Samaritan_High_Priest

Samaritan High Priest

Samaritan High Priest

High priest of the Samaritan community

The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest (kohen gadol) of the Samaritan community in the Levant. According to Samaritan tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and has been held by 133 priests over the last 3400 years. However, the historicity of this claim is disputed. One account by Josephus suggests that its office holders are an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests of Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great.[1][2] As of 2013, the incumbent high priest is Abdel V.

Family of the Samaritan High Priests, 1876. To the left is a scribe named Shalabi, to the right are Isaac the son of the High Priest Amram ben Shalma, then Abisha, the son of Amram's brother Pinehas, and finally Uzzi the son of the High Priest Yaacob ben Aaharon ben Shalma, the son of Amram's brother Aaharon.

Office of the High Priest

Duties and responsibilities

The Samaritan High Priest has the following duties in the present:[3]

  1. He decides all religious law issues.
  2. He presides over the religious ceremonies on Mount Garizim.
  3. He validates all marriages and divorces within the Samaritan community.
  4. He annually publishes the liturgical calendar of the Samaritans.
  5. He confirms a joining of the Samaritan community.
  6. He appoints the Cantors and the Shechita of the community.
  7. He represents the Samaritan community to the outside world.

Lineage

Since 1623/24, the office of high priest has been passed down in a family traced back to Aaron's grandson Itamar. After the death of a high priest, the office passes to the oldest male in that family, unless he has entered into a marriage that disqualifies him from the high priesthood.[3]

It appears, based upon the larger gaps in time between high priests, that several names might be missing, or that there were long periods of vacancy between priests.

The continuous lineage of Samaritan High Priests, descending directly from Aaron, through his son Eleazar, and his son Phinehas, was however disrupted in the early 17th century. In 1624, Shalma I ben Phinehas, the last Samaritan High Priest of the line of Eleazar son of Aaron died without male succession, but descendants of Aaron's other son, Ithamar, remained and took over the office.[4]

There are four families within the house of Ithamar. The Åbtå order, descended from the 113th High Priest Tsedaka ben Tabia, which has held the office of the High Priesthood since 1624; the House of Phineas a.k.a. Dār 'Åder, descended from Fīn'ās ban Yīṣ'å̄q (Phineas ben Isaac); Dār Yīṣ'å̄q, descended from Yīṣ'å̄q ban Åmrām (Isaac ben Amram); and Dār Yāqob, descended from Yāqob ban Årron (Jacob ben Aaron).

Photographs of Samaritan High Priests
  • Jacob II.
  • Jacob I.
  • Maṣliaḥ (or Abishah III.)
  • Amram IX.
  • Aaron IV.
  • Abdel V.

List of Samaritan High Priests

Pummer's list

The following list gives the names and terms of office according to Reinhard Pummer.[5] Pummer uses a spelling for the name of the high priest that is based on the English Bible for the bearers of biblical names, while he chooses a more scientific transcription for the full name (last column). The traditional counting begins with the first post-biblical high priest Sheshai. It differs in order in some cases from the list prepared by Moses Gaster and Reinhard Pummer on the basis of the ancient Samaritan sources, and includes additional names (italics here).

More information Traditional Numbering, High Priest Name ...
Samaritan High Priest Yaakov ben Aharon and the Abisha Scroll, 1905
Yitzhaq ben Amram ben Shalma ben Tabia, Samaritan High Priest, taking refuge from riots on Easter 1920 with Dr. A.C. Harte, Director of Jerusalem YMCA.
Samaritan Kohanim c. 1876. The inscription on the bottom label the persons from, left to right: "Phineas the Kohen, Jacob the Kohen, Isaac the Kohen". The small child is Jacob's daughter.

Moses Gaster's list

Moses Gaster, in his 1909 article The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis: Published for the First Time, published a slightly different order which he translated from two codices written by the High Priests:[41]

  1. Sashai I
  2. Bakhi I
  3. Uzzi
  4. Sashai II
  5. Bakhi II
  6. Shembet
  7. Shalom I
  8. Hezekiah I
  9. Jonathan I
  10. Daliah I
  11. Jair II
  12. Jonathan II
  13. Ishmael
  14. Tabia I
  15. Zadok, #16—19 in the above list are evidently omitted
  16. Amram I
  17. Hilkiah, Hezekiah in the above list
  18. Amram II
  19. Akkub
  20. Akkubiah
  21. Hillel I
  22. Seriah
  23. Levi I
  24. Netaniel I
  25. Azariah
  26. Aabed-El I
  27. Hezekiah II(I)
  28. Hananiah
  29. Amram III
  30. Hana, Hillel II in the above list
  31. Hezekiah III(IV)
  32. Daliah II
  33. Akkub II
  34. Akkubiah II
  35. Levi II
  36. Eleazar II
  37. Manasseh
  38. Jair IV
  39. Netaniel II
  40. Joachim
  41. Jonathan III
  42. Elishama
  43. Shemaiah
  44. Tabia II
  45. Amram IV
  46. Akabon I
  47. Phinehas II
  48. Levi III
  49. Eleazar III
  50. Baba I
  51. Eleazar IV
  52. Akabon II
  53. Netaniel III
  54. Akabon III, see #60 in the above list
  55. Netaniel IV
  56. Akabon IV
  57. Eleazar V
  58. Akabon V
  59. Eleazar VI
  60. Akabon VI
  61. Eleazar VII
  62. Netaniel V
  63. Eleazar VIII
  64. Netaniel VI
  65. Eleazar IX
  66. Akabon VII
  67. Eleazar X
  68. Akabon VIII
  69. Eleazar XI
  70. Akabon IX
  71. Eleazar XII
  72. Simeon
  73. Levi IV
  74. Phinehas III
  75. Netaniel VII
  76. Baba II(I)
  77. Eleazar XIII
  78. Netaniel VIII
  79. Eleazar XIV
  80. Phinehas IV
  81. Netaniel IX
  82. Aabed-El II
  83. Eleazar XV
  84. Aabed-El III
  85. Eleazar XVI
  86. Aaharon II, see #93 on the above list
  87. Tsedaka I, see #94 on the above list
  88. Amram V
  89. Aaharon III
  90. Amram VI
  91. Aaharon IV
  92. Netaniel X
  93. Itamar I
  94. Amram VI(I), see #98 on the above list
  95. Uzzi II, see #99 on the above list
  96. Yoseph I, see #100 on the above list
  97. Phinehas V, see #101 on the above list
  98. Eleazar XVII
  99. Phinehas VI
  100. Abisha II
  101. Eleazar XVIII
  102. Phinehas VII
  103. Eleazar XIX, see #110 on the above list
  104. Phinehas IX
  105. (1613–1624) Shalma I
  106. (1624–1650) Tsedaka II
  107. (1650–1694) Yitzhaq I
  108. (1694–1732) Abram
  109. (1732–1752) Levi V
  110. (1752–1787) Tabia III
  111. (1787–1855) Shalma II
  112. (1855–1874) Amram VIII
  113. (1874–1916) Yaacob I

