What is the Samaritan Pentateuch?

Answer

The Samaritan Pentateuch, or Samaritan Torah, is the text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible written in the Samaritan script for the Samaritan people. It is the only text that the Samaritans consider inspired, rejecting Joshua through Malachi and the entire New Testament.

The Samaritan Pentateuch originates from an ancient version of the Hebrew Bible written in a pre-Samaritan text style that existed in the Second Temple Period (c. 515 BC—AD 70). This text was edited to emphasize the beliefs of Samaritanism and preserved as the Samaritan Pentateuch, probably between the first century BC and the first century AD. The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., displays a manuscript dating from around 1160, containing part of the Samaritan Pentateuch, making it one of the oldest surviving Torah scrolls from the Samaritan tradition.

The Samaritan Pentateuch is quite similar to the Masoretic Text. Most of the six thousand differences between the two come down to variations in spelling or grammar. This resemblance is remarkable because the documents were developed and passed down independently—Jews had no dealings with Samaritans “Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”, (John 4:9). The Samaritan Pentateuch ultimately attests to the reliability of the Torah.

However, there are several discrepancies between the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Masoretic Text with much bigger implications. One of these is found in Deuteronomy 27:4: “And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster” (ESV, based on the Masoretic Text). The Samaritan Pentateuch replacesMount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are significant in Samaritanism, as Samaritans believe that God’s temple should be located on Mount Gerizim.

Samaritans claim that the original text of Deuteronomy 27:4 supports their belief, suggesting that Ezra later altered the text to dispute their assertion that Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is God’s sacred mountain. This theological debate is reminiscent of the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4:20. Jesus conveyed that the specific place of worship is inconsequential, stating, “the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23). Consequently, Samaritans, Jews, and Gentiles can unite in worshiping God as one Church through the redemptive sacrifice of Christ.

Historically, Jewish communities have rejected Samaritan worship practices and the Samaritan Pentateuch’s assertion of Mount Gerizim as God’s sacred mountain, as evidenced by Rabbi Eliezer’s arguments in Sifre D: 56 and y: Soṭa 7:3 of the Talmud. Although interest in the Samaritan Pentateuch diminished during the Middle Ages, its re-publication in the 17th century reignited scholarly attention and debate.

The Samaritan Pentateuch serves as a valuable tool in textual analysis. Some scholars, particularly Catholics, regard it as a more authentic text than the Masoretic Text due to its alignment with the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, authoritative translations in Catholicism. Conversely, other scholars, typically Protestant, view the Samaritan Pentateuch as a helpful yet occasionally unreliable derivative of earlier Hebrew texts.

Recent discoveries in the Dead Sea Scrolls, identified as “pre-Samaritan,” have shed new light on the textual history of the Pentateuch.

It is now widely accepted that the Samaritan Pentateuch represents a valid ancient textual tradition despite the differences embraced by the Samaritans. The Samaritan Pentateuch can serve as a valuable resource to gain a clearer understanding of the original text authored by Moses.