
:''For the British telephone helpline, see Samaritans.'' Samaritans are both a religious and an ethnic group. Ethnically, they are descended from a group of inhabitants that may have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian captivity of Judah 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 Hebrew language or Palestinian Arabic as their mother language. For liturgy purposes, Samaritan Hebrew and Aramaic_language#Samaritan_Aramaic are used. == History == The exact historical origins of the Samaritans are disputed to this day. Books of Kings 17 and Josephus (''Antiquites'' 9.277–91) claim that the Samaritans are descendants of mixed ancestry, both of Israelite lineage and of deportees brought into the region of Samaria by the Assyrians from other lands they had conquered, including Cuthah. On the other hand, the Samaritans have always claimed to be the descendants of Israelites of the Northern Kingdom who remained behind during the Babylonian captivity of Judah, and thus introduced none of the religious changes brought about among the Jews during this time. Some modern scholars agree. A genetic study (Shen, et al., 2004) concluded from Y-chromosome analysis that Samaritans descend from the Israelites (including Cohen, or priests), and mitochondrial DNA analysis shows descent from Assyrians and other foreign women, effectively validating both local and foreign origins for the Samaritans. Some date their split with Jews to the time of Nehemiah, Ezra, and the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Returning exiles considered the Samaritans to be non-Jews and, thus, not fit for this religious work. [[Image:Samaritan inscription.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Ancient inscription in Samaritan Hebrew. From a photo c.1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. Courtesy of the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=110&letter=S&imgid=1685].]] The Samaritans built a rival Temple on Mount Gerizim, near Shechem. During the Hellenistic period, Samaria (like Judea) was largely divided between a Hellenizing faction based in Samaria (Sebastaea) and a pious faction, led by the High Priest and based largely around Shechem and the rural areas. Samaria was a largely autonomous state nominally dependent on the Seleucid empire until around 129 BCE, when the Jewish Hasmonean king Yohanan Girhan (John Hyrcanus) destroyed the Samaritan temple and devastated Samaria. Samaritans fared badly under Roman Empire, when Samaria was part of the Roman province of Judea, in the early part of the Common Era. However, this period was also something of a golden age for the Samaritan community. The Temple of Gerizim was rebuilt after the Bar Kochba revolt, around 135 CE. Much of Samaritan liturgy was set by the high priest Baba Rabba in the fourth century CE. There were some Samaritans in the Irann Empire, where they served in the Sassanid army. Later, under Byzantine Emperor Zeno of the Byzantine Empire in the late 5th century, Samaritans and Jews were massacred, and the Temple on Mt. Gerizim was again destroyed. Under a charismatic, messianic figure named Julianus ben Sabar (or ben Sahir), the Samaritans launched a war to create their own independent state in 529. With the help of the Ghassanid Arabs, Emperor Justinian I crushed the revolt; tens of thousands of Samaritans died or were enslaved. The Samaritan faith was virtually outlawed thereafter by the Christian Byzantine Empire; from a population once at least in the hundreds of thousands, the Samaritan community dwindled to near extinction. [[Image:Gerizim2.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Samaritan cultic center on Mount Gerizim. From a photo c.1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. Courtesy of the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=110&letter=S&imgid=1687].]] A large number of Samaritans fled the country in 634 CE, following the Muslim victory at the Battle of Yarmuk. Samaritan communities were established in Egypt and Syria but they did not survive into modern times. During the mid 800s Muslim fanatics destroyed Samaritan and Jewish synagogues. During the 10th century relations between Muslims, Jews and Samaritans improved greatly. In the 1300s the Mamluks came to power; they plundered all Samaritan religious sites, and turned their shrines into mosques. Many Samaritans converted out of fear. After the Ottoman Empire conquest, Muslim persecution of Samaritans increased again. Massacres were frequent. In 1624 the last Samaritan kohen of the line of Eleazar son of Aaron died without issue, but descendants of Aaron's other son Ithamar remained among them and took over the office. By the 1830s only a small group of Samaritans in Shechem remained extant. The local Arab population believed that Samaritans were "atheism" and "against Islam", and they threatened to murder the entire Samaritan community. The Samaritans turned to the Jewish community for help, as Jews and Arabs had good relations at this time, and Jewish entreaties to treat the Samaritans with respect were eventually heeded. In the past, the Samaritans are believed to have numbered several hundred thousand, but persecution and assimilation have reduced their numbers drastically. In 1919, an illustrated ''National Geographic'' report on the community stated that their numbers were less than 150. == Modern times == The Samaritans now number just under 650, divided about equally between their modern homes on their sacred Mount Gerizim, and the Israeli town of Holon, just outside of Tel Aviv. Until the 1980s, most of the Samaritans resided in the Palestinian town of Nablus below Mount Gerizim. They relocated to the mountain itself as a result of the first Intifada, and all that is left of the community in Nablus itself is an abandoned synagogue. But the conflict followed them. In 2001, the Israeli army set up an artillery battery on Gerizim. Relations with the surrounding Jews and Palestinians have been mixed. In 1954, Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi created the Samaritan