the breakdown between communities, and its exact date, the Samaritans and the Judeans (who gave the Jews ) no longer consider themselves as one people, even though they both claim descent from the Hebrew and they follow the Pentateuch.

After the separation

The Samaritans seem to have remained a sizeable population in the north of the current Israeli-Palestinian territory : at least hundreds of thousands of people to the ^sixth century , some authors up to 1.2 million ^Fourth and ^fifth centuries. But they have never been an independent people.

Like Jews, they came under the control of the empires that succeeded the Assyrian Empire, then under the sovereignty of the dynasty Seleucid , Jewish kingdom of the Hasmonean , the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the ' Umayyad Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

Relationship with the Seleucid kingdom

The kingdom Seleucid kingdom is one of Hellenistic culture , led by a dynasty of Macedonian origin successor to Alexander the Great and ruled over parts of the Middle East , particularly in the area Syria-Palestine. The kingdom has said very strongly culture Greek , which has long been a problem not specific to the Samaritans and Jews living in Palestine. The situation changed with Antiochus IV (reigned 175 BC. in 163 BC. ). It starts in fact from the books of the Maccabees , a campaign of forced Hellenization people of his kingdom. The campaign includes in particular the mandatory worship Zeus , represented on earth by Antiochus IV. We do not know the effects of this policy in other parts of the kingdom, but the will to transform the Second Temple in Jerusalem into a temple of Olympian Zeus at -168 would have won the support of some Jews: "Many Israelites willingly acquiesced worship, sacrificing to idols and profaning the Sabbath "(1M1.43), while pushing others, the Maccabees and their supporters, to rebellion: "They gathered an army, slew the sinners in their anger and ungodly in their fury "(1M2.44).

Based on the books of Maccabees , troops would have joined Samaritan in -166 the army Seleucid Judah to fight in the rebellion of the brothers Maccabees : "Apollonius gathered a large troop of Samaria to make war on Israel . "
From a religious point of view, the Samaritans have also agreed to transform the Temple Mount Gerizim in Hellenistic temple: "Shortly after, the king sent Geronte the Athenian to force the Jews to depart from the laws of their fathers and cease to regulate their lives on God's laws for desecrating the Temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and to dedicate it to Zeus Hospital of Mount Gerizim , as requested by local residents "(2M6.1-2 ). Based on the books of the Maccabees , the acceptance of Greek paganism by Jews is partial and "forced" when the Samaritans is requested by "the inhabitants of the place."

In any event, this rally does not seem possible religious have left no trace among the Samaritans after the end of the domination Seleucid the region. It is therefore plausible that it is either acting as a political rally without any real religious content. But this acceptance, whether or not rhetorical, partial or complete, voluntary or forced, reinforced the charge of paganism already carried by the Book of Kings.
Thus, two and a half centuries after the events, Flavius Josephus relates "The Samaritans, seeing the treatment of the Jews, ceased to provide for their parents and claim that the temple of Gerizim was that of God Almighty, how they followed their natural, I have already described, but they said descendants of the Medes and Persians, they are in effect . " Flavius Josephus indicates that the Samaritans have even written to Antiochus IV says: "Remember So beg, you the benefactor and savior, to order Apollonius, sub-prefect, and Nicanor, royal agent, not to hurt us by accusing us of the same crimes as the Jews, who are strangers to us by race as by the customs, and devote our temple worship of Zeus anonymous Hellnios: thus we will not be molested, and can now safely go about our work, we will pay tribute more significant .

The reality of relations between Samaritans and the Seleucids remains unclear, since the only sources from the period are the books of the Maccabees ( Flavius Josephus, writing much later). But the rest period in the history of relations between Jews and Samaritans, as it reaffirmed in Jewish literature that the Samaritans were Jewish ancestry, they willingly practiced paganism and that 'they were willing to ally with enemies of the Jews.

Relations with the Jews in Antiquity

An inscription in ancient Hebrew Samaritan.

Relations with the Jews generally remained poor throughout antiquity.

After the successful Jewish revolt against the Seleucids , the new Jewish kingdom of Hasmonean , then headed by John Hyrcanus ^I. conquered Shechem and destroyed, about 108 BC. BC, the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim , and the city of Samaria.

The Samaritans become subjects of a State which does not consider them Jews. Flavius Josephus , however, indicates that until the Roman Coponius Procuratorate (6-8 AD.), the Samaritans could enter the temple of Jerusalem.

