The Samaritan Pentateuch

The Samaritan Pentateuch (SP) is the sacred scripture of the Samaritans, a tenacious religious community made famous by Jesus’ Good Samaritan story that persists to this day. Not so widely known is the impact of the SP outside the Samaritan community. Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in this scripture, as evidenced by several translations of the SP as well as reference in Qumran scroll studies to the SP or an SP-like tradition in an effort to describe some of the textual evidence present in the scrolls. This volume presents a general introduction to and overview of the SP, suitable for a course text and as a reference tool for the professional scholar.

Foreword by Emanuel Tov; foreword by Steven Fine; introduction by James H. Charlesworth.

From the introductory. For several years prior to my tour of Palestine in 1902, I had noted with interest the accounts, in books on biblical antiquities, of the Holy Scroll at Nablus. This manuscript, containing the Pentateuch, is believed to be the oldest manuscript in existence of any portion of the Bible. As the priests show it with great reluctance, and are supposed to exhibit it, even to their own people, only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, I was anxious that they should not substitute for it, at the time of my visit, the more recent parchment which on ordinary occasions they display. My friend, Mr. E. K. Warren, chairman of the World's Sunday-school Convention Committee of Arrangements, had visited Palestine the year before, and had seen the ancient scroll. He gave me a letter of introduction to the High Priest, written on his business letter-head, which rather formidable-looking document I found of service on --- my arrival in Nablus....

Papers in this volume were presented at the seventh international conference of the Société d’Études Samaritaines held at the Reformed Theological Academy of Pápa, Hungary in July 17–25, 2008. The discussed Samaritan topics permeate different areas of biblical studies: The question of the Samaritan Pentateuch has a serious impact on the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. The pre-Samaritan text-type among the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as the dating and isolation of Samaritan features of the Samaritan Pentateuch provide fresh and important data for gaining a better understanding of the composition of the Torah/Pentateuch. New reconstructions of the early history of the Samaritans have a great effect on the history of the Jewish people in the Persian and Hellenistic period. As a distinct group in the centuries around the turn of the Common Era in Palestine, Samaritans played an important role in the social and religious formation of early Judaism and early Christianity. Living for centuries under Islamic rule, Samaritans provide a good example of linguistic, cultural and religious developments experienced by ethnic and religious group in Islamic contexts.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ The Samaritan Pentateuch: The Story Of A Survival Among The Sects William Eleazar Barton Bibliotheca Sacra Co., 1903 Bible; Samaritans