14. Origins of the Samaritans (Jewish History Lab)
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2024
- Brief discussion of the origins of the Samaritan community in Israel. This lecture is also part of the course entitled Biblical Jewish History: From Abraham to Bar Kochba. Course information and registration here: henryabramson....
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I might add that Tanakh does say that there were Israelites that the Assyrians left over in the Northern Kingdom. That being said, Judean kings like Hezekiah and Josiah both made great efforts to bring their Northern Israelite brothers to Jerusalem for the Passover even after the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians. This is often a fact ignored by many people. So the Samaritans are in fact of Israelite origin even preserving tribal lineage etc.
I’m glad you added this to the conversation
@@eliakimbenishchayil thank you brother. Yes it is a big missing part of the dialogue which has become mostly a monologue at least on the Jewish side.
@@ישעיהובן-תורה are you a samaritan?
@@eliakimbenishchayil haha no.
The samaritan alphabet is the original one. Modern judaism is infected with babylonian paganism.
I thoroughly enjoy your teaching & cordiality! I am a Christian & I LOVE all of this history & background! Shalom!
Thank you for the brief facts about the Samaritans. I met a man in Israel in 1983 that introduced himself as a Samaritan. My only thought then was about the parable of the good Samaritan. Keep the education coming, Dr Abrahamson.
Glad you found it useful!
From my very limited understanding DNA has kind of backed up both origin stories. They are Israelites but had a period with Assyrian intermarriages.
Indeed. And since they were found to be half non-Israelite genetically, even *prior* to intermarrying with female Jews and non-Jewish brides from the Ukraine, they have no less foreign admixture than the Ashkenazi Jews and maybe even more. Nevertheless, these DNA studies never register among antisemites who keep branding them examples of Israelite genetic purity.
They had mix marriage because our people is slowly disappearing. It was common for us back in the old days is to marry our niece, nephew, and cousins only. I was ageist this and I married an outsider. We don't consider us Jewish or Arab. We consider us as Hebrew.
i appreciate the fact you are conscious of the need to be objective and just present facts if it's possible, while identifying differing beliefs. some others have obvious biases.
Dr. Abramson, another very excellent summary.
Thanks!
Dear Sir, I can't thank you enough for your true vocation to scholarship.
You are most welcome
Like always.Excelent historical lecture.Greetings from Puerto Rico.
Interesting no doubt a whole series of videos could be made on this topic thank you for presenting
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great lecture. So would Samaritans of today say that there was never an expatriation of Israelites from the northern kingdom by Assyria (so that they merely lived in the region continuously without interruption)?
Interesting topic. I spent some time with one of the leaders of the Samaritan community in Holon back in 2006. Will you be covering their sources for their origin such as the Kitab al-Ta'rikh, Adler, and Tolidah?
This is a very brief overview.
I would not say leader. High priest is more respectful
Great lecture , fascinating. While living in California I once read , some years back, an article in the L.A. Times regarding the Samaritans and I clipped that article and have kept it for years . At that time they spoke Aramaic as well as other languages . They’re a fascinating group with a very interesting history . Thank you sir .
They do speak Aramaic and their Torah written on silk is Paleo (Aramaic, I believe). Fascinating folks (the remnant). Aramaic is a patou between Hebrew and the Arabic spoken in the Syrian area. Probably a hold over from the Samaritan's invasion by the Babylonians. They removed the powerful and elite and left a remnant of people on the land; but, brought in other people (Syrian, Macedonian, etc.) to dilute the culture and work the conquered land for the Babylonians. This was the technique of conquerors. You can see it in a more subtle form today with attempts at border erasures. Aramaic was spoken in the Decapolis region, not just Samaria. It was a cross over area for culture and (mainly) commerce. Fishermen working in the Galilee had to speak a little Aramaic in order to do their business there and not get swindled by the other merchants and workers. A good deal of shipping and commerce emanated from the area of Northern Israel. Rather course fellows doing very physical work. So learning a little Aramaic was necessary.
Oh Professor this is fascinating stuff. I really love this stuff. Great job.
Glad you enjoy it!
❤excellent teaching.I had some doubts but sir u have Rightly clarified about the Samaritans. Thank u.Jesus bless u. Amen.
This was very helpful. Thank you
Thanks for the content , I always wondered about the original of them
You're welcome! Thanks for being a Public Subscriber!
Fascinating intro, I have come to know about Samaritan (السامري) through Al-Qur’an and its exegesis, the summary is as follows:
After Exodus, the Israelites along with Prophet Moses and Prophet Aaron were settled in the area of Eastern Tur Mountain Range (i.e the Area in Madain Saleh, Yathreb, now known as al-Madinah, in Arabia) Allah summoned Prophet Moses to the top of Tur mountain to give and teach all the commandments for Fourty days. While leaving behind Israelites with Prophet Aaron. There was a Cohen name Samari (السامري) who persuade Israelites to give him their jewellery so that he can make them A statute of Calf and Prophet Aaron tried to stop them of doing this evil, they threatened to kill him. Thus Samari (السامري) made a Golden Calf which make them forget their True Faith (monotheism), while Prophet Moses was in a Meeting with God, who then informed Moses about what his people has done behind his back. After completing 40 days, Moses came back very upset, and inquired Aaron who was in charge of them, Aaron told him everything what happened and pointed to Samari (السامري) and his evil-plan. Thus, Prophet Moses cursed (by praying against) him by saying “you will have worst of this life where no-one will come near you” hence, He exiled him from Israelite Community. At the same time, He seek forgiveness of his Lord for his people’s wrongdoing.. Allah forgave Israelites and thus, Prophet Moses chose 70 learned men among Israelites to teach them commandments and knowledge of Torah. (Al-Qur’an 20: 80-104 / 7: 142-157)
God knows, what happened to Samari after that, no one knows how and when modern Samaritans has emerged and why they are associating themselves with this Cohen.