The provinces of the kingdom of Herod ^I the Great , Roman protectorate, to -25.

After the conquest by the Romans (protectorate from 63 BCE), Samaria had several attachments, fluctuating according to the times. The Emperor Augustus the client connects to the kingdom of Herod ^I the Great in -30. Subsequently, the province of Samaria and the coastal towns are linked to the Roman province of Syria (or Phoenicia , as the periods), and thus escape a Jewish power. The Roman Empire was tolerant of the religions of conquered peoples, the Samaritans and the situation it is probably been enhanced.

Relations with the Jews remain difficult. A crisis erupts, and under the Procuratorate of Coponius (6-8 AD.), Where "Samaritans, came secretly to Jerusalem, threw human bones in the porticoes . Therefore it prohibits all access Samaritans Temple, which had not been used previously .

Speaking of Jesus' time (in the 30s of the first century), the Gospel of John is another example of poor relations between Samaritans and Jews : the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well remember that "the Jews in effect, have no dealings with Samaritans . Jews also use the charge of "Samaritan" against Jesus: "Have we not right in saying that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil? . Jesus is so provocative when it develops, before the doctors of the Act , the parable of the Good Samaritan , starring a Samaritan acting more morally than a priest and a Levite.

Judea under Roman Trajan ( 117 AD.) and the annexation of Samaria to the south of the province of Syria.

Shortly after the death of Christ , Josephus reports of armed clashes direct Galilee , under the Emperor Claudius : "Between the Samaritans and the Jews also rose hatred for the following reason. The Galileans were accustomed to go to festivals in the holy city, to cross the country of Samaria. So while they were en route, the inhabitants of a village called Gina, located on the borders of the country of Samaria and the great plain, induced a fight with them and killed many .

Relations with the Roman Empire

The arrival of the empire in the region -63 Samaritans had helped to gradually release the Jews. But relations with the empire, however, were sometimes conflicting.

During the Jewish uprising in 67-73 , the Emperor Vespasian feared see Samaritans rally Jews because "they seemed on the verge of revolt .

Under the reign of Hadrian (117 to 138), "Jews and Samaritans were banned Sabbaths, feasts, circumcision, and ritual baths. Samaritan chronicles attribute to Hadrian the destruction of all their sacred books, with the exception of the Pentateuch and the genealogy of priests .
If the Samaritans have bad memories of Hadrian, the Jews they had the feeling that he favors the latter, at least compared with his attitude vis--vis the Jews. A Midrash recounts: "Imiqentron wrote to the Emperor Hadrian : "If your going to hate circumcised, there is also the Ishmaelites, and if it goes to those who observe Shabbat , there is also the Samaritans. But it turns out that your hatred does that to people, Israel " .

Despite these sporadic fighting, which also regularly occur in many Roman provinces, the Samaritans seem to have first received a satisfactory situation. Thus, the temple of Mount Gerizim was destroyed by the Hasmonean to -108 is rebuilt shortly after the abortive revolt of Jewish Bar Kochba- (132-135) . But the empire became Christian in the ^fourth century , and the traditional Roman tolerance ends.

Relations with the Byzantine Empire

The Roman Empire finally split in 395 AD. There is now a Western Roman Empire , who disappeared in 476 , and an Eastern Roman Empire, now called " Byzantine Empire "(named after its capital, Byzantium , which later became Constantinople and then Istanbul ).

The Byzantine Empire has tried to forcibly convert minorities (Christians heterodox or non-Christians) in his version of Christianity.

Thus, the Emperor Zeno (b. 427 - reign of 474 when he died in 491 ) attacked the Jews and Samaritans. Under his reign, the Samaritan temple was again destroyed (in 484 , it seems) , and it permanently. It will never be rebuilt.

Justinian ^I

Led by a charismatic leader and messiah, named Julianus ben Sabar (or ben Sahir), the Samaritans revolted in 529. With the help of Arabs Ghassanids (the Christians ), the Emperor Justinian crushed the revolt. Tens of thousands of Samaritans are killed or sold as slaves. Others are converted, presumably to escape repression. With a population of at least several hundreds of thousands of people, we move quickly to a small residual population. The Byzantine Empire is primarily responsible for passage of the Samaritans status population occupying a territory of its own as a small minority in their own homeland. Procopius reports:

"A law are said to have perished in this undertaking and the country's most fertile land has become private farmers . "

An ultimate lifting will take place some sixty years later, in 594 , unsuccessfully, and probably contributed to complete the demographic collapse of the Samaritan population. Intolerance Byzantine, Christianization and Islamization of the people living in Palestine have been affected as they have affected Jews. But while the Jews have survived as a community in diaspora , the Samaritans, remained mainly on the territory of historic Palestine, were unable to find alternative solutions.