enclave in Holon but Israeli Samaritans today complain of being treated as "pagans and strangers" by Orthodox Judaism. Those living in Israel have Israeli citizenship but like other groups they do not enjoy the same legal status as Jews. Samaritans in Palestine are a recognized minority and they send one representative to the Palestinian parliament. Palestinian Samaritans have been granted passports by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. As a small community divided between two mutually hostile neighbors, the Samaritans are generally unwilling to take sides in the conflict, fearing that whatever side they take could lead to repercussions from the other. One of the biggest problems facing the community today is the issue of continuity. With such a small population, divided into only four families (Cohen, Tsedakah, Danfi and Marhib; a fifth family died out in the last century) and a refusal to accept converts, there has been a history of genetic disorder within the group. To counter this, Samaritans have recently agreed that men from the community may marry non-Samaritan women, provided that they agree to follow Samaritan religious practices. This often poses a problem for women, who are less than eager to adopt the strict interpretation of biblical laws regarding Menstrual cycle, by which they must live in a separate shack during their periods and after childbirth. Nevertheless, there are a few instances of interreligious marriage. Apart from that, all weddings within the Samaritan community are first approved by a genetics at Israel's Tel HaShomer Hospital. In 2004 the Samaritan high priest, Shalom b. Amram, passed away and was replaced by Elazar b. Tsedaka. The Samaritan high priest is selected by age from the priestly family. The high priest resides on Mount Gerizim. == Religion == [[Image:Samaritans.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Samaritans, from a photo c. 1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. Taken from the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=110&letter=S&imgid=1686].]] The Samaritan religion is based on some of the same books used as the basis of Judaism, but these religions are not identical. Samaritan scriptures include the Samaritan Pentateuch of the Torah, the Memar Markah, the Samaritan liturgy, and Samaritan law codes and biblical commentaries. Samaritans appear to have texts of the Torah as old as the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint; scholars have various theories concerning the actual relationships between these three texts. Religious beliefs: *There is one God, the same God recognized by the prophet#The Hebrew and Jewish concepts of prophet; *Their view of God is the same as the Jewish biblical view of God; *The Torah was dictated by God to Moses; *Mt. 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 resurrected by a "taheb", a restorer (possibly a prophet, some say Moses); *They possess a belief in Paradise (heaven); *The priests are the interpreters of the law and the keepers of tradition; unlike Judaism, there is no distinction between the priesthood and the scholars; *The authority of classical Jewish rabbinical works, the Mishnah, and the Talmuds are rejected; *Samaritans reject Jewish codes of law; *They have a significantly different version of the Ten Commandments (for example, their 10th commandment is about the sanctity of Mt. Gerizim). Samaritan law is not the same as halakha (Rabbinical Jewish law). For example, Samaritans retained the Samaritan alphabet, the high priesthood, animal sacrifices, the actual eating of lambs at Passover, and the celebration of Rosh Hashanah in spring, at the beginning of Nisan, instead of the Babylonian-influenced fall date of Judaism. Their main Samaritan Pentateuch differs from the Masoretic Text, as well. Some differences are doctrinal: for example, their Torah explicitly mentions that "the place that God will chose" is Mount Gerizim. Other differences seem more or less accidental. ==Samaritans in the Gospels== Because of the mutual dislike between Jews and Samaritans, the Gospels twice mention good deeds by Samaritans. Jesus teaches that actions speak louder than ethnic identity or pious appearances: *The parable of the Good Samaritan. *Jesus asks water from the Samaritan Woman of Sychar. == See also == Samaria - a similar article concentrating more on the geographic area. == External links == *[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/samaritan.htm Samaritan Alphabet] *[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=110&letter=S#429 1911 Jewish Encyclopedia, "Samaritans"] *[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/samaritan_origin.htm The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects] *[http://www.hostkingdom.net/Holyland.html#Samaria Samarian chronology and High Priests] *[http://www.geocities.com/kaprovboroda/samaritansContact.html Edward Kaprov Photography] *[http://www.geocities.com/kabra1219/SamaritansPiligrimageContact.html Edward Kaprov Photography 2] *[http://www.the-samaritans.com/ The Samaritan Update] *[http://shomron0.tripod.com/2004/feb26.html Samaritan high priests] *[http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/samaris.htm Samaritans, Smallest Minority in Holy Land, Straddle Religious Divide] *[http://www.bible-history.com/Samaritans/index.html The Samaritans] *[http://www.jewishmag.co.il/78mag/samaritans/samaritans.htm Guards of Mount Grizim] *[http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Shen2004.pdf Reconstruction of Patrilineages and Matrilineages of Samaritans and Other Israeli Populations from Y-Chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Variation, by Peidong Shen, et al., in Human Mutation vol. 24 (2004), pp. 248-260] *[http://www.zajel.org/article_view.asp?newsID=2189&cat=18 The Socio politics of the Samaritans in the Palestinian Occupied Territories] Ancient Israel and JudahJudaismSamaritan culture and history
