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96-507: The Samaritans ( / s ə ˈ m ær ɪ t ən z / ; Samaritan Hebrew : ࠔࠠࠌࠝࠓࠩࠉࠌ ‎ Šā̊merīm ; Hebrew : שומרונים Šōmrōnīm ; Arabic : السامريون as-Sāmiriyyūn ), often preferring to be called Israelite Samaritans , are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East . They are indigenous to Samaria , a historical region of ancient Israel and Judah that comprises

192-469: A distinct, opportunistic ethnos and, alternatively, a Jewish sect. The Dead Sea scrolls ' Proto-Esther fragment 4Q550 has an obscure phrase about the possibility of a Kutha(ean) ( Kuti ) man returning but the reference remains obscure. 4Q372 records hopes that the northern tribes will return to the land of Joseph. The current dwellers in the north are referred to as fools, an enemy people. However, they are not referred to as foreigners. It goes on to say that

288-651: A formal constitution would be written, though it has been continuously postponed since 1950. Instead, the Basic Laws of Israel ( Hebrew : חוקי היסוד , romanized :  ħuqey ha-yesod ) function as the country's constitutional laws . Statutes enacted by the Knesset , particularly the Basic Laws, provide a framework which is enriched by political precedent and jurisprudence . Foreign and historical influences on modern-day Israeli law are varied and include

384-600: A large fraction of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (i.e., Samaritans) remained in Israel after the Assyrian exile. E. Mary Smallwood wrote that the Samaritans "were the survivors of the pre-Exilic northern kingdom of Israel, diluted by intermarriage with alien settlers," and that they broke away from mainstream Judaism in the 4th century BCE. Archaeologist Eric Cline takes an intermediate view. He believes only 10–20% of

480-643: A manuscript of the Samaritan Pentateuch in 1631 by Jean Morin . In 1616 the traveler Pietro della Valle had purchased a copy of the text in Damascus , and this manuscript, now known as Codex B, was deposited in a Parisian library. Between 1957 and 1977 Ze'ev Ben-Haim published in five volumes his monumental Hebrew work on the Hebrew and Aramaic traditions of the Samaritans. Ben-Haim, whose views prevail today, proved that modern Samaritan Hebrew

576-548: A pottery type he identifies as Mesopotamian clustering around the Menasheh lands of Samaria, that they were three waves of imported settlers. The Encyclopaedia Judaica (under "Samaritans") summarizes both past and present views on the Samaritans' origins. It says: Until the middle of the 20th century it was customary to believe that the Samaritans originated from a mixture of the people living in Samaria and other peoples at

672-750: A rival shrine at Shiloh , thereby preventing southern pilgrims from Judah and the territory of Benjamin from attending the shrine at Gerizim. Eli is also held to have created a duplicate of the Ark of the Covenant , which eventually made its way to the Judahite sanctuary in Jerusalem. In contrast, Jewish Orthodox tradition, based on material in the Bible, Josephus and the Talmud , dates their presence much later, to

768-594: Is Mount Gerizim near modern Nablus and ancient Shechem . Both Jews and Samaritans assert that the Binding of Isaac occurred at their respective holy sites, identifying them as Moriah . The Samaritans attribute their schism with the Jews to Eli , who was a High Priest of Israel around the 11th century BCE and in accordance with Samaritan beliefs, he is accused of establishing a religious shrine in Shiloh in opposition to

864-529: Is cognate with the Biblical Hebrew term Šomerim , and both terms reflect a Semitic root שמר, which means "to watch, guard". Historically, Samaritans were concentrated in Samaria . In Modern Hebrew , the Samaritans are called Shomronim (שומרונים), which also means "inhabitants of Samaria", literally, "Samaritans". In modern English, Samaritans refer to themselves as Israelite Samaritans. That

960-433: Is a- or e-, and causes gemination of the following consonant, unless it is a guttural ; it is written with a he , but as usual, the h is silent. Thus, for example: énnar / ánnar = "the youth"; ellêm = "the meat"; a'émor = "the donkey". Regular plural suffixes are Dual is sometimes -ayem (Judean Hebrew: a′yim), šenatayem "two years", usually -êm like the plural yédêm "hands" (Judean Hebrew yadhayim .) Samaritans have