Relations with the Muslim empires

The arrival of the conquering Muslims ⁱⁿ the seventh century, after the massacres of Byzantine ^sixth century , was probably experienced as a liberation. Christian communities " heretics "(from the Byzantine perspective) in any case have often lived together: the conquerors were significantly more tolerant of these religious groups, whose status of dhimmis finally gave official status, which they did not benefit not under the Byzantine Empire.

Good initially, the relationship between the Samaritans and the powers that be have not always been perfect. Some sources speak of destruction of places of worship Jews and Samaritans in ^the ninth century. The Mamluks had destroyed places of worship to the Samaritans XIV ^century. Relations with the Ottomans were pretty bad, but towards the end: "The Samaritans have described the Ottoman period as the worst period of their modern history. During this period, many families have changed their religion Samaritan and several famous families of Nablus , as families Shakhsheer, Yaish and Maslamany were Samaritans and became Muslim during this period . In 1596, the high priest Phinehas VII was forced into exile in Damascus, which had only one hundred thirty to two Samaritans .

In 1841, the Ulema of Nablus launched the Muslim charge that the Samaritans were Gentiles. From the perspective of fundamentalist Muslims, the Pagans ( polytheists ) can be forcibly converted. The Grand Rabbi of Palestine at the time then issues a document certifying that they are a branch of the son of Israel, putting an end to the crisis .

Already weakened by the Byzantines, the Samaritan communities have therefore continued to decline slowly, probably due to a number of conversions over the centuries to the Muslim religion. This conversion phenomenon has affected all people in the Middle East and is not specific to Samaritans. Found in Nablus but also in the rest of the West Bank , the Muslims whose surnames are clearly Samaritan origin.

In the late ^nineteenth century , the Samaritans receive legal recognition of the Ottoman authorities and their community is officially recognized as millet .

In the nineteenth ^century , travelers depict the small Samaritan population as particularly miserable, consisting of shopkeepers, clerks and tailors . The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1905 speaks of "struggle for existence, which can hardly be continued. "

Communities Samaritan known

A group of Samaritans, 1900.

The Samaritans were created before or after the Arab conquest of communities outside of the current Israeli-Palestinian territory, like the Jews, but much smaller and have now disappeared, by dissolution in the Arab-Muslim environment.

Samaritan communities documented at different times:

• Palestine / Israel : Nablus , Gaza , Holon , Ashkelon , Jerusalem , Caesarea , Tiberias , Bethlehem
• Egypt : Alexandria , Cairo , Al Fayyum , Hermopolis , Elephantine
• Syria : Damascus , Aleppo
• Lebanon : Beirut , Tyre , Tripoli , Sidon
• Persian
• Macedonia
• Rome

Modern times

The Mount Gerizim behind the city of Nablus , about 1900

In the second half of the ^nineteenth century , the Samaritans are about 120 and 146 in 1917 . Their future seems threatened by inbreeding (there is an unusually high number of hereditary disabilities within the community), poverty and conversions. The contemporary observers often predict their disappearance shortly.

After its founding in 1920 of the Jewish national home in Palestine, relations with the Zionists are good. The latter, largely secular, not interested in religious disputes, and recognize without much difficulty the Samaritans as Jews.

Samaritans on Mount Gerizim , about 1900

Under the influence of Yitzhak Ben-Zvi , later president of Israel from 1952 to 1963 and great friend of the Samaritans, a modern school financed by the Jews to the Samaritans is established under the British mandate, allowing the start of a " modernization "of the cultural community and promoting its economic recovery. Ben-Zvi also convinces the Samaritans accept some to conclude marriages with Jewish (provided that they become Samaritan). These mixed marriages are still very few. Despite these good relations, the Samaritans are reserved against the Zionist project throughout the British Mandate over Palestine (1922-1948). In the words of a high priest in the late 1930's "I'm not the enemy of what the Jews have their own new kingdom. I am sorry they have to settle on land that is Israel, which has never been to them. " The city is Israel by the ancient kingdom of Israel, or Samaria, which covered the north of Mandate Palestine at the time, which the Samaritans consider themselves the descendants. The official attitude was, however, generally less hostile, even going up a "cautious encouragement" .