What is the basis for the following section: "In the land of Israel during the early Christian era, Samaritans fared badly. Due to intense pressure to convert to Christianity (often with threats of violence) Samaritans took to attacking Christians. Christians used the threat of force to convert Samaritans and Jews to Christianity, and often had outright attacks on both Samaritans and Jews. The holy places of both groups were taken over by the Christians. By the 3rd century both Samaritans and Jews were second-class citizens." Until the 3rd Century, Christians were themselves a tiny and persecuted minority. It seems implausible that they were able to exert as much pressure on Samaritans or Jews as this section suggests. Furthermore, pacifism was a dominant part of Christian theology until after the conversion of Constantine. This section should be heavily edited/deleted unless it can be substantiated. --User:Michelle J. Kinnucan 08:52, 2004 Jul 5 (UTC) ---- OneVoice, have you ever met Samaritans or talked to them? They would immediately tell you that Josephus was biased. They would have a point too. You are telling their history from a Jewish perspective. Why not introduce their voice too? After all, they claim to be descendants of the original Israelites. That should certainly be mentioned before some rival claim dismissing them. User:Danny 02:52, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC) Danny, I would be very happy to have their view expressed as well. Here you/we are saying that Josephus is biased. On the Jesus page, he is noted as a being reliable. Perhaps it depends strongly on what is being said about whom, though I do not know this is necessarily the case. It does not dismiss them, they are still real and present. The question as to descent could be answered rather well via DNA testing of their Priests and Levites [http://www.cohen-levi.org/jewish_genes_and_genealogy/the_dna_chain_of_tradition.htm] as well as mitochrondrial DNA testing. But there is risk, the desired results might not be obtained. Would this meet the need: :The Samaritans have insisted that they are direct descendants of the Northern Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who survived the destruction of the Northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E. The inscription of Sargon II records the deportation of a relatively small proportion of the Israelites (27,290, according to the annals), so it is quite possible that a sizable population remained that could identify themselves as Israelites, the term that the Samaritans prefer for themselves. :Samaritan historiography would place the basic schism from the remaining part of Israel after the twelve tribes conquered the land of Canaan, lead by Joshua. After Joshua's death, Eli the priest left the tabernacle which Moses erected in the desert and established on Mount Gerizim, and built another one under his own rule in the hills of Shilo (1 Sam 1:1-3; 2:12-17). Thus, he established both an illegitimate priesthood and an illegitimate place of worship. According to this description, the Jews are the dissidents! User:OneVoice 03:51, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC) ::As far as genetic testing of Samaritans goes, this has been done extensively, and the male Samaritans are proven to be mainly of the "Cohen haplotype".[http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Shen2004.pdf] -- User:Olve 18:15, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC) You say you would be very happy to have their view expressed as well. That is very generous of you [sic]. Never have I said that Josephus is reliable. In fact, I contend that the Jesus account is a later addition. Do you know how to use or assess ancient sources? As for your suggestion regarding DNA testing to determine descent, you are showing how little you actually know about the Samaritans. The priestly families died out generations ago, and the people now acting as priests are not from the priestly family. As for DNA testing, it is done regularly. In fact, Samaritans cannot marry without DNA testing being done, because there are only four families left, and it is required to prevent genetic disease (it is done in Tel HaShomer hospital. According to John Whiting in ''National Geographic'', 1919, there were fewer than 150 Samaritans left--their growth to 700 today is largely a result of the care taken in testing). The proposed text is better, Josephus should be mentioned, but not as the main source for identifying them--you might want to look at Ben-Zvi for a later view. As for showing "Jews as dissidents," so what? We are not writing articles to promote agendas, "pro-Jewish" or "anti-Jewish." User:Danny 11:46, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC) ''[sic]'' is used in a quotation to indicate that an error, often spelling, is recognized by the quoter and retained deliberately to reflect exactly what was originally written. "That is very generous of you [sic]." is not correct usage, as far as I know. Why do people on wikipedia seem to always include personal invective or personal slights in their comments. That behavior is sophomoric. (Note this is a characterization/criticism of the behavior; the person is free to choose their behavior at each instant, so past behavior does not condemn on to continue behaving in the same manner....freedom of choice is given to human beings.) I am not an expert on the Samaritans. I do not and have not claimed to be. I did not say that you believe Josephus to be reliable. Indeed my opinion and your opinion on his accuracy is immaterial. There are authorities aplently with degrees from prestigious institutions whom we can turn to for their opinions on such matters. I would like to read the Ben-Zvi material. Is it available on the web? Please feel free to edit the page. But consider keeping the Bible citation and Josephus because our ability to determine what actually is the truth of the matter is poor. To return to the personal asperitions...what agenda do you believe that I am trying to promote. What I am trying to do is reduce the level of partisanship and black and white presentation that wikipedia has at this time while not ignoring that deeds