Anyhow I found very interesting video about Modern Samaritans where the Present Cohen, Husni Wassif al-Samari has explained who they are:
He said: “Samaritans are the oldest and original Israelites, who has no relations with the Jews, who owns the oldest Torah and oldest Hebrew writing system. We are monotheistic faith, that is why we are more relatable to Islamic Belief system (i.e 5 pillars of Islam) we have also 5 pillars (Belief in Oneness of God, Moses is Our Prophet, Torah (only 5 books) is our Law, Sanctity of Mount Gerizim and Judgement Day) and also we have Ten Commandments (9 same and 10th Sanctity of Mt. Gerizim) before, we were almost 8 million Samaritan’s before division of Israelite kingdom, now we are around 800 people in total half living in Holon, Israel and half living in Nablus, Palestine. .... And the reason for our extinction is having less number of girls more in number of boys, so for the past 40 years we have done intermarriages with other faith groups, we took 21 from Jews, 15 from Christians and 3 from Muslims to keep our population going.”
And the the rest of the video, I have abstained myself from translating for obvious reasons, since he has some discriminatory remarks about Jews and Judaism.
Full video: ruclips.net/video/ZWbxhbun4XE/видео.html
Thank you for providing some perspective from an Arabic-language video! Fascinating.
My Arabic is not strong enough to grasp much, but I caught his recitation of the Samaritan 10 Commandments, very interesting.
Many of what we call 'Samaritans' often refer to themselves as 'Yisraelim' (Israelites) in English.
The reason why we call them 'Samaritans' in English is because it is an Anglicisation of the Hebrew 'Shimronim' which means 'Protectors/Guardians' because these last Israelite inhabitants of Northern Israel saw themselves as Guardians/Protectors of the Torah.
Great video. It is so important to understand things from a historical, contextual, and JEWISH perspective. Unfortunately, the parable of the good samaritan has often been used to propogate anti-semitism. Look forward to seeing more of your lectures.
If you think about it the people who won the civil war became the ones in power. So the Hellenistic Jews Who lost, their descendants ended up helping Rome speaking bad about the pharisees and good about all that don't have the Talmud (oral traditions)
@@kashoutlenox This is actually inaccurate; the Pharisees of the Hillel School collaborated with the Romans all the way, and then much beyond the Second Temple's sacking.
@@ZviJ1 lmao are you a Jew? What people do you come from? This is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard in a very long time. I guess we can just say what we want and tell the other person is inaccurate without any concrete evidence. What people do you come from what tribe or race are you?
@@ZviJ1 wherever you heard that is from an anti Jewish anti talmud anti pharisees source
@@kashoutlenox Cupcake, what are your national, tribal and religious affiliations? You're concealing them on your channel while I divulge mine. If you take a gander at even some of my uploads, you'll realize I'm much more (authentically) Jewish than you'll ever be. Apart from these things, all you've shown through your ignorant presumption is that you're narrowminded. Moreover, you're hypocritical since you didn't provide "concrete evidence" for your own allegations. I'll throw you a bone now -- go read from *all* perspectives about the significance of R' Yohanan ben-Zakai's actions in Jerusalem and outside of it, after he managed to get smuggled out of it.
Until you desist from your pride and insisting on another standard for yourself than what you demand of someone who even slightly corrects your remarks, I owe you nothing.
oh no Henry. please read my comment....
you got the relationship between Jews the Samaritans all wrong. today we get along really good. also, the second largest Samaritans community in Israel live in the Jewish city of Holon, near Tel-Aviv. the Israeli Samaritans serve in the army and have same status as Jews. also the Samaritans from Mount Gerizim are often criticised by the Arabs for getting along with the Jews a bit too much. their good ties with Jews sometime gets them in trouble with the Palestinian authority.
Israelis visit Gerizim all the time and are welcomed. BTW the most famous Israeli Tahini brand is called "הר ברכה" - HAR-BRAKHA. its a Samaritan brand.
Thanks for this illuminating comment--my video is historical in nature. I certainly did not intend to address contemporary relations between the Samaritan community and other populations in Israel. Nice to hear that relations are good!
@@HenryAbramsonPhD thank you for the reply. love your videos. next time your in Israel ב"ה i recommend you visit the Samaritan community and also the Jewish town of Pedu'el near by. its called "the balcony of Israel". amazing area, friendly people and a crossroad between ancient and contemporary Jewish history, you'll love it.
@@selfyeshua any Samaratins who follow the man people call Jesus, or Yeshua or the Messiah?
@@johnplain1546 no they don't
@@selfyeshua "Having the same status as Jews" is in a limited technical sense in that they were recognized as such for the criteria of the Law of Return (חוק השבות) and some percentage of them were born to Jewish mothers. But none of us in their right mind would consider practicing Christians (who've practiced and believed in it since the 1st moment they became aware) Jewish for all intents and purposes, except in a limited technical sense, just because they happened to have been born to a Jewish mother.
Secondly, there is also, concurrently, lots of hostility toward the Samaritans by religious Orthodox Jews in Israel.
Good video. Especially the bit regarding crank calls. Would be awesome to step back in time and see the fires light up across the dark mountain tops at new moon.
It reminds me of the American Hatfields and McCoys. 1863-1891.
Thank you Dr Henry.🙏
You are welcome
I always enjoy your perspective and positivity
Thank you! It's all an act. I'm actually quite phlegmatic IRL.
@@HenryAbramsonPhD most of us who try to study both sides of history/an issue usually are...
How much does Jewish and Samaritan schism have to do with the Samaritans denial of the books of kings and the prophets ? In their eyes after the books of moses, there are no more books, there are no more prophets.
Interesting as always. I was surprised you didn't mention Josephus very much in this lecture, since he seems to despise the Samaritans so much in some of his writings.
All Jews hated them. Some still do. Religious bigotry knows no boundaries.
@@meeksde I suppose that's true. I noticed a couple other examples of ancient Jewish intolerance for Samaritans after writing this comment and reflecting on this lecture
@@danielpalmer643 all a result of political propaganda and power of the Davidic dynasty/kingdom! It was a lot of scandalous power plays going on!
