Samaritan High Priest

The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest ( kohen gadol ) of the Samaritan community in the Middle East . According to Samaritan tradition, the office has existed continuously since Aaron , the brother of Moses . This would not be accepted by all historians, but the office may well go back to the Hellenistic period, which would still make it the oldest office in the world. One account in Josephus suggest that it is an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests in Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great .

To the left is a scribe named Shalabi, to the right are Isaac the son of the High Priest Amram ben Shalma, then Abisha, the son of Amram's brother Pinehas, and finally Uzzi the son of the High Priest Yaacob ben Aaharon ben Shalma, the son of Amram's brother Aaharon. The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest ( kohen gadol ) of the remaining Samaritan community in the Levant. According to the Samaritan's tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron , the brother of Moses , and has been held by 133 priests in the last thirty-four centuries. However, the historicity of this claim is disputable; the office itself may go back into the Hellenistic period, which would still make it the oldest, constantly occupied, religious office in the world. One account by Josephus suggests that its office holders are an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests of Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great . The inscription on the bottom label the persons from, left to right: "Phineas the Kohen, Jacob the Kohen, Isaac the Kohen". The small child is Jacob's daughter. It appears, based upon the larger gaps in time between high priests, that several names might be missing, or that there were long periods of vacancy between priests. The continuous lineage of Samaritan High Priests, descending directly from Aaron, through his son Eleazar, and his son Phinehas, was however disrupted in the early 17th century. In 1624, the last Samaritan High Priest of the line of Eleazar son of Aaron died without male succession, but descendants of Aaron's other son, Ithamar , remained and took over the office. There are four families within the house of Ithamar. The Åbtå order, descended from the 113th High Priest Tsedaka ben Tabia, which has held the office of the High Priesthood since 1624; the House of Phineas a.k.a. Dār 'Åder, descended from Fīn'ās ban Yīṣ'å̄q (Phineas ben Isaac); Dār Yīṣ'å̄q, descended from Yīṣ'å̄q ban Åmrām (Isaac ben Amram); and Dār Yāqob, descended from Yāqob ban Årron (Jacob ben Aaron). "The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects" . houseofdavid.ca . "The Samaritans - A Jewish Sect in Israel: Strategies for Survival of an Ethno-religious Minority in the Twenty First Century" .

High priest of the Samaritan community Family of the Samaritan High Priests, 1876. To the left is a scribe named Shalabi, to the right are Isaac the son of the High Priest Amram ben Shalma, then Abisha, the son of Amram's brother Pinehas, and finally Uzzi the son of the High Priest Yaacob ben Aaharon ben Shalma, the son of Amram's brother Aaharon. The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest ( kohen gadol ) of the Samaritan community in the Levant. According to Samaritan tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron , the brother of Moses , and has been held by 133 priests over the last 3400 years. However, the historicity of this claim is disputed. One account by Josephus suggests that its office holders are an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests of Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great . As of 2013 , the incumbent high priest is Abdel V . "The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects" . houseofdavid.ca .

High priest of the Samaritan community Family of the Samaritan High Priests, 1876. To the left is a scribe named Shalabi, to the right are Isaac the son of the High Priest Amram ben Shalma, then Abisha, the son of Amram's brother Pinehas, and finally Uzzi the son of the High Priest Yaacob ben Aaharon ben Shalma, the son of Amram's brother Aaharon. The Samaritan High Priest (in Samaritan Hebrew : haKa’en haGadol ; Arabic : الكاهن الأكبر , romanized : al-Kāhin al-Akbar ) is the High Priest (in Modern Israeli Hebrew : haKohen haGadol ) of the Samaritan community in the Holy Land , who call themselves the Israelite Samaritans . According to Samaritan tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron , the brother of Moses , and has been held by 133 priests over the last 3400 years. However, the historicity of this claim is disputed. One account by Josephus suggests that its office holders are an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests of Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great . As of 2024 , the incumbent High Priest is Abdel V . "The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects" . houseofdavid.ca .