Josephus Flavius - The Samaritans in Flavius Josephus

Reinhard Pummer

W ILLIAM B . E ERDMANS P UBLISHING C OMPANY

G RAND R APIDS, M ICHIGAN / C AMBRIDGE, U . K .

2016 Reinhard Pummer

All rights reserved

Published 2016 by

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /

P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.

www.eerdmans.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pummer, Reinhard, author.

The Samaritans : a profile / Reinhard Pummer.

pages cm

Includes .

ISBN 978-0-8028-6768-1 (pbk. : alk. paper); 978-1-4674-4406-4 (ePub); 978-1-4674-4366-1 (Kindle)

1. Samaritans History. I. Title.

BM910.P855 2016

296.817 dc23

2015029837

Cover illustration: Top Passover Pilgrims praying on Mount Gerizim (Reinhard Pummer).

Bottom Delos inscription 2; see (EfA/Ph. Bruneau)

Nothing demonstrates more clearly the change from the almost total neglect of anything that has to do with the Samaritans to a heightened interest in their history and religion, than two remarks made almost one hundred years apart: In 1907, an anonymous reviewer of James Montgomerys influential book, The Samaritans, The Earliest Jewish Sect: Their History, Theology, and Literature, wondered: Are the Samaritans worth a volume of 360 pages?is not confined to specialized scholars but extends to a wider readership is shown by the very publication of several books of haute vulgarization.

The present work is neither intended to be a Summa Samaritana nor an encyclopedia encompassing everything that can be said about the Samaritans. As the title indicates, it is meant to be a profile of the Samaritans in the sense of a concise biographical and character sketch of the community as it developed throughout the centuries. My aim is to present the main facets of the history, religion, and life of the Samaritans in the light of recent developments in historical, archaeological, philological, and anthropological studies by setting forth the present state of our knowledge and providing references that enable readers to pursue in greater detail questions of special interest to them. The time frame extends from antiquity to the present.

In my studies of the Samaritans throughout many years, a number of scholars have influenced my work more than others. Among them are two who are no longer with us, but whose memory is especially dear to me. They are Alan Crown and Ferdinand Dexinger. Both have not only significantly advanced Samaritan studies throughout their academic careers, but they were also exceptional human beings with generous and warm personalities. In archaeology, it is without doubt Yitzhak Magen who revolutionized our view of early Samaritan history. I was fortunate during several stays in Israel to receive first-hand information from him in situ, both on Mt. Gerizim and at the synagogue sites that he excavated. My thanks are due to him also for giving me permission to include some of his photographs and charts in this book. Last but not least, Benyamim Tsedaka was not only the first Samaritan I met, but also a source of information that never dries up. My thanks are due to him for the many informative and enjoyable hours spent with him and his family in olon and on Mt. Gerizim, as well as the occasions where we were able to meet not only at the Samaritan congresses, but also in Ottawa and Toronto. Needless to say, none of these persons is responsible for any deficiencies contained in this book. My warmest thank-you goes to my wife, Lucille, who has supported my research in more ways than I can enumerate: from our travels to the Samaritans in olon, Nablus, and on Mt. Gerizim observing and participating in Samaritan life and ceremonies to proofreading and commenting on the manuscripts of my publications for as long as I have been engaged in Samaritan studies.

AbrN Abr-Nahrain

AJBA Australian Journal of Biblical Archaeology

AJPA American Journal of Physical Anthropology

ATLA American Theological Library Association

b. Babylonian Talmud

BA Biblical Archaeologist

BAR Biblical Archaeology Review

BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

BJPES Bulletin of the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society

BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester

BSac Bibliotheca sacra

BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fr die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CPJ Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum, edited by Victor A. Tcherikover. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957-1964.

DBSup Dictionnaire de la Bible: Supplment, edited by Louis Pirot and Andr Robert. Paris: Letouzey & An, 1928-.

DSD Dead Sea Discoveries

HBO Hallesche Beitrge zur Orientwissenschaft

HTR Harvard Theological Review

IEJ Israel Exploration Journal

JA Journal asiatique

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JPOS Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society

JQR Jewish Quarterly Review

JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism

JSJSup Journal for the Study of Judaism: Supplement Series

JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament: Supplement Series

JSS Journal of Semitic Studies

LXX Septuagint

m. Mishna

MNDPV Mittheilungen und Nachrichten des deutschen Palstina-Vereins

MT Masoretic Text

NEAEHL The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, edited by Ephraim Stern. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society & Carta, 1993-2008.

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTOA Novum testamentum et orbis antiquus

NTS New Testament Studies

OEANE The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, edited by Eric M. Meyers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

OLZ Orientalistische Literaturzeitung

PEFQS Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement

PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly

PJ Palstina-Jahrbuch

RB Revue biblique

REJ Revue des tudes juives

RevQ Revue de Qumran

RVV Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten

SP Samaritan Pentateuch

STDJ Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah

t. Tosefta

VTSup Vetus Testamentum Supplements

WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

y. Jerusalem Talmud

ZAW Zeitschrift fr die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

ZDMG Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlndischen Gesellschaft

ZDPV Zeitschrift des deutschen Palstina-Vereins

ZNW Zeitschrift fr die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der lteren Kirche