are committed by people and their personal responsibility should not be hidden by the passive voice. User:OneVoice 15:57, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC) NPOV edit - I removed "for self defense purposes" from the end of the sentence "But the conflict followed them. In 2001, the Israeli army set up an artillery battery on Gerizim" at the end of the second paragraph in the "Modern Times" section. The area in question is deep inside the West Bank near Nablus, and Israeli military incursion here and throughout the West Bank and Gaza is considered by some, including the UN and most human rights organizations, to be offensive rather than defensive in nature, and contrary to international law. Stating that the installation of an IDF artillery battery near Nablus was for "self defense" is a partisan POV. Based on the relevant articles of international law which address this situation without ambiguity, as well as the position of the UN SC and GA and the preponderance of official position statements from a large majority of governments of the world, it could easily be argued that a NPOV would that this installation and other similar military actions by Israel in occupied lands are inflammatory and illegal. However, to be conservative, I have removed the "self defense" reference and not replaced it with anything that could be construed as containing POV. ===Ten Commandments?=== It says: They have a significantly different version of the Ten Commandments (for example, their 10th commandment is about the sanctity of Mt. Gerizim). So I would be interested in seeing this significantly different list posted User:SpaceFalcon2001 == "last century" ambiguity == In the text "a fifth family died out in the last century", does "last century" mean the 19th century or the 20th century? User:Anthony Appleyard 06:10, 21 May 2005 (UTC)
My freshman adventures are archived on User talk:Samaritan/2004, and 2005 to May 9 is archived on User talk:Samaritan/2005. Thank you for visiting... == Jessica Willibanks == Can you note who think that it became a media circus? You introduced a weasel word. - User:Ta bu shi da yu 23:39, 11 May 2005 (UTC) :Works for me! Thanks for fixing that up :-) User:Ta bu shi da yu 02:02, 12 May 2005 (UTC) ::P.S. could you use Template:Ref and Template:Note for that external site reference? Example - User:Ta bu shi da yu 04:05, 12 May 2005 (UTC) ==Belinda Stronach is a Conservative!== Belinda has joined the Liberals so she can become leader and take that party further to the right and make it more conservative than the Conservative Party. I sense this. I know it will come true. You just wait. Here is a link that proves that I am right: [http://www.alicespringsnews.com.au/ Belinda is an arch-conservative]. I think I should put this important information in the article since no-one else knows about this now but me. ;-) User:Ground Zero 19:06, 17 May 2005 (UTC) ===Notes=== # This is a note to the source. == Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Caulfield Grammar School == As a user who loves their schools, I wanted to let you know about this current school FAC nomination. Please have a look and a vote. Thanks. User:Harro5 03:29, May 26, 2005 (UTC) ==Artificial Birdland...and more== re: your recent addition of Artificial Joy Club and Sal's Birdland to the musicians list, I can't tell if you know the half of it or not: remember the 80s pop band One to One? As in "Angel in My Pocket"? That was them too. User:Bearcat 07:16, 27 May 2005 (UTC) ==I think I officially need a vacation== In my various Wikiadventures tonight, these are the kinds of things I found: *an entire category devoted exclusively to the King, Ontario (yes, that piddly-arse little piece of nothing up past Newmarket), *an article devoted to Shomer Transportation's ''grocery shuttle'' for the "Galleria Supermarket" in Thornhill, and another devoted to the Guelph Magic Bus, *individual transportation categories for Peel, York, Halton, Durham and Niagara regions and Wellington and Essex counties, none of which were actually filed as subcategories of anything (and the Essex county category has ''one'' article in it, Dougall Avenue), *"School bus" had been categorized as "Transportation in Ontario", as had several highways that were ''already filed'' at "Ontario provincial highways", *articles on every transit system in Southern Ontario, all filed under every last multiply-redundant subcategory they could fit in short of "vehicles", *Trans-Canada Highway was individually filed under all ten provincial transportation subcategories, but amazingly ''not'' under "Transportation in Canada", *and my favourite of all, an entire category of "assessible" (sic) transit services. I need drugs. Know any good dealers? User:Bearcat 07:21, 29 May 2005 (UTC) == Image of 2ch on Internet forum == Hiya Samaritan, as you've contributed to internet forum in the past, could you please read Talk:Internet_forum#2ch_image_-_encyclopedaic.3F, and offer your opinions, so we can reach consensus on which image to include? User:Talrias (User_talk:Talrias | Special:Emailuser/Talrias | Special:Contributions/Talrias) 09:11, 31 May 2005 (UTC) == CFS/CASA == Can you consider intervening in the dispute between myself and Spinboy on the Canadian Federation of Students and Canadian Alliance of Student Associations articles? I think it's wrong to have an NPOV label indefinitely and it would be good to have a resolution and I'd rather not take Spinboy to Arbcomm if possible as otherwise he's a good editor, he just seems to have a fixation when it comes to these two groups.User:AndyL 16:03, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==POV== Hi. You don't know me but back in April you wrote: :''Belaboring any point – even if the point is completely true – can be a form of POV inappropriate for an encyclopedia or a Wikipedia article.'' By "Wikipedia:POV" did you mean ''bias''? If so, may I help you revise the article so that it's unbiased? User:Ed Poor user talk:Ed Poor 13:45, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC) ==W. Mark Felt== Salve!