1056-433: Is no longer stressed, e.g. /dabbirti/ דברתי but דברתמה /dabbertimma/ . /u/ and /o/ only contrast in open post-tonic syllables, e.g. ידו /jedu/ 'his hand' ידיו /jedo/ 'his hands', where /o/ stems from a contracted diphthong. In other environments, /o/ appears in closed syllables and /u/ in open syllables, e.g. דור /dor/ דורות /durot/ . Stress generally differs from other traditions, being found usually on

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1152-459: Is not to be interpreted as signaling a precipitous schism between the Jews and Samaritans, as the Gerizim temple was far from the only Yahwistic temple outside of Judea. According to most modern scholars, the split between the Jews and Samaritans was a gradual historical process extending over several centuries rather than a single schism at a given point in time. The Macedonian Empire conquered

1248-640: Is not very different from Second Temple Samaritan, which itself was a language shared with the other residents of the region before it was supplanted by Aramaic. Samaritan Hebrew is written in the Samaritan alphabet , a direct descendant of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet , which in turn is a variant of the earlier Proto-Sinaitic script . The Samaritan alphabet is close to the script that appears on many Ancient Hebrew coins and inscriptions. By contrast, all other varieties of Hebrew, as written by Jews , employ

1344-647: Is sometimes pronounced as [ʔ] , though not in Pentateuch reading, as a result of influence from Samaritan Arabic. /q/ may also be pronounced as [χ] , but this occurs only rarely and in fluent reading. Phonemic length is contrastive, e.g. /rɒb/ רב 'great' vs. /rɒːb/ רחב 'wide'. Long vowels are usually the result of the elision of guttural consonants. /i/ and /e/ are both realized as [ə] in closed post-tonic syllables, e.g. /bit/ בית 'house' /abbət/ הבית 'the house' /ɡer/ גר /aɡɡər/ הגר. In other cases, stressed /i/ shifts to /e/ when that syllable

1440-625: Is very similar to that of Samaritan Arabic , and is used by the Samaritans in prayer. Today, the spoken vernacular among Samaritans is evenly split between Modern Israeli Hebrew and Palestinian Arabic , depending on whether they reside in Holon (Israel) or in Shechem (i.e. Nablus , in Palestine ). The Samaritan language first became known in detail to the Western world with the publication of

1536-593: The Babylonian captivity had primarily affected the lowlands of Judea, the Samarian populations had likely avoided the casualties of the crisis of exile, and in fact, showed signs of widespread prosperity. The books of Ezra–Nehemiah detail a lengthy political struggle between Nehemiah , governor of the new Persian province of Yehud Medinata , and Sanballat the Horonite , the governor of Samaria, centered around

1632-598: The Chief Rabbinate of Israel classifies them as ethnic Jews (i.e., Israelites ). However, Rabbinic literature rejected the Samaritans' Halakhic Jewishness because they refused to renounce their belief that Mount Gerizim was the historical holy site of the Israelites. All Samaritans in both Holon and Kiryat Luza are Israeli citizens, but those in Kiryat Luza also hold Palestinian citizenship . Around

1728-584: The Constitution of Mandatory Palestine , as enacted through a British Order in Council . This common-law system derived from English law , with certain modifications such as the absence of jury trials. Other aspects of the law were codified , such as the criminal law , which was practically the same as the criminal code used in British India and various other British colonies. On 14 May 1948

1824-599: The Israeli Declaration of Independence was signed, declaring the creation of the new State of Israel. This declaration includes a list of principles of the new state: THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by

1920-567: The Khabur River and to the towns of the Medes . The king of the Assyrians then brought people from Babylon , Kutha , Avva , Hamath and Sepharvaim to place in Samaria. Because God sent lions among them to kill them, the king of the Assyrians sent one of the priests from Bethel to teach the new settlers about God's ordinances. The eventual result was that the new settlers worshipped both

