Samaritans

Samaritans are both a religious and an ethnic group . Ethnically, they are descended from a group of inhabitants that have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Christian era. Religiously, they are the adherents of Samaritanism , a religion based on the Torah . Samaritans claim that their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites , predating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem , but Samaritanism has historically been rejected by normative Judaism . The Samaritans either speak Modern Hebrew or Palestinian Arabic as their mother language.

The Samaritans ( Samaritan Hebrew : שוֹ‏מְרִים Samerim "Guardians/Keepers/Watchers [of the Law/Torah]", Jewish Shomronim , Sāmeriyyūn ) are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant , descended from ancient Semitic inhabitants of the region. The Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism , an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism . Samaritans believe that their worship, which is based on the Samaritan Pentateuch , is the true religion of the ancient Israelites from before the Babylonian Exile , preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel , as opposed to Judaism , which they see as a related but altered and amended religion, brought back by those returning from the Babylonian exile. Ancestrally, Samaritans claim descent from the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph ) as well as from the priestly tribe of Levi , who have links to ancient Samaria from the period of their entry into the land of Canaan, while some suggest that it was from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the Samaritan polity of Baba Rabba . Samaritans used to include a line of Benjamin tribe, but it went extinct during the decline period of the Samaritan demographics. The split between them and the Judeans began during the time of Eli the priest when, according to Samaritan tradition, Judeans split off from the central Israelite tradition. The Samaritans believe that Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of Israel from the time that Joshua conquered Israel. The major issue between Jews and Samaritans has always been the location of the chosen place to worship God; Jerusalem according to the Jewish faith or Mount Gerizim according to the Samaritan faith. In the Talmud , a central post-exilic religious text of Judaism, the Samaritans are called Cutheans ( , Kutim ), referring to the ancient city of Kutha , geographically located in what is today Iraq . In the biblical account, however, Cuthah was one of several cities from which people were brought to Samaria, and they worshiped Nergal . Modern genetics suggests some truth to both the claims of the Samaritans and the account in the Talmud. Once a large community of over a million in late Roman times, the Samaritans shrank to several tens of thousands in the wake of the bloody suppression of the Third Samaritan Revolt (529 AD) against the Byzantine Christian rulers and mass conversion to Christianity under Byzantine rulers and to Islam under Arab and Turkish rulers. As of January 1, 2015, the population was 775, divided between Kiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim and the city of Holon , just outside Tel Aviv . Most Samaritans in Israel and the West Bank today speak Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew and later Aramaic were languages in use by the Jewish and Samaritan inhabitants of Judea prior to the Roman exile. Although they are drafted into the Israel Defense Forces and considered by Rabbinical Judaism to be a branch of Jews, the Israeli Rabbinate requires Samaritans to officially go through formal Orthodox conversion in order to be recognized as Halakhic Jews in Israel. One example is Israeli TV personality Sofi Tsedaka , who formally converted to Judaism at the age of 18. The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah . Today there are precisely 705 Samaritans, according to the sect's own tally. Half live near the West Bank city of Nablus on Mt. The other half live in a compound in the Israeli city of Holon, near Tel Aviv. Angel Sáenz-Badillos ; translated by John Elwolde. A History of the Hebrew Language . "ynet סופי צדקה עושה שבת (וחג) - יהדות" . ynet .