I nominated W. Mark Felt as a WP:FAC. As you commented on the article's talk page, I'd appreciate your comments at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/W. Mark Felt. User:PedanticallySpeaking 14:56, Jun 17, 2005 (UTC) ==:Category:Causes célèbres== I notice you voted keep in a December 2004 CfD vote about this category. It's been voted for deletion but I am trying to save it. Please come to WP:VFU to express your view. User:Dbiv | User talk:Dbiv 18:13, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==Inclusion not Deletion== (AIW) can you take a look at Wikipedia "apartheid"? There is a movement to delete a two-word inclusion that is fact and true. It's gotten to the point that everyone is focused on the disputing editors and not the edit itself. " Deletionists are disputing the following statement: "South Africa was settled initially by the Dutch, Germans and French from the 17th century onwards. English, other European settlers, and Diaspora Jews followed in the 19th century." This statement is true, and it therefore should not be deleted.69.217.125.53 15:10, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Apartheid Thanks! :I was also spammed with this, it is not an inclusionist/deletionist issue, it's an edit war. User:PhilHibbs — User:PhilHibbs | User talk:PhilHibbs 08:30, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)
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Samaritan
:''For the British telephone helpline, see Samaritans.'' Samaritans are both a religious and an ethnic group. Ethnically, they are descended from a group of inhabitants that may have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian captivity of Judah 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 Hebrew language or Palestinian Arabic as their mother language. For liturgy purposes, Samaritan Hebrew and Aramaic_language#Samaritan_Aramaic are used. == History == The exact historical origins of the Samaritans are disputed to this day. Books of Kings 17 and Josephus (''Antiquites'' 9.277–91) claim that the Samaritans are descendants of mixed ancestry, both of Israelite lineage and of deportees brought into the region of Samaria by the Assyrians from other lands they had conquered, including Cuthah. On the other hand, the Samaritans have always claimed to be the descendants of Israelites of the Northern Kingdom who remained behind during the Babylonian captivity of Judah, and thus introduced none of the religious changes brought about among the Jews during this time. Some modern scholars agree. A genetic study (Shen, et al., 2004) concluded from Y-chromosome analysis that Samaritans descend from the Israelites (including Cohen, or priests), and mitochondrial DNA analysis shows descent from Assyrians and other foreign women, effectively validating both local and foreign origins for the Samaritans. Some date their split with Jews to the time of Nehemiah, Ezra, and the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Returning exiles considered the Samaritans to be non-Jews and, thus, not fit for this religious work. [[Image:Samaritan inscription.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Ancient inscription in Samaritan Hebrew. From a photo c.1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. Courtesy of the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=110&letter=S&imgid=1685].]] The Samaritans built a rival Temple on Mount Gerizim, near Shechem. During the Hellenistic period, Samaria (like Judea) was largely divided between a Hellenizing faction based in Samaria (Sebastaea) and a pious faction, led by the High Priest and based largely around Shechem and the rural areas. Samaria was a largely autonomous state nominally dependent on the Seleucid empire until around 129 BCE, when the Jewish Hasmonean king Yohanan Girhan (John Hyrcanus) destroyed the Samaritan temple and devastated Samaria. Samaritans fared badly under Roman Empire, when Samaria was part of the Roman province of Judea, in the early part of the Common Era. However, this period was also something of a golden age for the Samaritan community. The Temple of Gerizim was rebuilt after the Bar Kochba revolt, around 135 CE. Much of Samaritan liturgy was set by the high priest Baba Rabba in the fourth century CE. There were some Samaritans in the Irann Empire, where they served in the Sassanid army. Later, under Byzantine Emperor Zeno of the Byzantine Empire in the late 5th century, Samaritans and Jews were massacred, and the Temple on Mt. Gerizim was again destroyed. Under a charismatic, messianic figure named Julianus ben Sabar (or ben Sahir), the Samaritans launched a war to create their own independent state in 529. With the help of the Ghassanid Arabs, Emperor Justinian I crushed the revolt; tens of thousands of Samaritans died or were enslaved. The Samaritan faith was virtually outlawed thereafter by the Christian Byzantine Empire; from a population once at least in the hundreds of thousands, the Samaritan community dwindled to near extinction. [[Image:Gerizim2.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Samaritan cultic center on Mount Gerizim. From a photo c.1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. Courtesy of the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=110&letter=S&imgid=1687].]] A large number of Samaritans fled the country in 634 CE, following the Muslim victory at the Battle of Yarmuk. Samaritan communities were established in Egypt and Syria but they did not survive into modern times. During the mid 800s Muslim fanatics destroyed Samaritan and Jewish synagogues. During the 10th century relations between Muslims, Jews and Samaritans improved greatly. In the 1300s the Mamluks came to power; they plundered all Samaritan religious sites, and turned their shrines into mosques. Many Samaritans converted out of fear. After the Ottoman Empire conquest, Muslim persecution of Samaritans increased again. Massacres were frequent. In 1624 the last Samaritan kohen of the line of Eleazar son of Aaron died without issue, but descendants of Aaron's other son Ithamar remained among them and took over the office. By the 1830s only a small group of Samaritans in Shechem remained extant. The local Arab population believed that Samaritans were "atheism" and "against Islam", and they threatened to murder the entire Samaritan community. The Samaritans turned to the Jewish community for help, as Jews and Arabs had good relations at this time, and Jewish entreaties to treat the Samaritans with respect were eventually heeded. In the past, the Samaritans are believed to have numbered several hundred thousand, but persecution and assimilation have reduced their numbers drastically. In 1919, an illustrated ''National Geographic'' report on the community stated that their numbers were less than 150. == Modern times == The Samaritans now