Editing Samaritans (section)

== Samaritanism ==
{{Main|Samaritanism}}
[[File:Samaritan Passover prayer 1920.JPG|thumb|Samaritans pray before the Holy Rock on Mount Gerizim.]]

[[Samaritanism]] is centered on the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]], which Samaritans believe to be the original and unaltered version of the Torah that was given to [[Moses]] and the Israelites on [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]].<ref>Deuteronomy 33:4</ref> The Samaritan Pentateuch contains some differences from the [[Masoretic Text|Masoretic version]] of the Torah used in Judaism; according to Samaritan tradition, key parts of the Jewish text were fabricated by [[Ezra]].{{efn|"Samaritan and Islamic scholars, as well as several of the Church Fathers, argue that Ezra falsified the Bible when he rewrote it and that the Torah we have now could not be the same as the one that Moses dictated." {{harv|Fried|2014|p=141}}}} The [[Book of Joshua (Samaritan)|Samaritan version of the Book of Joshua]] also differs from [[Book of Joshua|the Jewish version]], which focuses on [[Shiloh (biblical city)|Shiloh]]. According to Samaritan tradition, [[Joshua]] built a temple (''al-haikal'') on Mount Gerizim and placed therein a [[tabernacle]] (''al-maškan'') in the second year of the Israelites' entry into the land of [[Canaan]].{{sfn|Pummer|2011|pp=125–131}}{{efn|"The Samaritan Tolidah Chronicle assumes a period of 260 years for the 'Time of Divine Favour'...A few years ago Abram Spiro suggested that if we calculate 360 years backwards from the point of time of the destruction of the Samaritan temple by John Hyrcanus, then we arrive at 388 B.C. as an entirely possible date for the construction of the Samaritan temple on Mt Gerizim. Thus Spiro considered the 260 'years of divine favour' to be the time in which the Samaritans possessed a temple, and he thought they had projected this back into the time of Moses since they had no ancient history."{{harv|Bowman|2004|p=35}}}}

According to Samaritan scripture and tradition, Mount Gerizim, located near the Biblical city of [[Shechem]] (on the southern side of modern-day [[Nablus]], [[West Bank]]), has been venerated as the holiest place for the Israelites since the conquest of [[Canaan]] by [[Joshua]], long before the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] was established under [[David]]ic and [[Solomon]]ic rule over the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|United Kingdom of Israel]]. This view differs from Jewish belief which views the [[Temple Mount]] in [[Jerusalem]] as the holiest site in the world to worship [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]]. It is commonly taught in Samaritan tradition that there are 13 references to Mount Gerizim in the Torah to prove their claim of holiness in contrast to Judaism, which relies solely on the later [[Prophets in Judaism|Jewish prophets]] and writings to back [[Jerusalem in Judaism|their claims of the holiness of Jerusalem]].{{sfn|ISII: Four unique principles}}{{sfn|Tsedaka|Sullivan|2013|p=28}}<ref>Deuteronomy 11-12 Deuteronomy 27:4 (Samaritan Version) "And You shall set up these stones which I command you today on Aargaareezem (Mount Gerizim)"</ref>

Other Samaritan tradition books include the Memar [[Marqah]] (The teachings of Marqah), the Samaritan liturgy known as "the Defter", and Samaritan law codes and biblical commentaries.

Samaritans outside the Holy Land observe most Samaritan practices and rituals such as the [[Sabbath]], ritual purity, and all festivals of Samaritanism with the exception of the [[Passover sacrifice]], which can only be observed at Mount Gerizim.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

=== Location of sacrifice ===
According to Samaritans,{{sfn|grizimtour.com}}{{Better source needed|date=January 2023}} it was on Mount Gerizim that Abraham was commanded by God to [[Binding of Isaac|offer his son Isaac]] as a sacrifice.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|22:2}}</ref> God then causes the sacrifice to be interrupted, explaining that this was the ultimate test of Abraham's obedience, as a result of which all the world would be blessed.