The religion of the Samaritans

An example of the Samaritan Hebrew (here a Pentateuch ).

As for Judaism, the Samaritans have been schisms and religious disputes, but are poorly understood. There are now just one religious sect.

Theology and Sacred Texts

The Samaritans accept only the authority of the Hexateuch (Mosaic Pentateuch and Book of Joshua ). They refuse the other books of the Bible and Jewish oral tradition (as expressed in the Mishna and Talmud ). Their Pentateuch is essentially identical to that of the Jews, but written in Samaritan Hebrew with the Samaritan alphabet , a variant of the ancient Hebrew alphabet Paleo- abandoned by the Jews.

Beyond language, there are differences between the two versions of the Pentateuch. The most important concern the situation of Mount Gerizim as the main shrine instead of Jerusalem. The ten commandments of the Torah Samaritan Tenth Commandment integrate well in respect of Mount Gerizim as a center of worship . Both versions of the Ten Commandments exist in the Tanakh Jewish (one of Exodus and that of Deuteronomy ) were also standardized . To keep the number of commandments (ten), ¹ Command Jewish ("I am the LORD (YHWH) your God who brought you out of Egypt, the house of bondage") is considered a simple presentation, the first commandment is therefore Samaritan Jewish Second Commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." For the Samaritans, "the Jewish sages have made the presentation a commandment to keep the number thereof to ten (the number of commandments mentioned in the Exodus , 34.28), after correcting their version by removing the tenth "on Mount Gerizim.

Beyond these fundamental differences, there are quite a few differences on details of wording between the Torah and the Samaritan Torah Jew. Exception of differences on Mount Gerizim, these differences make the Samaritan Pentateuch closer to the Septuagint as exte_massor% C3% A9tique "alt =" Masoretic Text "class =" mw-redirect "> Masoretic text.

"As to their beliefs, the Samaritans have a religion which is meant strictly mosaic. Their credo is based on the five following data:

1. The unity and oneness of God.
2. Moses is the only prophet.
3. Book of Hexateuch are the only inspired, which may explain the rejection of the entire biblical literature and attachment to one Hexateuch written in Samaritan, derived directly from the Phoenician script.
4. Mount Gerizim is the only place chosen by God to receive a sanctuary, seat of his holiness, according to Deuteronomy 11, 9 and 27, 4 Gerizim where the Samaritans read instead of Ebal.
5. The resurrection of the dead for the Last Judgement.

"

The Samaritans also have their own set of traditions and holy books to interpret the Pentateuch. There is thus a book of prayer and song, the defter, which plays an important role in the liturgy. It is especially Memar (teaching) "which is closer than any other book except the Pentateuch of the heart the Samaritan . This book was written in Aramaic Samaritan by Marqah (Marcus), a philosopher Samaritan ^fourth century AD, and shows a strong influence of the philosophy Greek . The book is very diverse and includes an exegesis of the Bible, songs and prayers, a philosophical approach to religious issues and finally a theology .

Finally, we can add the book chronicles (Sefer ha-Yamim), historical work but with some religious content.

The worship and the clergy

The Samaritans do not recognize the centrality of the Temple of Jerusalem , and have their own shrine, near modern Nablus , on Mount Gerizim. We do not know the date on which the Samaritans have sanctified the Mount Gerizim. It was not in any case the center of the ancient religion of the Israelites in the kingdom of Samaria, who had multiple sanctuaries. Construction on the temple mount a rival that of Jerusalem, symbol of the centrality of Mount Gerizim , dates from just before the conquest of Alexander the Great , or just after .

It's around Mount Gerizim that must reside Samaritan high priest. It is chosen within the family (or "house") Priests' who is believed to be descended from the son of Aaron , brother of Moses. .
There are priests operating under the authority of the high priest. The community of Holon (Israel) has its own priest.
A high priest was hereditary in Judaism's Second Temple in Jerusalem , but the priestly institution was dropped after the destruction of it, the rabbis were the only religious leaders.

During the week, the priests wear red turbans. During the Sabbath , they wear white turbans.

The Samaritans have no meaning in the Jewish synagogue, even if they use the word easily. Those who live in Holon have a place of prayer, but not the same as their sacred cult center of Mount Gerizim.

"The funerals were held at the summit of Mount Gerizim, or in the section Samaritan Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv .

Religious holidays

The Samaritans do not celebrate many Jewish holidays, which are not prescribed by the Pentateuch. Their main religious festival is the Feast of Passover. Unlike Jews who abandoned the Samaritans have preserved the sacrifice of the paschal lamb , usually made the day before Passover, on Mount Gerizim.
Passover is not only their party, because "three times a year, the Israelites, Samaritans pilgrims visiting their holy place on the summit of Mount Gerizim. The seventh day of Passover, which is called the "festival of unleavened bread" for Shavuot (Pentecost) and the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles ( Sukkot ) . These three pilgrimages correspond closely to the three major Jewish pilgrimage, the Sheloshet Haregalim.

Beyond differences over the holidays, there are also differences on the religious calendar. This "back to the first year of the entry of Israel into the holy land . In addition, calculations of dates Samaritan calendar are based on a lunar calendar very similar to the Jewish calendar (alternating years of 12 or 13 lunar months), but the rules are different vibrations. Samaritan celebrations fall so sometimes the same dates as the Jewish equivalent celebrations, but can also be shifted by a few days or a month. The months are numbered, and have no name, unlike the Jewish calendar. For an example of festivals, celebrations and dates, here are the religious festivals of 2002 :

The Samaritans therefore share with the Jews most holidays prescribed in the Bible, but they observe neither celebrations introduced after the Babylonian exile, nor the Judean commemorations typically as four young.

Other practices

A Mezuzah on top of a door Samaritan, bigger than a Jewish Mezuzah.

The Menorah is regarded by the Samaritans as their national symbol.

Beyond their beliefs, their festivals and their manner of worship, the Samaritans are particularly insistent on four practices:

1. Living near Mount Gerizim (which is challenged by the installation of a part of the community in Israel).
2. Compulsory participation of the entire community Passover sacrifice on Mount Gerizim. This requirement posed many problems for the Samaritans of Israel between 1949 and 1967, when the West Bank was under authority of Jordan and the borders were closed. The King Hussein and Israel normally allowed to cross the Green Line at Passover.
3. The celebration of Shabbat (including the prohibition of turning on lights during the Sabbath).
4. The rules of purity prescribed by the Torah , why Samaritans are often more strict interpretation. Thus, for example, the Samaritans interpret the rules of Leviticus 12 as requiring the isolation of the woman during her period or after birth . The Jewish claim to simply isolate the woman from her husband.

The Samaritans use mezuzot a particular type, much larger than Mezuzot Jewish, but refuse the use of phylacteries , like the ancient Sadducees.

The Menorah is regarded by the Samaritans as their national symbol. The Star of David , by cons is not used because it is a specifically Jewish symbol which is not mentioned in the Bible. It's seems he appeared well after the breach between Jews and Samaritans.

The circumcision of male children is made on the eighth day after birth , according to Leviticus.

Unlike the Jews, for whom the Jewish status is transmitted by women, the status of Samaritan is transmitted by humans, which allowed the recent development and limited marriages to men with Samaritan women outside the community. "There is no rite Samaritan conversion. What is required is only acceptance of the faith community and its way of life . This lack of a rite of conversion appears to be more due to a complete absence of conversion to historical periods that any "liberal". On the contrary, Judaism recognizes conversions under specified conditions, and therefore developed specific procedures. The total lack of conversions among historically proven Samaritans is confirmed by the absence of specific procedures, the serious problems facing the community inbreeding and genetics, "the low diversity . The current openness towards the integration of women "foreign" within the group is a remarkable religious innovation, although it has perhaps also been practiced in the first millennium BCE, according to a genetic study of 2004 .

Relationship with Judaism

The Samaritans are not recognized as Jews by Orthodox Jews in general and in particular the Israeli Rabbinate. This refusal is based on the books of Kings accusations that the Samaritans are of non-Jewish and practice a religion tainted with paganism (see above).

Relation to other religions

We note in the New Testament , the parable of the Good Samaritan , and a few other references indicating that Jews and Samaritans did not attend. These texts, however, refer more to the relationship between the Samaritans and the Jews as the relationship between the Samaritans and Christianity.
Subsequently, it was reported earlier that the Byzantine Empire (Christian) had persecuted the Samaritans, then had virtually destroyed following their great revolt of the ^sixth century. Beyond these political, religious influence on the Samaritan Christianity or the reverse appears to be low or zero.