number just under 650, divided about equally between their modern homes on their sacred Mount Gerizim, and the Israeli town of Holon, just outside of Tel Aviv. Until the 1980s, most of the Samaritans resided in the Palestinian town of Nablus below Mount Gerizim. They relocated to the mountain itself as a result of the first Intifada, and all that is left of the community in Nablus itself is an abandoned synagogue. But the conflict followed them. In 2001, the Israeli army set up an artillery battery on Gerizim. Relations with the surrounding Jews and Palestinians have been mixed. In 1954, Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi created the Samaritan enclave in Holon but Israeli Samaritans today complain of being treated as "pagans and strangers" by Orthodox Judaism. Those living in Israel have Israeli citizenship but like other groups they do not enjoy the same legal status as Jews. Samaritans in Palestine are a recognized minority and they send one representative to the Palestinian parliament. Palestinian Samaritans have been granted passports by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. As a small community divided between two mutually hostile neighbors, the Samaritans are generally unwilling to take sides in the conflict, fearing that whatever side they take could lead to repercussions from the other. One of the biggest problems facing the community today is the issue of continuity. With such a small population, divided into only four families (Cohen, Tsedakah, Danfi and Marhib; a fifth family died out in the last century) and a refusal to accept converts, there has been a history of genetic disorder within the group. To counter this, Samaritans have recently agreed that men from the community may marry non-Samaritan women, provided that they agree to follow Samaritan religious practices. This often poses a problem for women, who are less than eager to adopt the strict interpretation of biblical laws regarding Menstrual cycle, by which they must live in a separate shack during their periods and after childbirth. Nevertheless, there are a few instances of interreligious marriage. Apart from that, all weddings within the Samaritan community are first approved by a genetics at Israel's Tel HaShomer Hospital. In 2004 the Samaritan high priest, Shalom b. Amram, passed away and was replaced by Elazar b. Tsedaka. The Samaritan high priest is selected by age from the priestly family. The high priest resides on Mount Gerizim. == Religion == [[Image:Samaritans.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Samaritans, from a photo c. 1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. Taken from the 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/images.jsp?artid=110&letter=S&imgid=1686].]] The Samaritan religion is based on some of the same books used as the basis of Judaism, but these religions are not identical. Samaritan scriptures include the Samaritan Pentateuch of the Torah, the Memar Markah, the Samaritan liturgy, and Samaritan law codes and biblical commentaries. Samaritans appear to have texts of the Torah as old as the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint; scholars have various theories concerning the actual relationships between these three texts. Religious beliefs: *There is one God, the same God recognized by the prophet#The Hebrew and Jewish concepts of prophet; *Their view of God is the same as the Jewish biblical view of God; *The Torah was dictated by God to Moses; *Mt. 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 resurrected by a "taheb", a restorer (possibly a prophet, some say Moses); *They possess a belief in Paradise (heaven); *The priests are the interpreters of the law and the keepers of tradition; unlike Judaism, there is no distinction between the priesthood and the scholars; *The authority of classical Jewish rabbinical works, the Mishnah, and the Talmuds are rejected; *Samaritans reject Jewish codes of law; *They have a significantly different version of the Ten Commandments (for example, their 10th commandment is about the sanctity of Mt. Gerizim). Samaritan law is not the same as halakha (Rabbinical Jewish law). For example, Samaritans retained the Samaritan alphabet, the high priesthood, animal sacrifices, the actual eating of lambs at Passover, and the celebration of Rosh Hashanah in spring, at the beginning of Nisan, instead of the Babylonian-influenced fall date of Judaism. Their main Samaritan Pentateuch differs from the Masoretic Text, as well. Some differences are doctrinal: for example, their Torah explicitly mentions that "the place that God will chose" is Mount Gerizim. Other differences seem more or less accidental. ==Samaritans in the Gospels== Because of the mutual dislike between Jews and Samaritans, the Gospels twice mention good deeds by Samaritans. Jesus teaches that actions speak louder than ethnic identity or pious appearances: *The parable of the Good Samaritan. *Jesus asks water from the Samaritan Woman of Sychar. == See also == Samaria - a similar article concentrating more on the geographic area. == External links == *[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/samaritan.htm Samaritan Alphabet] *[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=110&letter=S#429 1911 Jewish Encyclopedia, "Samaritans"] *[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/samaritan_origin.htm The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects] *[http://www.hostkingdom.net/Holyland.html#Samaria Samarian chronology and High Priests] *[http://www.geocities.com/kaprovboroda/samaritansContact.html Edward Kaprov Photography] *[http://www.geocities.com/kabra1219/SamaritansPiligrimageContact.html Edward Kaprov Photography 2] *[http://www.the-samaritans.com/ The Samaritan Update] *[http://shomron0.tripod.com/2004/feb26.html Samaritan high priests] *[http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/samaris.htm Samaritans, Smallest Minority in Holy Land, Straddle Religious Divide] *[http://www.bible-history.com/Samaritans/index.html The Samaritans] *[http://www.jewishmag.co.il/78mag/samaritans/samaritans.htm Guards of Mount Grizim] *[http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Shen2004.pdf Reconstruction of Patrilineages and Matrilineages of Samaritans and Other Israeli Populations from Y-Chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Variation, by Peidong Shen, et al., in Human Mutation vol. 24 (2004), pp. 248-260] *[http://www.zajel.org/article_view.asp?newsID=2189&cat=18 The Socio politics of the Samaritans in the Palestinian Occupied Territories] Ancient Israel and JudahJudaismSamaritan culture and history
Samaritan