2016-610: The Kitab al-Ta'rikh compiled by Abu'l-Fath in 1355. According to this, a text which Magnar Kartveit identifies as a "fictional" apologia drawn from earlier sources, including Josephus but perhaps also from ancient traditions, a civil war erupted among the Israelites when Eli, son of Yafni , the treasurer of the sons of Israel, sought to usurp the High Priesthood of Israel from the heirs of Phinehas . Gathering disciples and binding them by an oath of loyalty, he sacrificed on

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2112-544: The Mecelle ( Hebrew : מג'לה ; the civil code of the Ottoman Empire ) and German civil law , religious law (Jewish Halakha and Muslim Sharia ; mostly pertaining in the area of family law ), and British common law. The Israeli courts have been influenced in recent years by American Law and Canadian Law and to a lesser extent by Continental Law (mostly from Germany ). The core of Israeli law derives from

2208-714: The Neo-Assyrian Empire in 720 BCE. The tensions continued in the post-exilic period. The Books of Kings is more inclusive than Ezra–Nehemiah since the ideal is of one Israel with twelve tribes, whereas the Books of Chronicles concentrate on the Kingdom of Judah and ignore the Kingdom of Israel . Accounts of Samaritan origins in respectively 2 Kings 17:6,24 and Chronicles , together with statements in both Ezra and Nehemiah differ in important degrees, suppressing or highlighting narrative details according to

2304-482: The Samaritan script . According to Samaritan tradition, the position of the community's leading Samaritan High Priest has continued without interruption over the course of the last 3600 years, beginning with the Hebrew prophet Aaron . Since 2013, the 133rd Samaritan High Priest has been Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach . In censuses, Israeli law classifies the Samaritans as a distinct religious community , but

2400-532: The Supreme Court 's power to exercise judicial review , granting the government control over judicial appointments and limiting the authority of government legal advisors. If adopted, the reform would grant the Knesset the power to override Supreme Court rulings by a majority of 61 or more votes, diminish the ability of the court to conduct judicial review of legislation and of administrative action, prohibit

2496-797: The 12th century, the Jewish explorer and writer Benjamin of Tudela estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Palestine and Syria . As of 2024, the Samaritan community numbers around 900 people, split between Israel (some 460 in Holon ) and the West Bank (some 380 in Kiryat Luza ). The Samaritans in Kiryat Luza speak Levantine Arabic , while those in Holon primarily speak Israeli Hebrew . For liturgy, they also use Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic , both of which are written in

2592-488: The 2nd century BCE, a series of events led to a revolution by a faction of Judeans against Antiochus IV. Anderson notes that during the reign of Antiochus IV (175–164 BCE): the Samaritan temple was renamed either Zeus Hellenios (willingly by the Samaritans according to Josephus) or, more likely, Zeus Xenios, (unwillingly in accord with 2 Macc. 6:2). Josephus quotes the Samaritans as saying: We therefore beseech thee, our benefactor and saviour, to give order to Apollonius,

2688-699: The 2nd century BCE. Overall, the Samaritans were generally more populous and wealthier than the Judeans in Palestine, until 164 BC. Antiochus IV Epiphanes was on the throne of the Seleucid Empire from 175 to 163 BCE. His policy was to Hellenize his entire kingdom and standardize religious observance. According to 1 Maccabees 1:41-50 he proclaimed himself the incarnation of the Greek god Zeus and mandated death to anyone who refused to worship him. In

2784-450: The Assyrian deportations and replacement of the previous inhabitants by forced resettlement by other peoples but claims a different ethnic origin for the Samaritans. The Talmud accounts for a people called "Cuthim" on a number of occasions, mentioning their arrival by the hands of the Assyrians. According to 2 Kings 17:6, 24 and Josephus , the people of Israel were removed by the king of the Assyrians ( Sargon II ) to Halah , to Gozan on