@@meeksde The hate flowed both ways. No party was largely innocent of it.
@@AllBrightColors
Every politician and royal elite ever.
Fascinating. Plus, the oral Torah has often given me confusion.
Thanks! I plan to discuss the Oral Torah in more depth in this series.
I don't think the oral Torah is scriptural at all. Yehoshua 8:34 & 35 confirms this. Christian scripture is written by man not given to Mosheh at all.
Has anyone done DNA comparison between Samaritans and Jews of current nation of Israel? Should reveal common ancient origins.
That wouldn’t help much. Because according to genetic test Jewish have similar Levantine origins just like Arabs and Levantine Christians.
I never understood why the Talmud called them "כותים"/"Kuthim"!
I always assumed it was connected with "כוש"/"Kush"/Ethiopia and that didn't make sense to me.
Thank you for the beautiful explanation 🙌
יישר כחך כה"ר ותודה רבה! 💙🙏🔯
Glad to be of assistance.
When I a RC lived in bklyn ,like all groups there where the good and bad or the indifferent which is worse, predominant Safardic area called our fam G and their children should look down on us ,until that is they needed help… the Good Samaritan Story is a good one ,it tells of an supposed enemy puts all aside to help a fellow human ….
I think, as a convert, we should consider all these groups as HEBREW. They are differences but not enough to ostracise them.
Such an interesting lecture, thank you. I believe only Luke covers Samaritans in a positive way in his Gospel. John mentions them with the woman at the well (Saint Photina) where she mentions Father Jacob at whose well they are sitting.
Glad you found it useful!
@@wizardatmath Thank you Omer, Happy New Year, peace, health, and happiness to you and yours.
Fascinating video. I've just watched another video about the Samaritans. There are only 4 families of Samaritans left today I think, about 800 people, and they struggle to balance their laws forbidding marriage outside of their people with the necessity to marry out, to save their tribe from dying out. There are 3 men for every girl and dna tests must be done before any prospective Samaritans couple have children to avoid issues related to the limited gene pool. Many are turning to Internet dating and some have started families with for example Ukranian wives. They see themselves as natural mediators in the Arab Israel conflict and have dual Israeili and Palestinian citizenship. The young Samaritan man engaging with the documentary maker was called Abdullah Cohen.
The palestenians are led by islam. They believe they are the true successors to the land. You can't solve a religious conflict when both sides claim the same land and claim to be right. Both are stubborn too.
@@yurichtube1162 Except for the Quranists, the Muslims are being greedy in having occupyied and usurped parts of the Land of Isreal to begin with -- not to mention subsequent theft of Jewish land and property -- because their own holy book states explaicitly that this land was given by God Himself for the Jews to possess and settle in. If they actually respected the Qur'an they'd move out of the LOI *entirely*, even dismantle their mosque at the south eastern extremity of the holiest Jewish site (the Temple Mt.).
If these Muslims acted reasonably even part of the way toward such an evacuation, we'd find a solution to this conflict ages ago. The culprit is Arab imperialism, expansionism, greed and aggression.
Samaria sounds like Sumer(ia). isn't there a connection there? anyway there would probably be intermixing among the imports, with the people already there . ie, members of the 10 northern tribes.
c10:00 - Christian Gospel of Luke only refers to 'a certain Samaritan', the word 'good' is not in the text. Kenneth Bailey is brilliant on this as a scholar who knew the various languages and rural communities of the region. The story is often acted out with, eg a greasy punk rocker, a smart accountant, and a clergyman on a train finding someone who had been beaten up by football hooligans. Punk rocker is the Samaritan
The historical background of the Samaritans sheds light on the discourse between Jesus and the woman at Jacob's well as told by John; her statement about "...our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you all say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship" was a reference to her religion, not merely a local tradition. Interesting!
Thank you for making these videos!
Glad you find the videos useful.
Yes! It does.
Dr Abramson, permit me to render my own take on the parable of the Good Samaritan which has a Cohanim walking on by, a Levite walking on by and a proto-Chabadnik stopping by to help...
Ha
Reminder set 😉
😁
I was told that the conflict was over the HOLY PLACE where HaShem placed his name, which was absolutely NOT Jerusalem. They didn’t have an issue with the Bnei Ezra building a temple in Jerusalem, but rightly demanded that one be built on Mt. Gereset? Which IS the place where HaShem placed his name, which is THE place where the Holy Of Holies and particular offerings should be made. Their customs also are in line with those of older Jewish communities like the Ethiopians and a Indians. I can’t recall the specific ones, I just learned last week so I’m gonna have to ask my rav for a refresher, but after learning about them, I ROCK with the Samaritans! They were those in the Northern Kingdom who were never taken into captivity and who yet maintain a Torah in the same script as it was given to Moshe Rabbienu. All of the anti-Samaritan sentiment is Judean political propaganda. I’m a product of Judean /Ezra Judaism but MAN!! THe discovery of what happened with the Samaritans/Northern Israelites vs the Judean/Southern Israelites would make for a FANTASTIC dramatic series - like a Game of Thrones saga! 👀🤩🤣
Pretty interesting community. There's a documentary about them on RUclips, and Corey Gil Schuster did at least one video on them. From personal experience, I haven't met any, but I have a few friends from Nablus who have asked me about how they're different from Jews
Interesting!
There is another Canadian from Montreal, Dr. Abraham Weizfeld who has also documented the lives of Samaritans Community of Nablus, Palestine.
He has also dedicated his work on mediating between Palestinians & Israelis.
Link: ruclips.net/video/taq50IakxTU/видео.html
I was expecting to see something like a family tree which shows their blood line, for an example we all know that Israelites are the descendants of Jacob - Isaac - Abraham etc
Have there been any DNA studies, both nuclear and mitochondrial, to shed light on the two Samaritan origin stories?
Yes there has been genetics studies . Shen et al Reconstruction of the Matralineges and Patralineges of Samaritan Israelites.
You at least have the decency to ask. Many antisemites just yap based on their ignorant assumptions that the Samaritans are bearers of "Genetic Israaelite purity", supposedly never intermarrying with converts, never displaced, never scattered. All wrong presumptions.