What is the basis for the following section: "In the land of Israel during the early Christian era, Samaritans fared badly. Due to intense pressure to convert to Christianity (often with threats of violence) Samaritans took to attacking Christians. Christians used the threat of force to convert Samaritans and Jews to Christianity, and often had outright attacks on both Samaritans and Jews. The holy places of both groups were taken over by the Christians. By the 3rd century both Samaritans and Jews were second-class citizens." Until the 3rd Century, Christians were themselves a tiny and persecuted minority. It seems implausible that they were able to exert as much pressure on Samaritans or Jews as this section suggests. Furthermore, pacifism was a dominant part of Christian theology until after the conversion of Constantine. This section should be heavily edited/deleted unless it can be substantiated. --User:Michelle J. Kinnucan 08:52, 2004 Jul 5 (UTC) ---- OneVoice, have you ever met Samaritans or talked to them? They would immediately tell you that Josephus was biased. They would have a point too. You are telling their history from a Jewish perspective. Why not introduce their voice too? After all, they claim to be descendants of the original Israelites. That should certainly be mentioned before some rival claim dismissing them. User:Danny 02:52, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC) Danny, I would be very happy to have their view expressed as well. Here you/we are saying that Josephus is biased. On the Jesus page, he is noted as a being reliable. Perhaps it depends strongly on what is being said about whom, though I do not know this is necessarily the case. It does not dismiss them, they are still real and present. The question as to descent could be answered rather well via DNA testing of their Priests and Levites [http://www.cohen-levi.org/jewish_genes_and_genealogy/the_dna_chain_of_tradition.htm] as well as mitochrondrial DNA testing. But there is risk, the desired results might not be obtained. Would this meet the need: :The Samaritans have insisted that they are direct descendants of the Northern Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who survived the destruction of the Northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E. The inscription of Sargon II records the deportation of a relatively small proportion of the Israelites (27,290, according to the annals), so it is quite possible that a sizable population remained that could identify themselves as Israelites, the term that the Samaritans prefer for themselves. :Samaritan historiography would place the basic schism from the remaining part of Israel after the twelve tribes conquered the land of Canaan, lead by Joshua. After Joshua's death, Eli the priest left the tabernacle which Moses erected in the desert and established on Mount Gerizim, and built another one under his own rule in the hills of Shilo (1 Sam 1:1-3; 2:12-17). Thus, he established both an illegitimate priesthood and an illegitimate place of worship. According to this description, the Jews are the dissidents! User:OneVoice 03:51, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC) ::As far as genetic testing of Samaritans goes, this has been done extensively, and the male Samaritans are proven to be mainly of the "Cohen haplotype".[http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Shen2004.pdf] -- User:Olve 18:15, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC) You say you would be very happy to have their view expressed as well. That is very generous of you [sic]. Never have I said that Josephus is reliable. In fact, I contend that the Jesus account is a later addition. Do you know how to use or assess ancient sources? As for your suggestion regarding DNA testing to determine descent, you are showing how little you actually know about the Samaritans. The priestly families died out generations ago, and the people now acting as priests are not from the priestly family. As for DNA testing, it is done regularly. In fact, Samaritans cannot marry without DNA testing being done, because there are only four families left, and it is required to prevent genetic disease (it is done in Tel HaShomer hospital. According to John Whiting in ''National Geographic'', 1919, there were fewer than 150 Samaritans left--their growth to 700 today is largely a result of the care taken in testing). The proposed text is better, Josephus should be mentioned, but not as the main source for identifying them--you might want to look at Ben-Zvi for a later view. As for showing "Jews as dissidents," so what? We are not writing articles to promote agendas, "pro-Jewish" or "anti-Jewish." User:Danny 11:46, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC) ''[sic]'' is used in a quotation to indicate that an error, often spelling, is recognized by the quoter and retained deliberately to reflect exactly what was originally written. "That is very generous of you [sic]." is not correct usage, as far as I know. Why do people on wikipedia seem to always include personal invective or personal slights in their comments. That behavior is sophomoric. (Note this is a characterization/criticism of the behavior; the person is free to choose their behavior at each instant, so past behavior does not condemn on to continue behaving in the same manner....freedom of choice is given to human beings.) I am not an expert on the Samaritans. I do not and have not claimed to be. I did not say that you believe Josephus to be reliable. Indeed my opinion and your opinion on his accuracy is immaterial. There are authorities aplently with degrees from prestigious institutions whom we can turn to for their opinions on such matters. I would like to read the Ben-Zvi material. Is it available on the web? Please feel free to edit the page. But consider keeping the Bible citation and Josephus because our ability to determine what actually is the truth of the matter is poor. To return to the personal asperitions...what agenda do you believe that I am trying to promote. What I am trying to do is reduce the level of partisanship and black and white presentation that wikipedia has at this time while not ignoring that deeds are committed by people and their personal responsibility should not be hidden by the passive voice. User:OneVoice 15:57, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC) NPOV edit - I removed "for self defense purposes" from the end of the sentence "But the conflict followed them. In 2001, the Israeli army set up an artillery battery on Gerizim" at the end of the second paragraph in the "Modern Times" section. The area in question is deep inside the West Bank near Nablus, and Israeli military incursion here and throughout the West Bank and Gaza is considered by some, including the UN and most human rights organizations, to be offensive rather than defensive in nature, and contrary to international law. Stating that the installation of an IDF artillery battery near Nablus was for "self defense" is a partisan POV. Based on the relevant articles of international law which address this situation without ambiguity, as well as the position of the UN SC and GA and the preponderance of official position statements from a large majority of governments of the world, it could easily be argued that a NPOV would that this installation and other similar military actions by Israel in occupied lands are inflammatory and illegal. However, to be conservative, I have removed the "self defense" reference and not replaced it with anything that could be construed as containing POV. ===Ten Commandments?