2880-473: The Assyrian invasion, major cities such as Samaria and Megiddo remained largely intact, and other sites show a continuity of occupation. The Assyrians settled exiles from Babylonia, Elam, and Syria in places including Gezer , Hadid , and villages north of Shechem and Tirzah . However, even if the Assyrians deported 30,000 people, as they claimed, many would have remained in the area. Based on changes in material culture, Adam Zertal estimated that only 10% of

2976-647: The Assyrian invasion. This correlates with expectations from the fact that the Samaritans retained endogamous and biblical patrilineal marriage customs, and that they remained a genetically isolated population. According to Chronicles 36:22–23, the Persian emperor, Cyrus the Great (reigned 559–530 BCE), permitted the return of the exiles to their homeland and ordered the rebuilding of the Temple ( Zion ). The prophet Isaiah identified Cyrus as "the L ORD 's Messiah ". As

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3072-759: The Declaration of Independence, the Basic laws , and the statutes enacted by the Knesset over the years, as well as the case law of this Court, clearly inform us that the identity of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state cannot be questioned – not even by the constituent authority." The existing British common law as used within Mandatory Palestine at the date of independence remained binding; however it became subject to modification by Israeli judges in developing case law and legislation passed by

3168-572: The District Court but also sits as the High Court of Justice (Bagatz), with the authority to review petitions against state authorities, other bodies, or individuals holding public positions. It can adjudicate on any matter it deems necessary for justice, especially those outside the jurisdiction of other courts or tribunals. The Labour Tribunals ( Batei Ha'din Le'avoda ) hears all cases where

3264-710: The God of the land and their own gods from the countries from which they came. In the Chronicles , following Samaria's destruction, King Hezekiah is depicted as endeavouring to draw the Ephraimites , Zebulonites , Asherites and Manassites closer to Judah . Temple repairs at the time of Josiah were financed by money from all "the remnant of Israel" in Samaria, including from Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin. Jeremiah likewise speaks of people from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria who brought offerings of frankincense and grain to

3360-538: The Hebrew Bible, they were temporarily united under a United Monarchy , but after the death of Solomon, the kingdom split in two, the northern Kingdom of Israel with its last capital city Samaria and the southern Kingdom of Judah with its capital, Jerusalem . The Deuteronomistic history , written in Judah, portrayed Israel as a sinful kingdom, divinely punished for its idolatry and iniquity by being destroyed by

3456-504: The House of YHWH. Chronicles makes no mention of an Assyrian resettlement. Yitzakh Magen argues that the version of Chronicles is perhaps closer to the historical truth and that the Assyrian settlement was unsuccessful, a notable Israelite population remained in Samaria, part of which, following the conquest of Judah, fled south and settled there as refugees. Adam Zertal dates the Assyrian onslaught at 721 BCE to 647 BCE, infers from

3552-535: The Israelite population (i.e. 40,000 Israelites) were deported to Assyria in 720 BCE. About 80,000 Israelites fled to Judah whilst between 100,000 and 230,000 Israelites remained in Samaria. The latter intermarried with the foreign settlers, thus forming the Samaritans. The religion of this remnant community is likely distorted by the account recorded in the Books of Kings, which claims that the local Israelite religion

3648-404: The Israelite population in Samaria was deported, while the number of imported settlers was likely no more than a few thousand, indicating that most Israelites continued to reside in Samaria. Gary N. Knoppers described the demography shifts in Samaria following the Assyrian conquest as: "... not the wholesale replacement of one local population by a foreign population, but rather the diminution of

3744-413: The Judeans. The former lived in the cities of Judah whilst the latter lived in Jerusalem. Benjamites also lived with Judeans in Jerusalem. During Achaemenid rule, material evidence suggests significant overlap between Jews and proto-Samaritans, with the two groups sharing a common language and script, eschewing the claim that the schism had taken form by this time. However, onomastic evidence suggests

3840-484: The Knesset. This reception of existing law was enabled the first legislative act of the Provisional State Council , which enacted a reception statute as part of the "Law and Administration Ordinance" published on 19 May 1948, four days after the Declaration of Independence. Some aspects of Turkish Ottoman law still remain operational today , such as placing personal status and marriage law in