So back then, would those who dont follow the oral Torah be considered orthodox?
During Nehemiah's and Ezra's time some people came to them and asked them to help them to build the temple. They said that we also offer sacrifice for your God. So these were the early Samaritans?
Thanks
Welcome
How are you doing today
Do you have any links to research the claim of the Samaritans concerning their being the continuity of the original Jews?
Relying primarily on scholarly print sources. There should be online materials coming in the comments section.
You can follow a RUclipsr, Abood Cohen he is a Samaritan. He talks about the Samaritan life and History of the ancient Israelite's.
What lesson is it where you talked about how to read the NT in a Jewish context? BTW after watching one of your lecture you mentioned the annotated NT, i have ordered it online. Actually the 3 series book. Thanks. P.S I find interesting that even Jesus in his dialogue with the Samaritan women, he told her that, you (Samaritan) you worship what you don't know... salvation is of the Jews, it is in plural and not singular, i find that fascinating.
wow Dr.A
What are some generally-accepted estimates of Jewish/Israelite populations and Samaritan populations from c.800 BCE - 200 CE?
I'm going to refer you to Google on that one, Mr. Webb; a little beyond my area of current research.
@@HenryAbramsonPhD Well, I do find that their population was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands in late antiquity - c.400 CE. They had a status of religio licita under the Byzantines until after a revolt in the late 400s and then an attempt to form an independent state with Sassanid help in the reign of Justinian led to massive reprisals and massacres - population in the tens of thousands and declining afterward, with fewer and fewer identifying with the religion as it was persecuted under the Byzantines, Abbasids, and then the Ottomans.
@@HenryAbramsonPhD population estimate for the region of the Kingdom of Judah plus Samaria at the time of the Babylonians is estimated around 400,000, which would include Jews/Israelites, Samaritans, Philistines, and "other Canaanites". Beyond that, the demographers seem silent... at least on the first page of Google results. Maybe I should work up a proposal for a grant to fund a deeper dig into the Google sites? :-)
Dr. Abramson do you suggest we follow your talks numerically as you have numbered them?
Yes, but note that I tend to record several numbered series at once. This one is the Jewish History Lab series. Playlists are helpful.
At 10:23 its said: They(Samaritans) were jews like all the other jews"... Is that correct? I mean,,,when Samaritans were Jews? They r not from Juda tribe nor they lived or descent from ppl of Kingdom of Juda...why ppl from 10 tribes should be called a Jew?..... P.s. love Your videos,saw all of them
That was referred to hebrews/ Israelites. Today people who decent from cohens or Levite also called Jews like all other jews.
I have read there are over 6000 differences in spelling in our Torah and the Samaritan torah. There are also some similarities with the LXX, but even those discrepancies are incredibly minor. Except for specifying mount Gerizim, what major differences does the Samaritan Torah have that might be construed as more consistent or welcoming of xtian theology?
Even the xtians don't recognize them as legitimate
Beyond my area, maybe someone else will comment?
@@HenryAbramsonPhD It seems the Samaritans never "separated" from the Israelites? I am confused. You stated it was a matter of different priests? The northern kingdom of Israel was over thrown and the people exiled. The Samaritans are people imported into the land formerly occupied by the norther kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians:
"In the ninth year of [the reign] of Hoshea, the King of Assyria took Samaria and exiled the Israelites to Assyria, and he settled them in Halah at the [River] Habor, at the River Gozan, and in the cities of Media. And so it was that the Israelites sinned against HaShem their G-d ... they worshipped other gods and followed the customs of the nations ... G-d had issued warnings in Israel and Judah through the hand of all the prophets of any vision saying "Repent from your evil ways and observe My commandments and decrees..." But they did not listen and they stiffened their neck...Then G-d became very angry with Israel and removed them from His Presence." (M'lachim II / 2 Kings 17:6-18).
@@lauras2519 According to the royal Assyrian accounts, only about 30,000 Israelites were exiled from Israel. The Melakhim Bayt 17 narrative is, unfortuamtely, contaminated (sorry for the strong word) by sectarian propaganda and therefore not totally historically reliable. Ezra-Nehemia and Divray Hayamim (Chronicles) clearly prove that the majority of the Northern Israelites were not exiled. The Chief Samaritan scholar, known on Facebook as Ben Sedaka, has accepted the narrative in Melakhim Bayt 17 up to the point where the foreigners from Mesopotamia had been imported to Samaria; he argues that the males among them gradually left Israel and the females married Israelite men, as proved by DNA studies. The High Priesthood of the Samaritans from the last third of the 5th century BCE until 1624 was a branch of the Zadokite High Priesthood that officiated at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; there's a terse reference at the end of the Nehemia book to how they got there, being a consequence of one of the High Priest's sons marrying a daughter of the Israelite governer of Samaria (governing on behalf of the Persians), whereupon Nehemyah expelled him from Jslm. Apropos, archaeological excavations in Jerusalem have shown that the city grew very much following Samaria'a fall by the Assyrians, and could only mean many Northern Israelites escaped the Assyrians at the time for Jerusalem.
When honestly read, nothing in the ST can be construed as welcoming or consistent with Christian theology. If anything, they and the Qaraite Jews are slightly more unwelcoming of Xtian theology than Rabbinic Orthodox Jews.
Shalom prof abramson . Can you please tell me which video, has the series on the jewish perspective of the xtian bible ???? tnx
ruclips.net/p/PLdiAQwLyKa8KQojuoEfPvV77QXx1pUJry
Nablus is in the West bank in Palestine
Is it possible that they're correct and European Rabbis were wrong ?
Mike, you are such an iconoclast.
False dichotomy. All rabbis (regardless of diasporic community) and Qaraite sages consider them wrong on denying Jerusalem's sanctity and rejecting the NaKH.
The only way the Samaritans would be correct is if a copy of the original Torah scroll were unearthed and it were identical to theirs in all the places where theirs considers Mt. Gerizim the Chosen Place.
