SAMARITANS, THE. An account of the origin of the Samaritans is found in the Old Testament in II. Kings xv. When the Israelites were deported from the province of Samaria, Sargon, king of Assyria, 'brought colonists from Babylonia and elsewhere to take their place. These colonists seem to have come from Babylon, Kutu, and Sippar; as well as from Hamath in northern Syria. The Hebrew population which remained in Samaria mingled with the foreign colonists with the result that a new Semitic group was evolved. In B.C. 538 the Davidic prince Zerubbabel and the priest Joshua, with the permission of Cyrus, proceeded to Judah in order to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. They found the Samaritans firmly established and possessing some measure of power in the North. After the Jews had begun to rebuild the Temple, the Samaritans desired to help them; and when their aid was declined, they became hostile and thwarted the Jews for some years (Ezra iv. 4, 5). Finally, the Samaritans, claiming to be the true successors of ancient Israel, built a temple of their own on Mount Gerizim and adopted the Law as their sacred book (see SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH). The Samari tans have survived down to the present time. " A little group of them, less than a hundred, still live together at Nablus, the ancient Shechem, under the shadow of their sacred mountain Gerizim, and worship Jehovah as did their ancestors at the same holy site. Of all the many petty peoples which lived in Palestine in ancient times, they alone remain " (C. F. Kent). Not long ago little was known about them. But since the visits of Edward Robinson (1S3S and 1552) to Shechem our in formation has accumulated year by year. A number of Samaritan manuscripts have been brought to Europe. " Beside many texts of the Hebrew Pentateuch and its Targum, we have extensive theological treatises and Midrashim, commentaries which show some exegetical skill, chronicles whose defect is their chronology, gram matical and scientific works, and, most important of all for studying the spirit of the Samaritan religion, tomes of their liturgy " (J. A. Montgomery). An anthropo logical study of the Samaritans has revealed the fact that they have become Hebrews of the Hebrews. Dr. Mont
gomery thinks that the study of their religion and manners shows further that they are really nothing less than a Jewish sect. Their religion " is a monotheism identical with that of Judaism, whose very terms they use throughout, while it bitterly opposes any attempt to associate with God other deities, as in polytheism. or to find in him any distinctions, as in Christianity. It is a spiritual religion, which not only rejects any representa tion of Deity, but even eschews, after the letter of the Second Commandment, all pictorial designs. It is more over an ethical religion which has flowered in just such virtues and which is circumscribed by just such limita tions as mark what is known as orthodox Judaism." The head of the Samaritan church is the high-priest. The priests, who are also the doctors of the Law, observe the Nazarite rule, allowing no razor to touch their head. The laymen wear white robes in the services. They do not use the Tephillin, because the law is to be observed spiritually. When the priest reads the Law he wears a talith without fringes. The only sacrifice celebrated by the Samaritans is the Passover. Montgomery describes the solemnity as " a veritable Hal, or pilgrim-feast." As regards the treatment of the dead. he points out that '- it is not forbidden to the Samaritans. as has been fre quently stated, to handle their dead, except in the case of the high-priest." It is the custom to burn candles before burial at the head and foot of the corpse. The dead are placed in coffins, which is an exceptional practice in modern Palestine. "The mourning ceremonies last until the following Sabbath, the community going each day to the tomb, where they read and pray. On the Sabbath the community again visit the tomb, where they partake of a meal, while further approprite services are held in the synagogue. The Samaritans appear to-day to make a point of forgetting their dead. and have no subsequent commemorations, except their visits to the tombs of the Patriarchs. However, the liturgy contains requiem hymns." See Encyci. Bibl.; C. F. Kent. The Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah, 1900; J. A. Montgomery. The Samaritans, 1907.