3936-538: The Levant in the 330s BCE, resulting in both Samaria and Judea coming under Greek rule as the province of Coele-Syria . Samaria was by-and-large devastated by the Alexandrian conquest and subsequent colonization efforts, though its southern lands were spared the broader consequences of the invasion and continued to thrive. Matters were further complicated in 331 BCE, when the Samaritans rose up in rebellion and murdered

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4032-534: The Macedonian-appointed prefect, Andromachus – resulting in a brutal reprisal by the army. Following the death of Alexander the Great , the area became part of the newly partitioned Ptolemaic Kingdom , which, in one of several wars , was eventually conquered by the neighboring Seleucid Empire . Though the temple on Mount Gerizim had existed since the 5th century BCE, evidence shows that its sacred precinct experienced an extravagant expansion during

4128-547: The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, which evolved into the Samaritan alphabet. In modern times, a cursive variant of the Samaritan alphabet is used in personal affects. Consonants Vowels Samaritan Hebrew shows the following consonantal differences from Biblical Hebrew: The original phonemes */b ɡ d k p t/ do not have spirantized allophones, though at least some did originally in Samaritan Hebrew (evidenced in

4224-676: The Samaritan diaspora in Delos , dating as early as 150–50 BCE, provide the "oldest known self-designation" for Samaritans, indicating that they called themselves "Bene Israel" in Hebrew (English: "Children of Israel", i.e. literally the descendants of the biblical prophet Israel, also known as Jacob, more commonly "Israelites"). In their own language, Samaritan Hebrew , the Samaritans call themselves "Israel", "B'nai Israel", and, alternatively, Shamerim (שַמֶרִים), meaning "Guardians/Keepers/Watchers", and in Arabic al-Sāmiriyyūn ( السامريون ). The term

4320-490: The Samaritan tradition that they are mainly descended from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh who remained in Israel after the Assyrian conquest. He states that the description of them at 2 Kings 17:24 as foreigners is tendentious and intended to ostracize the Samaritans from those Israelites who returned from the Babylonian exile in 520 BCE. He further states that 2 Chronicles 30:1 could be interpreted as confirming that

4416-561: The Samaritans as the Cuthaeans. In the biblical account, however, Kuthah was one of several cities from which people were brought to Samaria. The similarities between Samaritans and Jews were such that the rabbis of the Mishnah found it impossible to draw a clear distinction between the two groups. Attempts to date when the schism among Israelites took place, which engendered the division between Samaritans and Judaeans, vary greatly, from

4512-547: The Samaritans assert their distinction from the Judeans based on both race (γένος) and in customs (ἔθος). According to II Maccabees: Shortly afterwards, the Greek king sent Gerontes the Athenian to force the Jews of Israel to violate their ancestral customs and live no longer by the laws of God; and to profane the Temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and the one on Mount Gerizim to Zeus, Patron of Strangers, as

4608-500: The Samaritans have long been disputed between their own tradition and that of the Jews. Ancestrally, Samaritans affirm that they descend from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh in ancient Samaria . Samaritan tradition associates the split between them and the Judean -led southern Israelites to the time of the biblical priest Eli , described as a "false" high priest who usurped the priestly office from its occupant, Uzzi, and established

4704-488: The Samaritans mocked Jerusalem and built a temple on a high place to provoke Israel. Contemporary scholarship confirms that deportations occurred both before and after the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel in 722–720 BCE, with varying impacts across Galilee , Transjordan , and Samaria . During the earlier Assyrian invasions, Galilee and Transjordan experienced significant deportations, with entire tribes vanishing;

4800-528: The Samaritans, which he appears to use interchangeably. Among them is a reference to Khuthaioi , a designation employed to denote peoples in Media and Persia putatively sent to Samaria to replace the exiled Israelite population. These Khouthaioi were in fact Hellenistic Phoenicians/Sidonians. Samareis (Σαμαρεῖς) may refer to inhabitants of the region of Samaria, or of the city of that name, though some texts use it to refer specifically to Samaritans. The origins of