Did samaritans exist during the time of moses sir ???????
Do you think there is anything that Jews can learn from the priestly Judaism that Samaritans practice and are there any rabbinical leaders who practice priestly ritualism at this time?
From a historical perspective, there's a lot to learn.
The notion of Rabbinical leaders practicing "priestly ritualism" is an oxymoron, if there was ever one.
As a Scriptural Jew I think we Jews can learn a few things from Samaritanism, though their version of Yahwism is overall incorrect.
Is there any evidence that the peoples described in 2 Kings 17 really are the ancestors of the Samaritans? IIRC, Hugh Williamson the retired Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford believes, on the basis of a passage in Josephus, that the Samaritans derive from a community of priests who left the Jerusalem Temple possibly in the second century BC and established a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, which John Hyrcanus subsequently destroyed. In other words, Samaritans were a more recent breakaway Jews who developed their own style of Judaism with their own Torah, but not the rest of the Hebrew scriptures. It must be remembered that almost nothing is known of Jewish history for the period 300-200 BC. If that is how the Samaritan community arose, it is clear why they didn't have the Oral Torah, since this was a possession of the Pharisees and was not held by the Herodians or the Sadducees, which later group, in contrast to the Pharisees, didn't believe in angels, the soul or the resurrection of the dead (and that's why they were sad, you see, as the old joke goes). In other words, first century Palestinian Judaism was much more diverse than post-70 Judaism, which is essentially Pharisaic in character- because the destruction of the temple ended the other temple- and politically-based parties of Judaism and gave new opportunities for the synagogue-based Pharisees to exercise leadership over the Jewish people. The Samaritans feature quite a bit in the New Testament, especially John 4 and Acts 8 from which it is clear that many Samaritans became Christian. The "Messiah" they looked for was not apparently one in the line of David ( they rejected Zion theology) but "the prophet like Moses" foretold in Deuteronomy 18. That the Samaritans didn't recognise the rest of Tanakh is understandable because those parts are replete with Zion theology and they had turned their backs on Jerusalem. The Torah, of course, does not specify Zion as the Lord's choice but is vague about this (cf, Deut 12), so it can be read as supporting the claims of Mount Gerizim.
Useful questions all.
The Josephus passage is Antiquities 11.8.2 recounting how Ssnballat of Samaria built a temple on Mount Gerizim for a Manasseh and many priests left Jerusalem to serve that temple instead this would be c. 332 BC. The temple was subsequently Hellenized And destroyed by John Hyrcanus. Relations between Jews and Samaritans were often very violent in the first century so Jesus' positive references to them would have been shocking in the ears of many Jews.
One needs a very strong pro-Samaritan bias to read Devarim 12 in the Masoretic Torah as supportive of Mt. Gerizim.
@@briankelly5828 I discovered this the other day in the non-canonical book Sirach:
50:25 Two nations my soul detests,
and the third is not even a people:
26 Those who live in Seir, and the Philistines,
and the foolish people that live in Shechem.
It is a testament to the malic between the two peoples, and as you said would have made Jesus' parable all the more shocking.
@@briankelly5828 1.- The genetic study by Shen et al (2004) confirms that the Samaritan females prior to intermarriage with Jewish women in the 20th century trace back to Babylonians and Assyrians.
2.- What many conside the rival Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim was likely a holy precinct. There's no concrete evidence for a Samaritan temple there. Even the chief Samaritan scholar insists on this.
3.- Your argument that *almost nothing* is known of Jewish history for the 300-200 BCE timeframe is incorrect, as seen in J. Flavius's writings and other contemporaneous sources, mostly non-Jewish.
4.- The Pharisees only came on to history's stage shortly after 200 BCE. They may be an upshot of attempts by some Jews to reconcile increasing Hellenistic influence with a desire to not embrace Hellenism entirely.
5.- There's no consenssu among the scholars about the beliefs held by the Sadducees and whether or not they were monolithic as a movment.
6.- Nothing in the Masoretic i.e. Jewish Torah version can be read as supportive of arguing for Mt. Gerizim being the Chosen Place. This is why in the 2nd century BCE the Samaritan priests reworded some of the Ten Utterances to include a commandment to erect an altar on Mt. Gerizim and made sure that the phrase "the place He chose [בחר]" appears in every single verse that the Masoretic Torah states "the place He chooses [יבחר]".
Palestine Authority or Israel I so confuse, and they spoke arabic as main languages
Great insight. I am reminded of Jesus' and the Samaritan woman's conversation at the well that seems to capture the Samaritan mindest of the day, referring to Jacob as her ancestor! And secondly, her question/statement about where people ought to worship carries what seems to be the center of the disagreement. Lastly, she admits the Samaritans are looking for the Messiah when she says to Jesus the Messiah will come and "tell us all things."
I wonder then, if the Samaritans of antiquity, or even today, are not looking toward the Davidic throne for the Messiah, then where do they look?
According to the Gospel, many Samaritans including the woman accepted Jesus to be the Christ, but for the other Samaritans who did not believe, what were their tradition and credentials for the Messiah?
I'm looking forward to including more discussion of the Samaritans in the print version of these lectures.
Sweet
In life sometimes you're more likely to get help from a stranger than you are from a family member. Notice how when a person meets a stranger for the first time they're at their best behavior? But when they meet someone they known for some time they treat them with contempt? [Mark 6:4-5 KJV "But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folks, and healed them".] The Good Samaritan story speaks to me of an example of religious hypocrisy based upon worldly prejudices and how those free from such preconceptions are better able to express the true Spirit of the law. [Matthew 22:36-40 NIV
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”]
Hope you found the lecture useful.
So ,smart
Keep digging for the truth
Ok
Are the Samaritans from one of the Children of Israel, if so which one(s)? Who are the modern day Jews and why are the separate from the Jews, in other words Jews and Samaritans, why not Children of Israel?
Depends on who you ask. Samaritans and Jews would disagree.
