Digging Up the Bible: A Samaritan Priest

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2017
 

Samaritan Priest
(c. 1892)

Jacob ben Aaron, the Samaritan priest at Nablus (in the photo above), was one in a line of priests who could trace his lineage (according to tradition) to Aaron.

 

 

The rift between Jews and Samaritans goes back to the exile, although it was not as great a divide as one might think. Nevertheless, the Samaritans have long been somewhat of a mystery. Who are they, and what do they believe?

 

According to the Jews: The term "Samaritan" is a combination of the words Samaria and Cuthia, and it describes those whom Sargon, king of Assyria, relocated from Cuthea to Samaria to replace exiled Israelites:

The king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria.... [He] brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites.... Then the king of Assyria gave this order: "Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires." (2 Kgs 17:6, 24, 27)

These immigrants intermarried with the Israelites who remained in the land and eventually adopted many of their customs. The Samaritans' current practices adhere strictly to the legal code in the Pentateuch.

 

According to the Samaritans: They are direct descendants of Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh, and their clergy are the true priests of Israel (so they believe). It is the Jews who have strayed from the faith.

 

According to current research: Assyrian texts state that Sargon deported about 25,000 people, mostly from the upper classes, and that the general populace remained, augmented by refugees from other conquered nations. Assyria's relocation policy worked to break cultural and national ties to a people's homeland, thereby making conquered groups easier to govern. Through the process, eight of ten northern Israelite tribes almost vanished completely. Ephraim and Manasseh held fast to their traditions but became isolated socially and religiously, developing variations to worship of the true God.

 

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A letter by a Samaritan in 1672 summarizes the five cardinal points of their creed: "My faith is in Thee [LORD]; and in Moses, son of Amram, Thy servant; and in the Holy Law; and in Mount Gerizim; and in the Day of Vengeance and Recompense."

 

The LORD: Samaritans are as emphatic in their adherence to monotheism as are Jews and in their abhorrence of idolatry (more consistently so even than Jews). Their stress on God's unity and transcendence has led them to emend places in the biblical text where the common (grammatically plural) noun for God (Elohim), has a matching (grammatically plural) verb, which they make a non-matching singular

verb:

God made me wander (Gen 20:13).
May God judge (Gen 31:53).
God revealed (Gen 35:7).

They also eschew anthropomorphisms.
 

Moses: Samaritans claim that God inspired only Moses. They disparage the prophets, holding that Moses was the only prophet until one like him comes in the latter days:

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. (Deut 18:15)

Cf. "This is that Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will send you a prophet like me from your own people." (Acts 7:37)

The Law. Samaritans regard the law as synonymous with the Pentateuch, their only scripture. They accept as binding only the 613 commands God gave Moses and are strictly literal in their observance of them. Even Jews acknowledge that Samaritans are more exacting in their observance.

 

Mount Gerizim: The first three articles of Samaritan faith do not distinguish them clearly from other Jewish sects, but the fourth is the issue that caused schism. Samaritans believe Mt. Gerizim rather than Mt. Zion (Jerusalem) is the place God chose for His exclusive worship, and they appeal to ancient tradition in support of their claim:

When the LORD your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses. (Deut 11:29)

Cf. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. (John 4:20)

NB: Hitler, intent upon destroying the Jewish people, supposedly asked some rabbis if Samaritans were Jews, to which the rabbis, wanting to spare the Samaritans, said they were not when they were in fact by then regarded as Jews.

 

The Day of Vengeance: Samaritan eschatology shows the influence of apocalyptic thought and divides history into four periods.

Period #1: The Age of Adamic Perfection lasted until the fall of Adam and Eve.

Period #2: The Age of Defiance lasted until the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai.

Period #3: The Age of Divine Favor lasted until the time of Eli. Samaritans blame Eli for moving the ark to Shiloh from Gerizim, whence David moved it to Jerusalem, neither of which was its proper home in their eyes.

Period #4: The Age of Vengeance and Recompense will last until the messiah. He will be from the house of Joseph versus Jesse. He will restore the temple to Mt. Gerizim and then he will die. After that Moses will reappear to intercede for the righteous. They will enter the garden of Eden on Mt. Gerezim, and God will cast the wicked into the fire.

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Samaritan Priest heads a community that values the Scriptures above all else. They have preserved their traditions through generations of persecution and isolation. Theirs is an example of devotion to God from which all believers can learn.

For a pdf go here.