4896-484: The Supreme Court. The Magistrate Court ( Beit Mishpat Hashalom ) handles civil cases of less than 2.5 million shekels , excluding disputes over the ownership of land, as well as criminal cases in which the maximum sentence is 7 years. Magistrate Courts are found in most Israeli towns. The Magistrate Court has 6 subdivisions. (1) The Juvenile Court deals with criminal offenses committed by people who were not 18 on

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4992-572: The annulment of a specific amendment to the Basic Law: The Judiciary. This amendment had previously stipulated that the Court was barred from assessing the reasonableness of decisions made by the government, including those by the Prime Minister and other ministers. The majority ruling granted the High Court the authority to annul Basic Laws and intervene in extreme and exceptional cases where the Knesset exceeds its foundational authority. This decision sparked wide public and political reactions, with significant implications for Israel's democratic framework and

5088-452: The beginning of the Babylonian captivity. In Rabbinic Judaism , for example in the Tosefta Berakhot , the Samaritans are called Cuthites or Cutheans ( Hebrew : כותים , Kutim ), referring to the ancient city of Kutha , geographically located in what is today Iraq . Josephus in both the Wars of the Jews and the Antiquities of the Jews , in writing of the destruction of the temple on Mt. Gerizim by John Hyrcanus , also refers to

5184-426: The biblical story of Moses ordering Joshua to take the Twelve Tribes of Israel to the mountains by Shechem ( Nablus ) and place half of the tribes, six in number, on Mount Gerizim, the Mount of the Blessing, and the other half on Mount Ebal , the Mount of the Curse. The narratives in Genesis about the rivalries among the 12 sons of Jacob are viewed by some as describing tensions between north and south. According to

5280-419: The chronicles, and a variety of non-Samaritan materials. According to the former, the Samaritans are the direct descendants of the Joseph tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, and until the 17th century CE they possessed a high priesthood descending directly from Aaron through Eleazar and Phinehas. They claim to have continuously occupied their ancient territory and to have been at peace with other Israelite tribes until

5376-451: The common law legal system established by the British in the territories they captured during the Palestine Campaign of 1918. This legal system was established by senior judicial officer, Orme Bigland Clarke , who was appointed by General Edmund Allenby in 1918. This legal system continued to operate during the British military administration of Palestine (1917–20) and the civilian government of Mandatory Palestine , which operated under

5472-423: The couple or individual involved. The judges of the various courts are chosen by a committee comprising nine members: three Supreme Court Judges, two government ministers (one is the Minister of Justice), two members of the Knesset (one from the opposition), and two representatives of the Israel Bar Association . The composition of the committee is slightly different when it chooses Labour Court Judges or judges of

5568-431: The court from ruling on the constitutionality of basic laws, and change the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee so that a majority of its members are appointed by the government. The legislation is currently being considered by the Knesset and the relevant committees. On 12 September 2023, Israel's High Court of Justice (Bagatz) conducted a pivotal session to evaluate the "reasonableness clause." This session led to

5664-626: The court of first instance in a wide range of cases, including serious criminal offenses, civil claims for amounts exceeding 2.5 million shekels , real estate ownership disputes, and specific issues determined by law. It has jurisdiction over most administrative cases and hears appeals from the Magistrate Court. There are six courts, one in each of Israel's districts : Jerusalem (also has extra jurisdiction of extra territorial matters), Tel Aviv , Haifa , Center (in Petah Tikva ), South (in Beer-Sheva ), and North (in Nazareth ). The Israeli Supreme Court ( Beit Mishpat Elyon ) mostly hears appeals from

5760-583: The date of prosecution and some issues relating to the removal of children from parental custody. (2) The Family Court deals with all civil cases where the parties are close family members. (3) The Small Claims Court deals with cases of less than 30 thousand shekels. (4) "Hotsa'a Lapoal" is the bailiffs office for judgment debt collection. (5) The Traffic Court deals with all traffic offenses. (6) The Court of Local Issues deals with all offenses prosecuted by local authorities (parking tickets, planning violations etc.). The District Court ( Beit Mishpat Mehozi ) serves as