Without proper rendering support , you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols . The Samaritans ( / s ə ˈ m ær ɪ t ən z / ; Samaritan Hebrew : ࠔࠠࠌࠝࠓࠩࠉࠌ , translit. Shamerim ( , 'Guardians/Keepers/Watchers (of the Torah)'; , al-Sāmiriyyūn ) are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites (or Hebrews ) of the Ancient Near East . Ancestrally, Samaritans claim descent from the tribe of Ephraim and tribe of Manasseh (two sons of Joseph ) as well as from the Levites , who have links to ancient Samaria (now constituting the majority of the territory known as the West Bank) from the period of their entry into Canaan , while some Orthodox Jews suggest that it was from the beginning of the Babylonian captivity up to the Samaritan polity under the rule of Baba Rabba . Samaritans used to include descendants whose ancestry was ascribed to the Benjamin tribe, but this line became extinct in the 1960s. According to Samaritan tradition, the split between them and the Judean -led Southern Israelites began during the biblical time of the priest Eli when the Southern Israelites split off from the central Israelite tradition, as they perceive it. In the Talmud , a central post-exilic religious text of Rabbinic Judaism , the Samaritans are called Cuthites or Cutheans ( , Kutim ), referring to the ancient city of Kutha , geographically located in what is today Iraq . Josephus 's Wars of the Jews also refers to the Samaritans as the Cuthites. In the biblical account, however, Kuthah was one of several cities from which people were brought to Samaria, and they worshiped Nergal . Modern genetics partially support both the claims of the Samaritans and the account in the Hebrew Bible (and Talmud), suggesting that the genealogy of the Samaritans lies in some combination of these two accounts. This suggests that the Samaritans remained a genetically isolated population. The Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism , a religion closely related to Judaism . Samaritans believe that their worship, which is based on the Samaritan Pentateuch , is the true religion of the ancient Israelites from before the Babylonian captivity , preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel , as opposed to Judaism, which they see as a related but altered and amended religion, brought back by those returning from the Babylonian Captivity. The Samaritans believe that Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of Israel from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan. The major issue between Jews and Samaritans has always been the location of the Chosen Place to worship God: The Temple Mount of Moriah in Jerusalem according to Judaism or Mount Gerizim according to Samaritanism. Once a large community, the Samaritan population appears to have shrunk significantly in the wake of the bloody suppression of the Samaritan Revolts (mainly in 529 CE and 555 CE) against the Byzantine Empire . Conversion to Christianity under the Byzantines also reduced their numbers. Conversions to Islam took place as well, and by the mid–Middle Ages, Benjamin of Tudela estimated only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Palestine and Syria. The present-day population has been consistently divided between Qiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim and the city of Holon , just outside Tel Aviv . Most Samaritans in Holon and Qiryat Luza today speak Hebrew and Arabic . Hebrew and later Aramaic were languages in use by the Jewish and Samaritan inhabitants of Judea (the name by which Israel was known during part of the Second Temple era) before the Roman exile. Samaritans have a stand-alone religious status in Israel, and there are occasional conversions from Judaism to Samaritanism and vice versa due to marriages. While the Israeli Rabbinic authorities consider Samaritanism to be a branch of Judaism, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel requires Samaritans to officially go through a formal conversion to Judaism in order to be recognized as Halakhic Jews . One example is Israeli TV personality Sofi Tsedaka , who formally converted to Rabbinic Judaism at the age of 18. Samaritans with Israeli citizenship are obligated to undertake mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces , while those with dual Israeli-Palestinian citizenship (living in Qiryat Luza) are generally exempted. In 1786, the Samaritans numbered approximately 100 On January 1, 2015, the Samaritans number 777 souls In May 2014 the Israelite-Samaritans numbered 760 individuals On January 1, 2013 the Israelite-Samaritans numbered 756 On January 1, 2012, the Community numbered 751 persons The community totaled 745 individuals on Jan. 1, 2011 In 1919, there were only 141 individuals "Joshua, The Samaritan Book Of" . Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East (1st ed.). Ezra and the Law in History and Tradition . The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah . Today there are precisely 705 Samaritans, according to the sect's own tally. Half live near the West Bank city of Nablus on Mt. The other half live in a compound in the Israeli city of Holon, near Tel Aviv. Angel Sáenz-Badillos; translated by John Elwolde. A History of the Hebrew Language . "ynet סופי צדקה עושה שבת (וחג) - יהדות" . ynet .

Ethnoreligious group native to the Levant This article is about the ethnoreligious group. Ethnic group This article contains special characters . Without proper rendering support , you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols . Samaritans ( / s ə ˈ m ær ɪ t ən z / ; Samaritan Hebrew : ࠔࠠࠌࠝࠓࠩࠉࠌ ‎, romanized: Šā̊merīm , transl. Guardians/Keepers [of the Torah ] ; ; ) also known as Israelite Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites . They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samaritanism , an Abrahamic and ethnic religion similar to Judaism , but differing in several important aspects. Samaritan tradition claims the group descends from the northern Israelite tribes who were not deported by the Neo-Assyrian Empire after the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel . They consider Samaritanism to be the true religion of the ancient Israelites and regard Judaism as a closely related but altered religion. Samaritans also regard Mount Gerizim (near both Nablus and biblical Shechem ), and not the Temple Mount in Jerusalem , to be the holiest place on Earth. They believe that the schism between them and the Jews originated from Eli 's establishment of a competing shrine at Shiloh , in opposition to Mount Gerizim. Once a large community, the Samaritan population shrank significantly in the wake of the brutal suppression of the Samaritan revolts against the Byzantine Empire . Mass conversion to Christianity under the Byzantines and later to Islam following the Muslim conquest of the Levant further reduced their numbers. In the 12th century, the Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in the regions of Palestine and Syria . As of 2022, the community stood at around 874 individuals, divided between Kiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim and the Samaritan compound in Holon . The Samaritans in Kiryat Luza speak Levantine Arabic , while those in Holon primarily speak Israeli Hebrew . The head of the Samaritan community is the Samaritan High Priest . Samaritans have a standalone religious status in Israel , and there are occasional conversions from Judaism to Samaritanism and vice versa, largely due to interfaith marriages . While Israel's rabbinic authorities came to consider Samaritanism to be a sect of Judaism , the Chief Rabbinate of Israel requires Samaritans to undergo a formal conversion to Judaism in order to be officially recognized as Halakhic Jews . Rabbinic literature rejected Samaritans unless they renounced Mount Gerizim as the historical Israelite holy site. Samaritans possessing only Israeli citizenship in Holon are drafted into the Israel Defense Forces , while those holding dual Israeli and Palestinian citizenship in Kiryat Luza are exempted from mandatory military service. There are also a significant number of growing communities, families, and individuals who are not indigenous to the Holy Land currently known around the world who identify with, and observe the Samaritan tenets of faith and traditions. The largest community globally, the "Shomrey HaTorah" of Brazil , has approximately 20,000 members as of February 2023, according to A. B. - The Samaritan News . Deuteronomy 16:6 (Samaritan Version) "Has Chosen" UNESCO 2017 . B. - The Samaritan News" - No. 1378-1379 of the year 2023 in her 54th year 1.2.2023 - 84 pages. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