=== It says: They have a significantly different version of the Ten Commandments (for example, their 10th commandment is about the sanctity of Mt. Gerizim). So I would be interested in seeing this significantly different list posted User:SpaceFalcon2001 == "last century" ambiguity == In the text "a fifth family died out in the last century", does "last century" mean the 19th century or the 20th century? User:Anthony Appleyard 06:10, 21 May 2005 (UTC)
Samaritan
My freshman adventures are archived on User talk:Samaritan/2004, and 2005 to May 9 is archived on User talk:Samaritan/2005. Thank you for visiting... == Jessica Willibanks == Can you note who think that it became a media circus? You introduced a weasel word. - User:Ta bu shi da yu 23:39, 11 May 2005 (UTC) :Works for me! Thanks for fixing that up :-) User:Ta bu shi da yu 02:02, 12 May 2005 (UTC) ::P.S. could you use Template:Ref and Template:Note for that external site reference? Example - User:Ta bu shi da yu 04:05, 12 May 2005 (UTC) ==Belinda Stronach is a Conservative!== Belinda has joined the Liberals so she can become leader and take that party further to the right and make it more conservative than the Conservative Party. I sense this. I know it will come true. You just wait. Here is a link that proves that I am right: [http://www.alicespringsnews.com.au/ Belinda is an arch-conservative]. I think I should put this important information in the article since no-one else knows about this now but me. ;-) User:Ground Zero 19:06, 17 May 2005 (UTC) ===Notes=== # This is a note to the source. == Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Caulfield Grammar School == As a user who loves their schools, I wanted to let you know about this current school FAC nomination. Please have a look and a vote. Thanks. User:Harro5 03:29, May 26, 2005 (UTC) ==Artificial Birdland...and more== re: your recent addition of Artificial Joy Club and Sal's Birdland to the musicians list, I can't tell if you know the half of it or not: remember the 80s pop band One to One? As in "Angel in My Pocket"? That was them too. User:Bearcat 07:16, 27 May 2005 (UTC) ==I think I officially need a vacation== In my various Wikiadventures tonight, these are the kinds of things I found: *an entire category devoted exclusively to the King, Ontario (yes, that piddly-arse little piece of nothing up past Newmarket), *an article devoted to Shomer Transportation's ''grocery shuttle'' for the "Galleria Supermarket" in Thornhill, and another devoted to the Guelph Magic Bus, *individual transportation categories for Peel, York, Halton, Durham and Niagara regions and Wellington and Essex counties, none of which were actually filed as subcategories of anything (and the Essex county category has ''one'' article in it, Dougall Avenue), *"School bus" had been categorized as "Transportation in Ontario", as had several highways that were ''already filed'' at "Ontario provincial highways", *articles on every transit system in Southern Ontario, all filed under every last multiply-redundant subcategory they could fit in short of "vehicles", *Trans-Canada Highway was individually filed under all ten provincial transportation subcategories, but amazingly ''not'' under "Transportation in Canada", *and my favourite of all, an entire category of "assessible" (sic) transit services. I need drugs. Know any good dealers? User:Bearcat 07:21, 29 May 2005 (UTC) == Image of 2ch on Internet forum == Hiya Samaritan, as you've contributed to internet forum in the past, could you please read Talk:Internet_forum#2ch_image_-_encyclopedaic.3F, and offer your opinions, so we can reach consensus on which image to include? User:Talrias (User_talk:Talrias | Special:Emailuser/Talrias | Special:Contributions/Talrias) 09:11, 31 May 2005 (UTC) == CFS/CASA == Can you consider intervening in the dispute between myself and Spinboy on the Canadian Federation of Students and Canadian Alliance of Student Associations articles? I think it's wrong to have an NPOV label indefinitely and it would be good to have a resolution and I'd rather not take Spinboy to Arbcomm if possible as otherwise he's a good editor, he just seems to have a fixation when it comes to these two groups.User:AndyL 16:03, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==POV== Hi. You don't know me but back in April you wrote: :''Belaboring any point – even if the point is completely true – can be a form of POV inappropriate for an encyclopedia or a Wikipedia article.'' By "Wikipedia:POV" did you mean ''bias''? If so, may I help you revise the article so that it's unbiased? User:Ed Poor user talk:Ed Poor 13:45, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC) ==W. Mark Felt== Salve!
I nominated W. Mark Felt as a WP:FAC. As you commented on the article's talk page, I'd appreciate your comments at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/W. Mark Felt. User:PedanticallySpeaking 14:56, Jun 17, 2005 (UTC) ==:Category:Causes célèbres== I notice you voted keep in a December 2004 CfD vote about this category. It's been voted for deletion but I am trying to save it. Please come to WP:VFU to express your view. User:Dbiv | User talk:Dbiv 18:13, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==Inclusion not Deletion== (AIW) can you take a look at Wikipedia "apartheid"? There is a movement to delete a two-word inclusion that is fact and true. It's gotten to the point that everyone is focused on the disputing editors and not the edit itself. " Deletionists are disputing the following statement: "South Africa was settled initially by the Dutch, Germans and French from the 17th century onwards. English, other European settlers, and Diaspora Jews followed in the 19th century." This statement is true, and it therefore should not be deleted.69.217.125.53 15:10, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Apartheid Thanks! :I was also spammed with this, it is not an inclusionist/deletionist issue, it's an edit war. User:PhilHibbs — User:PhilHibbs | User talk:PhilHibbs 08:30, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Samaritan
[[Image:Barnstar3.png|frame|right|This Barnstar of Diligence is awarded to User:Samaritan for rescuing Your mom from accidental deletion.]]
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