The Samaritans are recognized as people of the book by Islam , with a status (more or less applied at different times) of dhimmi. Again, the cross-influences seem marginal. Samaritanism was already a religion remaining in the advent of Islam , which readily explains the lack of influence on the new religion. By the Samaritans who lived fourteen centuries cons under Muslim rule, a reverse effect was more feasible. But in practice, if the Arab-Muslim culture has profoundly influenced the culture of the Samaritans as a people, Islam has left no measurable traces on theology or religious practices Samaritan.

The Samaritans today

Map of current two Samaritan communities.

A recent internal study at the community indicates that the Samaritans are "654 to ¹ January 2003, of which 346 (179 men and 167 women) living in Holon in Israel , and 308 (165 men and 143 women) living in Nablus , in West Bank . The community is very united. The aforementioned study does not count as 7 men and 15 women who left the community since 1938. The birth rate is average, implying a relatively slow population growth: 2.2 to 2.3 children per family . This moderate growth is partly due to the fact that "The Samaritans marry at an older age, compared to their neighbors, the average age of first marriage is 31.3 years for males and 24.6 years for women . The community numbered 414 members in 1969 .

After the war of 1948-1949 , the border with Jordan was closed, severing the relationship between the two branches of the community. From 1951 to 1967 , the King of Jordan, however, allowed the Samaritans of Israel to come to Nablus (the West Bank was then annexed by Jordan ) once a year for the feast of Passover . Almost separation was particularly resented by a tiny community already on the brink of extinction.

The Samaritans of Nablus ( West Bank )

Samaritans on Mount Gerizim.

Almost all the Samaritans lived there a hundred years, in a neighborhood of Nablus.

King Hussein of Jordan bought land on Mount Gerizim , which he gave to the Samaritan community. It built a village called Kiryat Luza. The area is the center of the spiritual life of the community. As such, the high priest resides. For the Samaritans, the decision of Hussein of Jordan has been particularly important and positive. The village lies near the city of Nablus (ancient Shechem ) in the West Bank. It has houses, a community center, synagogue. All the inhabitants of Nablus Samaritans do not live in Kiryat Luza. Under pressure from both intifada , many have settled in the area however calmest Mount Gerizim.

The West Bank Samaritans speak Arabic in daily life, and use a special form of the Hebrew religious liturgy: the Samaritan Hebrew.

After the Six Day War, the Israeli military administration in the West Bank, under pressure from the Samaritan community in Israel, has implemented a policy favorable to the Samaritans of Nablus. While benefiting, they took good care not to appear as collaborators in the eyes of other Palestinians , and regularly play an intermediary role between the people of Nablus and the military authorities. After the outbreak of intifada , the Samaritans have attempted to maintain neutrality, while suffering from disorders and curfews .

Shalom ben Amram ben Yitzhak (Saloum Cohen, Salum Ishaq al-Samir), also high priest of the Samaritans since 2001, served from 1996 until his death February 9, 2004 in the Palestinian Legislative Council (Parliament of Palestinian Authority ), the Samaritans to receive a reserved seat . For the 2006 election , that seat was abolished, only the seats reserved for Christians were maintained .

The Samaritans in Holon (Israel)

The "synagogue of the Samaritans in Holon.

From 1905 a few families settled in the coastal area of Palestine, originally in Jaffa , headed by entrepreneur Abraham ben Marhiv tzedakah. The latter, which brought out the community's geographic isolation and opened to new economic opportunities, has been called "the figure Samaritan's largest this century by the newspaper Samaritan AB - The Samaritan News. Some took refuge in Nablus during the war of 1947-1949.

Other Samaritans began to settle in Israel since 1951 , as part of a family reunification program approved by Jordan and Israel.

In 1955 , seven years after the creation of the State of Israel, several families moved in search of work in Holon , south of Tel Aviv , in an area "established with the cooperation of the late President Yitzhak Ben- Zvi and the late B. Yefet Avraham tzedakah, leader of the Samaritans outside Nablus .

"In the late 1950's , a hundred Samaritans left the West Bank to Israel under an agreement with the Jordanian authorities. They lived in .

Gradually, their little group grew, and they have about 350 members in 2005. They live around their place of worship, Amram Ben Street (named after the father of Moses) in a block located along the main thoroughfare of the city. Their standard of living and level of education is more important than that of the Samaritans of the West Bank. The Samaritans in Holon were significantly acculturated into Israeli society while preserving their religious sharply. They speak Hebrew in everyday life, but still use the Samaritan Hebrew for religious liturgy. They "serve in the IDF .