Ethnoreligious group native to the Levant This article is about the ethnoreligious group. Ethnic group This article contains special characters . Without proper rendering support , you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols . Samaritans ( / s ə ˈ m ær ɪ t ən z / ; Samaritan Hebrew : ࠔࠠࠌࠝࠓࠩࠉࠌ , romanized: Šā̊merīm ; Hebrew : שומרונים , romanized : Šomronim ; Arabic : السامريون , romanized : as-Sāmiriyyūn ), often preferring to be called Israelite Samaritans , are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East . They are indigenous to Samaria , a historical region of ancient Israel and Judah that comprises the northern half of the West Bank in Palestine . They are adherents of Samaritanism , an Abrahamic , monotheistic , and ethnic religion that developed alongside Judaism . According to their tradition, the Samaritans are descended from the Israelites who, unlike the Ten Lost Tribes of the Twelve Tribes of Israel , were not subject to the Assyrian captivity after the northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and annexed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. Regarding the Samaritan Pentateuch as the unaltered Torah , the Samaritans view the Jews as close relatives but claim that Judaism fundamentally alters the original Israelite religion . The most notable theological divide between Jewish and Samaritan doctrine concerns the holiest site, which the Jews believe is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and which Samaritans identify as Mount Gerizim near modern Nablus and ancient Shechem in the Samaritan version of Deuteronomy 16 :6 Both Jews and Samaritans assert that the Binding of Isaac occurred at their respective holy sites, identifying them as Moriah . Samaritans attribute their schism with the Jews to Eli , who was the penultimate Israelite shophet and a priest in Shiloh in 1 Samuel 1 ; in Samaritan belief, he is accused of establishing a worship site in Shiloh with himself as High Priest in opposition to the one on Mount Gerizim. Once a large community, the Samaritan population shrank significantly in the wake of the Samaritan revolts , which were brutally suppressed by the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century. Their numbers were further reduced by Christianization under the Byzantines and later by Islamization following the Arab conquest of the Levant . In the 12th century, the Jewish explorer and writer Benjamin of Tudela estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Palestine and Syria . As of 2024, the Samaritan community numbers around 900 people, split between Israel (some 460 in Holon ) and the West Bank (some 380 in Kiryat Luza ). The Samaritans in Kiryat Luza speak Levantine Arabic while those in Holon primarily speak Israeli Hebrew . According to Samaritan tradition, the position of the community's leading Samaritan High Priest has continued without interruption for the last 3600 years, beginning with the Hebrew prophet Aaron . Since 2013, the 133rd Samaritan High Priest has been Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach . In censuses, Israeli law classifies the Samaritans as a distinct religious community . However, Rabbinic literature rejected the Samaritans' Halakhic Jewishness because they refused to renounce their belief that Mount Gerizim was the historical holy site of the Israelites. All Samaritans in both Holon and Kiryat Luza have Israeli citizenship , but those in Kiryat Luza also hold Palestinian citizenship ; the latter group are not subject to mandatory conscription . Around the world, there are significant and growing numbers of communities, families, and individuals who, despite not being part of the Samaritan community, identify with and observe the tenets and traditions of the Samaritans' ethnic religion. The largest community outside the Levant, the "Shomrey HaTorah" of Brazil (generally known as "Neo-Samaritans Worldwide"), has approximately 3000 members as of February 2020 . The Samaritans call themselves Bene-Yisrael "Children of Israel", or Shamerim "Observant Ones" Tsedaka 2015 . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).