[[File:Harry Fenn. Ruins on the summit of Mount Gerizim, on the site of the Samaritan temple. 1881-1884.jpg|thumb|right|Ruins on Mount Gerizim {{c.|1880}}.]]

The Torah mentions the place where God chooses to establish his name (Deuteronomy 12:5),<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|12:5|HE}}</ref> and Judaism believes this refers to Jerusalem. In contrast, the Samaritan text speaks of the place where God {{em|has chosen}} to establish his name, and Samaritans identify it as Mount Gerizim, making it the focus of their spiritual values.

The legitimacy of the Judaic versus Samaritan belief was argued by Jewish scholar [[Andronicus ben Meshullam]] in the 2nd century BCE at the court of [[Ptolemy VI Philometor|King Ptolemy VI Philometor]].

In the New Testament, the [[Gospel of John]] describes an [[Samaritan woman at the well|encounter]] between a Samaritan woman and [[Jesus]].  When the woman realizes that Jesus is the Messiah, she asks Him whether Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem is where God commanded Abraham to bind Isaac. Jesus affirms the Judaic belief, saying "You [the Samaritans] worship what you do not know"; although he also says, "a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem."<ref>{{Bibleverse|John|4:21–22|9}}</ref>

=== Religious beliefs ===
{{main|Samaritanism}}
* There is one [[God]], [[YHWH]], (informally referred to by Samaritans as [[Names of God in Judaism#HaShem|Shema]]), the same God recognized by the [[Hebrew prophets]].
* The [[Torah]] was given by God to [[Moses]].
* Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the one true sanctuary chosen by Israel's God.
* Many Samaritans believe that at the end of days, the dead will be [[resurrection|resurrected]] by the Taheb, a restorer (possibly a prophet, some say Moses).
* Resurrection and Paradise. Samaritans accept the [[Universal resurrection|resurrection of the dead]] on the basis of Deuteronomy 32 also known as the [[Haazinu#In Samaritan interpretation|Song of Moses]], a tradition that is traced back to their sage [[Marqah]].{{sfn|Tsedaka|Sullivan|2013|p=485}}
* The priests are the interpreters of the law and the keepers of tradition; scholars are secondary to the priesthood.
* The authority of post-Torah sections of the Tanakh, and classical Jewish [[Rabbinic literature|Rabbinical works]] (the [[Talmud]], comprising the [[Mishnah]] and the [[Gemara]]) is rejected.
* They have a [[Ten Commandments#Samaritan|significantly different version]] of the [[Ten Commandments]] (for example, their 10th commandment is about the sanctity of Mount Gerizim).

The Samaritans have retained an offshoot of the [[Samaritan alphabet|Ancient Hebrew script]], a [[Samaritan High Priest|High Priesthood]], the slaughtering and eating of [[Lamb and mutton|lambs]] on [[Passover]] eve, and the celebration of the first month's beginning around springtime as the New Year. Yom Teru'ah (the biblical name for "[[Rosh Hashanah]]"), at the beginning of [[Tishrei]], is not considered a [[New Year]] as it is in Rabbinic Judaism. The [[Samaritan Pentateuch]] differs from the Jewish [[Masoretic Text]] as well. Some differences are doctrinal: for example, the Samaritan Torah explicitly states that Mount Gerizim is "the place that God {{em|has chosen}}" to establish his name, as opposed to the Jewish Torah that refers to "the place that God {{em|chooses}}". Other differences are minor and seem more or less accidental.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="140px">
File:Samaritans.jpg|Samaritans, from a photo {{c.|1900}} by the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]].
File:Lilien The Samaritan.jpg|''The Samaritan'', engraving, ''c'', by [[Ephraim Moses Lilien]]. 1920
File:2106 WLM - OVEDC - Mount Gerizim - SUKUT 15.jpg|[[Sukkot]] on Mount Gerizim
File:Bitknest2.jpg|Entrance to a modern Samaritan synagogue in [[Neve Pinchas]] neighborhood, [[Holon]], Israel
File:Samaritans' Passover at Mount Gerizim 5671133587.jpg|Samaritans' Passover at Mount Gerizim 
File:PikiWiki Israel 47519 Samaritan museum on mount Grizim.JPG|The Samaritan Museum, [[Kiryat Luza]], [[Mount Gerizim]]