The community of Holon that created in 1969 AB - The Samaritan News, the first newspaper Samaritan.

Organization and its relationship with Israel

From a religious point of view, the Samaritans are led by a high priest residing in Nablus. The priests claim descent from the priestly tribe of Levi . After the 1967 war , the two communities, one in Nablus and that of Holon , each created a board of seven elected members. These two councils concerned with the civil affairs community , and the interface on these topics with the official authorities, Palestinian and Israeli.

At the family level, the Samaritans are organized in "eight" Houses "patriarchal, four of which are derived from a large home-original, the Danafis, a native of Damascus , two other "houses" from the "home" Marchive, which origins in Gaza and Sarafend ( Tzrifin ), on the road Tel Aviv - Ramleh . The 8 "houses" are Dom Kaplanski (the priestly house), tzedakah Hatsafari, Altif Danafi, Marchive Marchive, Sassone-Sirrawi Danafi, Yehoshua Marchive, Meshallema Danafi, Shalabi Danafi. These last two are remaining, as they had only one person each in 2003. Belonging to a "house" is transmitted by the father, and is supposed to be referred to a particular tribe of the ancient kingdom of Israel. As in many traditional societies, elders have a special weight, but these are not instances of official power, with the particularity that the religious functions are reserved to the priestly family, whose oldest man is normally designated as high priest.

The majority of traditional marriages are within the same "house", which does not improve the serious inbreeding problems facing the community in early 2003, 79 couples came from the same "house", 51 were from 2 " houses' different, and 14 included a woman from outside the community .

A Samaritan and a Torah Samaritan.

The Samaritans are recognized as Jews by the State of Israel, which gives them the benefit of the Law of Return (granting automatic citizenship to Jews and their families). Their identity card says "Jews Samaritans" or simply "Jews" . They are however not recognized as Jews by the Orthodox Rabbinate of Israel. Relations are particularly bad with the ultra-Orthodox Jews , who reject them absolutely. In 1992 , he even considered withdrawing the benefit of the Law of Return, under pressure from Shas , an ultra-Orthodox religious party. But the Israeli Supreme Court upheld in 1994 their official status as Jews, thus benefiting from the law of return.

The Samaritans themselves do not consider themselves just as Jews (descendants of Jews living in the kingdom of Judea), but as Jews (or Hebrews ), descendants of the inhabitants of the kingdom of Samaria. They recognize the Jews as the other branch of the Israelite people.

Despite the recurrent clashes with the religious ultra-Orthodox Jews, the Samaritans of Israel have progressively become almost like other Israelis.

The Samaritans of Nablus, Israeli papers were obtained in the late 1990's , but without Israeli nationality in the strict sense. They also continue to have papers Palestinian. Unlike the Samaritans of Israel, whose identification with the state is strong, relative to Israel and the Palestinians of the Samaritans of the West Bank is more ambiguous , and can vary from one person to another:

• The majority attempts to assert its neutrality.
• Some make the choice of Israel.
• On the other hand, the high priest, Saloum Imran Ishak (Shalom ben Amram in Hebrew ), spiritual leader of the Samaritan community in Israel and the Palestinian territories, living himself near Nablus , and died aged 83 in 2004 , was a member of the Palestine National Council (NPC, parliament) since 1996. In July 2002 , fighting has even opposed the Samaritans of Nablus, Israeli soldiers in protest against the blockade of the safe region .
• Extreme case, Israeli police announced they had arrested in 2004 Nadar tzedakah, a Samaritan in West Bank joined the ranks of the PFLP , a Palestinian faction army. Indeed, Palestinian groups including Hamas , the Palestinian recognize as, although in practice the Israeli papers of the Samaritans of Nablus have stretched the situation.

Problems of inbreeding

Young Samaritans in 2006.

The marriages between cousins produce the coefficient of inbreeding highest recorded for any population whatsoever . Today, the problems of inbreeding are such that most births are preceded by genetic tests to the Tel Hashomer hospital in Israel. Since the 1920s , the Samaritans are willing to include Jewish women in their community to address these constraints. But even today, these marriages are problematic, both from the standpoint of the Jews (the Israeli rabbinate has a monopoly on the marriage of every Jew in Israel, and opposed to marriages with Samaritans) from the point of view Samaritans, who fear the dissolution in a much larger Jewish ensemble. These marriages are so few, but their number increases. At ¹ January 2003 , 14 mixed couples with husbands Samaritans (which women have joined the community) were identified .