Both peoples are *basically* of Israelite origins, tracing back to the ancient Israelites. Both consecrate the Torah and have many core beliefs in common. Ergo, both are Israelite, even though the Samaritans decided to consider a different site the Chosen Place.
I always thought they were some remnants of Samarian Jews. Whereas the majority are surviving Judeans and etc.
Worthy topic of further research, but a little beyond the scope of these brief lectures.
@@HenryAbramsonPhD yes sir. Theologically under Habakkuk, the Samaritans failed to observe Sabbath while Judeans complied. It could he, like all such stories, a handful defected at the last minute
If asked today, a Samaritan will say that he is not a Jew, but rather of the Children of Israel.
@@baddbeliever the construct "Samaritan Jew" is no less ridiculous than that of a "Christian Jew" who was raised as a Christian since infanthood and has believed in and practiced Christinsanity since the 1st moment they could in life.
"They were Jews just like all the other Jews", that statement is hilarious! Not all Hebrews were Jews, only people from the tribe of Judah who live in Judea were called Jews. This will be no different than saying that the whole United States is Washingtonian, just because the Washingtonians decided that they will represent the whole United States, and whoever is not Washingtonian has no right to be called American.
That isn't correct, sir. All Israelites after the Babylonian captivity we called and considered themselves Jews. Paul was a Benjamite from the diaspora and he was a Jew.
The genetic history of samartians gives credence to their claims. Not only do they share ancestry with modern day jews, but their DNA is more Semitic and historically middle eastern. Maybe their claims are true. Who knows.
Shalmanezer, king of Assyria carried away Israel to Assyria because they had been rejected by God for their unrepentant idolatry practices And Kings 17, and relocated 5 different tribes of Assyrians with 5 different idolatry practices in Samaria. 2 kings 17:24-41.
This is the reason why Jews do not have anything to do with the Samaritans of their day, because they believed that they were strangers living in the promised land.
The Samaritan woman at the well who was met by Jesus Christ because of her faith in the God of the Jews. She had allied herself, like Ruth, to Jacob, by saying "our father Jacob...Our fathers worshipped..." John 4:1-26.
She, in her quest for the True God, went through all the 5 gods of Assyria, and now found about the God of Israel.
Just then, she met Jesus who then told her the good news of salvation by faith in the One that God has sent to restore Israel.
Because of her faith in Him, she not only got saved, but became the evangelist to proclaim this good news to all Samaritans.
The idols and gods are likened to having a marital relationship, thus, she had been with 5 husbands and now even the 6th wasn't what she was looking for.
This meant that the mystery which was hidden right from the beginning- Jews and Gentiles would be saved, was fulfilled.
Jesus was indeed sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, but He also ministered to anyone who would simply have the faith of Abraham and believe God through Christ Jesus, who was sent to seek and save lost Israel.
The Samaritan woman was one of the 3 gentiles ministered to by Jesus Christ for their faith in Him:
The Roman Centurion, the Samaritan woman at the well and the Canaanite woman.
He didn't acknowledge the Greek gentiles when they came to seek Him because He had to pay the wages for their sins before they could finally be included in salvation work of Jesus Christ by grace, through faith in His sacrificial death, burial and resurrection John 12:32.
Finally, by the Holy Spirit, Philip was sent to include Jew Proselytes, through the Ethiopian Eunuch, then the Apostle Paul was sent to the rest of the world.
The other problem is their Y chromosome test match modern Jewish men especially those with last names such as "Cohen". These men have same haplotype as Jewish men with with the "Cohen haplotype".
Not exactly... because the kicker is that their non-Kohanim tend to have this haplotype/s, whereas their own Kohanim have an entirely different haplotype and haplogroup.
*IF* the "real" kohanim are of the J1 haplogroup -- perhaps also J2 -- why are theirs in the E-something haplogroup?
@@ZviJ1 some Ashkenazi levites are E1b1b I think e1b1b was the original Semitic haplogroup of the Israelites but they mixed with people surrounding them
Wouldn't these people come from Sumer, Assyria?
Largely yes. Even the chief Samaritan scholar has argued that both gentile males and females were imported to Israel from Mesopotamia and sometime afterwards the males gradually left Israel, while the females remained and married Israelite men, and these were the proto-Samaritans.
Hmmmm... the autocorrect changed the spelling of your name...🤔
Happens all the time.
JUST SAYING, JESUS TOLD THEM THIS EXAMPLE/PARABLE TO ASK THEM WHO DID WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO DO, INSTEAD OF LEAVING A MAN BY THE ROADSIDE TO DIE HE PICKED HIM UP, CLEANSED THIS WOUNDS, PUT HIM ON HIS DONKEY AND TOOK HIM TO AN INN TO STAY PAID THE INNKEEPER AND TOLD HIM ON MY WAY BACK I WILL PAY YOU THE REST OF THE MONEY FOR HIS NEEDS .🕊🕊🕊
What about the woman with the 5 husbands!
Lots of resources for her. Especially if she was young. How manipulative.
@meeksde Confused about the question. What does the fact she ha had five husband's mean. That tells us nothing about the lady.
My take on the parable of the Good Samaritan has to do with exercising pragmatism/common sense over ideology. The Samaritan who is considered as anathema of the Jews at the time acts out of love for the fallen Jew while the Orthodox Jews, adhering to their ideology (as I understand it, at least for the Levite) avoid helping the fallen man, then Jesus asks: who is the fallen man’s true or better neighbor? This is a huge theme in the Gospels that I think too many just plain miss. I only came by this by way of my legal education.