</gallery>

=== Relationship to Rabbinic Judaism ===
[[File:Samaritan doorpost.jpg|thumb|upright|The Samaritan [[mezuzah]] engraved above the front door]]

Samaritans refer to themselves as ''Benai Yisrael'' ("[[Children of Israel]]"), which is a term used by all Jewish denominations as a name for the Jewish people as a whole. They, however, do not refer to themselves as ''Yehudim'' (literally "Judeans"), the standard Hebrew name for Jews.

The Talmudic attitude expressed in [[Minor tractate|tractate Kutim]] is that they are to be treated as Jews in matters where their practice coincides with Rabbinic Judaism but as non-Jews where their practice differs. Some claim that since the 19th century, Rabbinic Judaism has regarded the Samaritans as a Jewish sect and the term "Samaritan Jews" has been used for them.{{sfn|Sela|1994|pp=255–266}}

=== Religious texts ===
Samaritan law is not the same as [[Halakha]] (Rabbinic Jewish law). The Samaritans have several groups of religious texts, which correspond to Jewish Halakha. A few examples of such texts are:

* '''[[Torah]]'''
** ''[[Samaritan Pentateuch]]'': There are some 6,000 differences between the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Masoretic Jewish Pentateuch text; and, according to one estimate, 1,900 points of agreement between it and the Greek LXX version. Several passages in the [[New Testament]] would also appear to echo a Torah textual tradition consistent with that conserved in the Samaritan text. There are several theories regarding the similarities. The variations, some corroborated by readings in the Old Latin, Syriac and Ethiopian translations, attest to the antiquity of the Samaritan text.{{sfn|VanderKam|Flint|2005|p=95}}{{sfn|Law|2013|p=24}}{{sfn|Seeligmann|2004|pp=64ff}}
* '''Historical writings'''
** ''[[Samaritan Chronicle, The Tolidah]]'' (Creation to the time of Abishah)
** [[Book of Joshua (Samaritan)|''Samaritan Chronicle'', The Chronicle of Joshua]] (Israel during the time of divine favor) (4th century, in Arabic and Aramaic)
** ''Samaritan Chronicle, Adler'' (Israel from the time of divine disfavor until the exile)
** ''Samaritan Chronicle,'' [[Abu'l-Fath|The Kitab al-Tarikh of Abu 'l-Fath]] (Historical chronology from Adam to Mohammad)
* '''[[Hagiography|Hagiographical]] texts'''
** ''Samaritan Halakhic Text'', The Hillukh (Code of Halakha, marriage, circumcision, etc.)
** ''Samaritan Halakhic Text'', The Kitab at-Tabbah (Halakha and interpretation of some verses and chapters from the Torah, written by Abu Al Hassan 12th century CE)
** ''Samaritan Halakhic Text'', The Kitab al-Kafi (Book of Halakha, written by Yosef Al Ascar 14th century CE)
** ''Al-Asatir''—legendary Aramaic texts from the 11th and 12th centuries, containing:
*** ''Haggadic Midrash'', Abu'l Hasan al-Suri
*** ''Haggadic Midrash'', Memar Markah—3rd or 4th century theological treatises attributed to ''Hakkam'' Markha
*** ''Haggadic Midrash'', Pinkhas on the Taheb
*** ''Haggadic Midrash'', Molad Maseh (On the birth of Moses)
* ''Defter'', prayer book of psalms and hymns.{{sfn|Bowman|1977}}
* ''Samaritan Haggadah''<ref>זבח קרבן הפסח: הגדה של פסח, נוסח שומרוני (Samaritan Haggada & Pessah Passover / Zevaḥ ḳorban ha-Pesaḥ: Hagadah shel Pesaḥ, nusaḥ Shomroni = Samaritan Haggada & Pessah Passover), Avraham Nur Tsedaḳah, Tel Aviv, 1958</ref>