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Josephus (1958). Jewish Antiquities. Loeb Classic Library, Josephus 6: Jewish Antiquities Books 9-11. Translated by Ralph Marcus. Harvard University Press. Book 11, chapter 7.2 – 8, p. 461-483.
  2. [2]
    Steinberg, David (20 August 2005). "The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects". houseofdavid.ca. Section: "The Origin of the Samaritans: What Really Happened?". Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  3. [3]
    The Samaritans: The Samaritan High Priests
  4. [4]
    Sean Ireton (2003). "The Samaritans - A Jewish Sect in Israel: Strategies for Survival of an Ethno-religious Minority in the Twenty First Century". Anthrobase. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  5. [5]
    Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 154–172.
  6. [6]
    Joachim Schaper: Aaron. In: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). 4. Auflage. Band 1, Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen 1998, Sp. 2–3., vgl. Exodus Kap. 28–29; Levitikus Kap. 8–10; Numeri Kap. 3–4; 8 und 16–18.
  7. [7]
    Num 20–28
  8. [8]
    Num 25:12–13
  9. [9]
    In der Tora nicht erwähnt, aber in 1 Chr 6–35 und Ezra 7:5 (Schriften des jüdischen Kanons) als Sohn des Phinehas aufgeführt.
  10. [10]
    Alan D. Crown: The Abisha Scroll – 3000 Years Old? In: Bible Review 7, 5 (1991), online: Center for Online Judaic Studies.
  11. [11]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, p. 417.
  12. [12]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 412.
  13. [13]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 413.
  14. [14]
    Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 159 Anm. 34.
  15. [15]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 414.
  16. [16]
    Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 161 Anm. 35.
  17. [17]
    Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 162 Anm. 36.
  18. [18]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 414f.
  19. [19]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 415.
  20. [20]
    Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 165 Anm. 40.
  21. [21]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 416.
  22. [22]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 417.
  23. [23]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 418.
  24. [24]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 419.
  25. [25]
    British Library, Digitized Manuscripts: Cotton MS Claudius B VIII.
  26. [26]
    Reinhard Pummer: The Samaritans. A Profile. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2016, S. 155f.
  27. [27]
    Monika Schreiber: The Comfort of Kin: Samaritan Community, Kinship, and Marriage. Brill, Leiden / Boston 2014, S. 91.
  28. [28]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 420.
  29. [29]
    Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 170 Anm. 55.
  30. [30]
    Reinhard Pummer: The Samaritans. A Profile. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2016, S. 161.
  31. [31]
    Reinhard Pummer: The Samaritans. A Profile. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2016, S. 162.
  32. [32]
    Monika Schreiber: The Comfort of Kin: Samaritan Community, Kinship, and Marriage. S. 50.
  33. [33]
    Monika Schreiber: The Comfort of Kin: Samaritan Community, Kinship, and Marriage. S. 51.
  34. [34]
    Steven Fine: Abgrenzung – und Annäherung. Die Geschichte von Juden und Samaritanern. In: Welt und Umwelt der Bibel 26/2 (2021), S. 48–54, hier S. 50.
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    "High Priests of the Israelite Samaritans from 1624 CE to the Present Day". Israelite Samaritan Information Institute. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  36. [36]
    Mor, Menachem; Reiterer, Friedrich V.; Winkler, Waltraud, eds. (2010-04-23), "Samaritans – Past and Present: Current Studies", Samaritans – Past and Present, De Gruyter, pp. 8–9, 208–210, doi:10.1515/9783110212839, ISBN 978-3-11-021283-9, retrieved 2023-05-15
  37. [37]
    The Samaritan Update zum Tode von Shalom ben Amram (englisch)
  38. [38]
    The Samaritan Update zum Tode von Eleazar ben Ṣedaqah (englisch)
  39. [39]
    Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, p. 413
  40. [40]
    The Samaritan Update zum Tode von Aharon ben Ab-Ḥisdah.
  41. [41]
    Gaster, M. “The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis: Published for the First Time.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1909, pp. 393–420. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25210743. Accessed 21 Sept. 2020.
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