In Anglo-Saxon common law, Judges make law by rendering narrow decisions to equally narrow questions. An apple from your tree falls on my property: who owns the apple? That kind of thing. Judges, As Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, were free to choose from the market place of ideas to render the answer. They simply weighed the values they held, in the context of the questions, and answered with whatever was pragmatic/common sense answer given the context. In this way Anglo-Saxon societies, over time, become a patchwork of ideologies - each ideology being applied only in the context where it makes the most sense and ignored where it doesn;t. This is why Anglo-Saxonism has prevailed over the long term (and why the English were frequently viewed as hypocrites). Ideologically speaking the law is a mass application of hypocrisy. When I looked around for other examples of a system that weighs the various values in the context at issue, I eventually noticed it in the Gospel in the teachings of Jesus. It’s the notion that a starving man can’t pick an apple from a tree because its the sabbath and ideology says one isn’t supposed to work on the sabbath and picking an apple is work - the absurdity of the application of ideology in that context, that sort of thing. And when I think about it, all ideologies, adhered to, eventually lead to nihilism - because ideologies try to answer a question before its been asked. Eventually a question arises in a context that renders the answer that the ideology provides as an absurdity. This in turn leads to situations where “we had to destroy the village in order to save the village”” or nihilism. In the great international crisis of the early 20th century, many non-Anglo-Saxon societies succumbed to rogue ideological rule. Whether the ideology was leftist or rightist, they all pretty much delivered nihilism - depending upon how strictly they were adhered to. Famine in early 1920s Russia ended when Lenin implemented his New Economic policy, which was a retreat from strict communism. Stalin reimposed it (and more draconian other stuff, I suppose) and famine returned in the early 1930s - and famine is one of the worst things that can happen to humanity. I don’t have to bring up the case of Naziism here, which pursued its extreme, rogue, ideological agenda only to end up with the most nihilistic manifestations of all time.
(WWII can be viewed, in this sense, as Anglo-Saxonism + the lone leftist ideology against the nations that had embraced rightists rogue ideologies; and the Cold War Anglo-Saxonism & allies against the leftist ideology left standing. Watching the post 1970s America drift into ideologicalistic politics has been very depressing, to say the least).
I think Jesus was trying to teach us something really important: value weighing versus ideology in a given context. I say this as someone who was raised catholic (but probably 15% Jewish) and I see the big problem with the Catholic Church is its adherence to ideology which then negates the purpose of the values that Jesus encourages us to embrace. If two people are gay but love each other do we embrace the love there or the ideology that says that love must be biologically procreative? Embracing the latter is nihilistic and cruel, yet thats currently where the Catholic Church is now. Note I’ve found the Episcopalians to be characteristically much more Anglo-Saxon value weighing friendly.
When we start to examine what Jesus was teaching we see some extraordinary complex notions and ideas to some rather simple people. The scholarly book on Game Theory by Robert Axelrod, “The Evolution of Cooperation” proves the soundness of a strong doctrine of forgiveness. The separation of church and state, the pursuit of truth, exercising our free will into finding our way back to God on our own volition (Prodigal Son) are just extraordinary. We struggle teaching these things to Ivy League graduate students, yet here was Jesus using parable to teach them to semiliterate, subsistence farmers and the like. And all from his training as a carpenter. It’s no wonder that those who were his followers saw divinity in his wisdom and came to think of him like that. As in the case of the Catholic Church, it’s a shame they don’t embrace this more fully. The purpose of a preacher, at least in Christian sense, is to function like a match maker, between the person and God, and then try to stay out of the way of the relationship except when they can help further it along, as it goes. Our lives, whether we believe in a God or not, through the events we encounter and the decisions we make are our conversation with God, and what we become, how we evolve is our gift to him for what he has given us: our lives and our minds and our free will - which in the scheme of things is quite extraordinary.
Anyway I don’t know what to call this system that Jesus espoused -context based value weighing?-, but I wish we had a neat and tidy name for it, because then it could be taught and debated as to its virtue and application and maybe nations would never go ideological again, but instead, embrace, weigh and debate and apply their values along common sense lines more frequently. I wish to all: peace, love and growth (through one’s search for truth in one’s own context and life circumstances) to all because I feel very certain that is what God wants for us to do with these lives that he has given us (and i think if you do that, no matter where it takes you, as long as it was sincere and honest then I believe, God is forever pleased with you).
Thank you for this contribution to the discussion.
@@HenryAbramsonPhD Thanks for the acknowledgement.
Interesting, I looked up genetics of Samaritans and it turns out that males have the Cohen gene. I love when history, myth, and science intermingle for a reveal of the past.
What are you using as a reference for the “Cohen gene”? The one from the European Jews? I’d actually prefer to examine the y marker of the Samaritan Jews and use that as the reference marker to compare everyone else who believes they are a Cohen’s marker to. After all, they have not been removed , scattered, as mixed with converts, etc.
@@AllBrightColors on the other end wouldnt it be better to check the mitocondrial dna? As it reveals lineage from the mother. Since jews should have jewish mothers? Just a tought i had
@@AllBrightColors The same genetic markers for Israelite Kohanim are present in both Yemenite, Mizraḥi and all "European Jews" i.e. the Italki, Romaniote, Sepharadim and Ashkenazim, you antisemitic nincompoop. The Samaritans correctly deny being Jewish and so do all the truly informed Jews. It is impossible to be a Jew when one denies the sanctity of Jerusalem with its Temple Mt. at the top in favor of another site and rejects the sanctity of the majority of the Jewish Bible (Prophets and Writings).
Most Samaritan males are not Kohanim, so why should their Y-DNA markers be used as references for comparison. After all, you ignorant doofus, since 1924 the Samaritans have intermarried with tens of Jewish women (Ashkenazis included); and since 2003 they have intermarried with an increasing number of eastern Slavic brides from the Ukraine. Moreover, the DNA study by Shen at al ( 2004) found that the Samaritan females who were not of recent Jewish origins traced back to Babylonians and Assyrians!
As far as being "removed and scattered", there used to be Samaritan communities in places like the Greek Isles, mainland Greece, Egypt, Syria, Rome, Sicily, Babylon, Persia and India. In the 630's, tens of thousands of Samaritans escaped from Israel to Persia during the Arab conquest and never returned.
@@etcwhatever The DNA study performed by Shen at al ( 2004) found that the Samaritan females who were not of recent (20th century) Jewish origins traced back to Babylonians and Assyrians. However, despite the temptation to consider them Jewish, the Samaritans are not Jews and in Samaritanism the paternal line is what determines Israeliteness. (Moreover, Scriptural Jews -- notably the Qaraites -- and the Reform to some extent reckon Jewishness patrilineally.)