The problem is acute genetic abnormalities, a stronger impetus to this policy of intermarriage has been given. The high priest Eleazar ben tzedakah has allowed marriages with non-Jewish women (usually Russian): "A leader must think about the future. . In this regard, Haaretz said that "becoming Samaritan , including the old rules of purity, which are not so easy to accept for modern women.

List of the Samaritan High Priests (from 1613)

Eleazar Lineage:

• 1613-1624 Shelemiah Pinhas ben

Itamar Lineage:

Yaacov ben ben Aaharon Shalma 1900

• 1624-1650 tzedakah Ha'abta'ai ben Tabia
• 1650-1694 Yitzhak Ben tzedakah
• 1694-1732 Abraham ben Yitzhak
• 1732-1752 Tabia ben ben Avraham Yiszhaq
• Levi ben Avraham 1752-1787
• 1787-1855 Shalma ben Tabia
• 1855-1874 Amram ben Shalma
• 1874-1916 Yaacov ben ben Aaharon Shalma
• 1916-1932 Yitzhak ben Amram ben ben Tabia Shalma
• 1933-1943 Matzliach Phinhas ben ben Yitzhak ben Shalma
• 1943-1961 Abrisha Phinhas ben ben ben Yittzhaq Shalma
• 1961-1980 Amram ben Yitzhak ben Amram ben Shalma
• Ben ben Asher 1980-1982 Matzliach Phinhas
• 1982-1984 Phinhas ben ben Matzliach Phinhas
• 1984-1987 Yaacov ben ben Yaacov ben Ezzi Aaharon
• 1987-1998 Yosef ben Ya'akov ibn Ab-HisD bin Aaharon
• 1998-2001 Abish ben Levi ben Yitzhak ben Phinhas
• Shalom ben Amram ben 2001-2004 Yitzhak (Saum Ishaq al-Samir)
• 2004-2010 Eleazar ben tzedakah (he is the 131 ^th Samaritan high priest)
• 2010 - Present Aahron bin Ab-HisD ben Yaacov

See also

section "> External Links

• (En) Ursula Schattner-Rieser (Lecturer of Aramaic and comparative grammar of Semitic languages at the ELCO of the Catholic Institute of Paris and in charge of conferences of "qumranic Hebrew and Aramaic dialects of the first ever" to the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes en Sorbonne) Samariens From the Good Samaritan, or the smallest ethno-religious group
• (En) The Samaritans
• (En) List of crossings on the Samaritans in the works of Flavius Josephus
• (En) The Samaritans: small community with origins rather vague
• (In) An article on the origin of the Samaritans
• (In) a compilation of ancient textual sources on the Samaritans , particularly in the Old Testament in the New Testament and in ancient rabbinic literature
• (In) The Samaritans
• (En) and (en) The Samaritans
• (En) English translation of some No. AB - The Samaritan News , published since 1969 Samaritan Journal
• (In) Article Samaritans of the Jewish Encyclopedia , published between 1901 and 1906
• (In) Religious holidays Samaritan
• (En) The Socio-Politics of the Samaritans In The Palestinian Occupied Territories

Bibliography

• David Crown Alain and Jean-Francois Fau , The Samaritans survivors of 2700 years of history, Maisonneuve & Larose, Paris , 2001, ( ISBN 2706815353 )
• JD Macchi, "The Samaritans: The story of a legend. Israel and the province of Samaria "(Le Monde de la Bible 30), Geneva, Labor et Fides, 1994.
• Leon Poliakov and Gilles Firmin , The Samaritans, 1991, Editions du Seuil , ( ISBN 2020121565 )

References

Streams of Judaism
Currents related to Judaism	Mosaic Yahwism Samaritanism Sabbatasme Frankisme
Historical currents	Judean sect: Sadducees Boethusiens Pharisees Chassidim Essenes Zealots Sicarii Hellenistic Judaism : Jews of Elephantine Therapeutae Jews from the Hellenistic and Roman Egypt Min : Nazarenes Ebionites Crinthiens Elcsates Currents of the eighth century Issawi Yudghanisme
Orthodox Judaism	Modern Orthodox Dati Leumi
Ultra-Orthodox	Hasidim : Lubavitch Gur Breslav Belz Satmar Non-Hassidim : Mussar Edah Haredit Neturei Karta Hardal
Karaism	Pineapple Benjamins Avelei Tzion Tiflissim Asheri Talmid

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