@@AllBrightColors the Samaritan cohen Y haplogroup is e-m78 (in my family tradition I’m also a cohen and that is my haplogroup too) but more researchers today claim that the coven haplogroup is J
Growing up they're Half Breed's = Half Jewish Half Gentile from the Mesopotamian
Being a part of the 10 tribes of Israel makes you not Jewish actually... But of course makes you a part of the ancient culture...
Hogwash. The combination of Scriptural evidence (from the Jewish Bible's late books) and the archaeological evidence led to the conclusion that the Jewish peiople is comprised of descendants of all ancient Israelite tribes. Most Northern Isrtaelites were not exiled by the Assyrians.
@@ZviJ1 where do you have an evidence that the 10 tribes weren’t exiled by the assyrians? Why would they be called the “lost tribes” if they would have fully assimilated to the Judean kingdom? In addition, according to the bible there was relationship of rivalry between the two kingdoms…
@@zcohent First off, you're contorting my argument to a strawman, which is akin to a lie.
The Northern Kingdom had ~100,000 men just prior to the Assyrian waves of exile. The Assyrian kings reported exiling ~30,000 of them. The archaeological record has proved that Jerusalem's territory was dramatically expanded in the wake of the Assyrian conquest of the Northen Kingdom, when many Northern Israelites escaped to the Southern Kingdom. Moreover, read Chronicles, Ezekiel and Ezra-Nehemia in the Jewish Bible, that report how many Northern Israelites kept living north of Jslm. after the Assyrian exile waves and many of them migrated to the Southern Kingdom..
The notion of "lost" Israelite tribes is little more than Rabbinic lore that some Christians have also exploited for their own ends.
@@ZviJ1 Ok, interesting, I didn’t know that…
@@ZviJ1
I'm guessing those Israelites that were in the Southern Kingdom simply got absorbed into the existing tribes of Judah and Benjamin and no longer were considered part of any of the northern tribes. Hence, those Kingdom of Israel tribes no longer exist would still be considered Lost, even though many escaped to Judah.
I wonder if most of the people that were killed in the Holocaust were accounted as Jews but were Samaritans.
0:47 Nablus is in Palestine not Israel
Israel there is no Palestine
"Palestine" is what the Land of Israel was renamed by the Romans in late AD 135. Otherwise there is no Palestine
Noah tribe in Sumatra Indonesia.
The Minang tribe old folks story , The Adat(traditional) Roof look like Noah Ark .
The Minang tribe must come from their mother. ( Ibu kanduang)
Tanah Minang
IBU kanduang
Adat Di junjung
Kitab Di julang
Hmm.
These people?
Part of Jewish history.
Oh hey Dr. Thanks for the vids. Been watching a few lately. There was a Good Times / Different Strokes TV show vibe I was trying mine for humor but couldn't really tap into it.
I apologize. I know I know I need to restart my subscription well played Dr. Well played. I'll try to scrape together a little something by December. 🙂
It was the jews who REDACTED Gerizim away, the samaritans didn't add it.
Very interesting. Sad they have only 4 families left! I enjoyed learning about them watching the chosen. But I love reading any history to do with the scattered tribes.
“They were Jews...”???
It’s said as if anyone who keeps Torah (law) is Jewish. But the Torah/law was given to ALL tribes.
Even supposed lost tribes from Africa and Asia are given Aliyah and referred to as Jews.
Are they expected to adhere to changes in the faith that came out of Babylon?
Jews are Judah and much of Benjamin/Levites. But ALL are Israelites- from Israel/Jacob. I believe and agree with them that they are Israelites. I think they are right- Passover’s were kept with a sacrifice without a temple.
However, I would be closer to Kairite if I wasn’t Messianic.
You misunderstood. With the exception of Ethiopian Jewry, the supposed lost tribes that never had Israelite heritage and identity overall. Some individuals among them converted to Judaism and this entitled *those particular people* to move to Israel. The powers-that-be in Israel will not allow others from those tribes and peoples to immigrate to Israel.
The Lemba descend mostly from non-Jewish Arabians and must convert to Judaism to be considered Jewish or Israelite, if you prefer the latter term.
The only exception where the entire population is Israelite, minus people who trace back to those who fell into Christinsanity in the 19th century, are the Ethiopian Jews.
There are more than 4 families left, but they converted to Islam. There are palestinian families with proven jewish or samaritan ancestors.
Samaritan is the Yahud good people. They not zionist. Because the zionist from europian jewis
Many Zionists are Jews from Arab lands. Judaism believes in a return to Zion.
Your ignorance is laughter inducing. Even the Samrians deny being Jews since they deny Jerusalem's sanctity and reject most of the Jewish Bible. Nevertheless, they are Zionist in the sense that they subscribe to the Torah's desire to establish an Israelite state in the Land of Israel. This is why they support Israel for most purposes and revile anti-Zionism.
They're "Half" Breed's...
This has been proved by DNA studies and their intermarriage with non-Samaritans since 1924.. But the antisemites still laud them as "genetically pure Israeliteas".......... lol
Most Jews are and people in general
@@footballfan5462 Your apparently Liberal kneejerk reaction misses my point. If anything, I was drawing attention to the fact the Samaritans are the only Israelites who are given an exemption by antisemites from the reality of their being admixed.
please...no chinese food jokes...stick to the tacts...please
I don't know you or what you've been through, but you matter. God loves you and so do I. Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Repent of your sins; repent simply means to turn away from your sins, don't keep doing the wrong things you did in the past. Be baptized; a symbol that the old sinful self is gone and a new creation is here in Christ Jesus. Follow the specific will of God for your life and you will be saved.
0:45 They are not in Israel. They are in occupied West Bank.
Free Palestine! 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
Turks are the closest groups to Toscan people becaue Turks are Trojans who came back to their land after wars. That si why when Constantinople was taken Fatih said that this is a revwnge for Troy.