5856-414: The diverse history of the territory of the State of Israel throughout the last hundred years (which was at various times prior to independence under Ottoman , then British sovereignty), as well as the legal systems of its major religious communities . The Israeli legal system is based on common law , which also incorporates facets of civil law . The Israeli Declaration of Independence asserted that

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5952-447: The early Hellenistic era, indicating its status as the preeminent place of Samaritan worship had begun to crystallize. By the time of Antiochus III the Great , the temple "town" had reached 30 dunams in size. The presence of a flourishing cult centered around Gerizim is documented by the sudden resurgence of Yahwistic and Hebrew names in contemporary correspondence, suggesting that the Samaritan community had officially been established by

6048-401: The establishment of the original shrine on Mount Gerizim. Once a large community, the Samaritan population shrank significantly in the wake of the Samaritan revolts , which were brutally suppressed by the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century. Their numbers were further reduced by Christianization under the Byzantines and later by Islamization following the Arab conquest of the Levant . In

6144-424: The existence of a distinct northern culture. Some inhabitants of Samaria during this period identified with Israelite heritage. This connection is evidenced in two ways: first, through biblical accounts of local officials' involvement with the Jerusalem Temple, and second, through naming patterns. Many names recorded in the Wadi Daliyeh documents and on Samaritan coins feature Israelite elements. Sanballat's sons bore

6240-403: The governor of this part of the country, and to Nicanor, the procurator of thy affairs, to give us no disturbances, nor to lay to our charge what the Jews are accused for, since we are aliens from their nation and from their customs, but let our temple which at present hath no name at all, be named the Temple of Jupiter Hellenius. In the letter, defended as genuine by E. Bickerman and M. Stern ,

6336-436: The hands of religious courts . Also the Turks had adopted a Napoleonic -style land-registration system , by documenting land ownership through a sequence of "block and lot entries" to manage and record land ownership . Many Turkish land laws remain in force. Following independence the young State of Israel was eager to gain recognition in the international arena by joining international treaties and participating heavily in

6432-408: The inhabitants of the latter place had requested. Samaritan Hebrew For the Samaritans, Ancient Hebrew ceased to be a spoken everyday language and was succeeded by Samaritan Aramaic , which itself ceased to be a spoken language some time between the 10th and 12th centuries and was succeeded by Arabic (or more specifically Samaritan Palestinian Arabic ). The phonology of Samaritan Hebrew

6528-481: The jurisdiction of the religious tribunal system. There is a list of legally recognized religious communities: Jewish , Muslim , Greek Orthodox Christian , Catholic Christian etc. The small Protestant Christian community in Israel is not recognized; the Jewish community for this purpose does not include the non-Orthodox denominations, Reform and Conservative . Each religious community has its own religious court. For example, Jewish weddings are sanctioned only by

6624-416: The later square Hebrew alphabet , which is in fact a variation of the Aramaic alphabet that Jews began using in the Babylonian captivity following the exile of the Kingdom of Judah in the 6th century BCE. During the 3rd century BCE, Jews began to use this stylized "square" form of the script used by the Achaemenid Empire for Imperial Aramaic , its chancellery script while the Samaritans continued to use

6720-411: The local Religious Council, and divorces of Jews are handled exclusively by the Rabbinical Courts. The judges ( dayanim ) of the Jewish Rabbinical Courts are all Orthodox rabbis. The Family Court holds parallel authority over matters incidental to divorce, such as property distribution and child custody, enabling both the family and rabbinical courts to address these issues, contingent on the preferences of

6816-418: The local population", which he attributed to deaths from war, disease and starvation, forced deportations, and migrations to other regions, particularly south to the Kingdom of Judah. The state-sponsored immigrants who had been forcibly brought into Samaria appear to have generally assimilated into the local population. Nevertheless, the Book of Chronicles records that King Hezekiah of Judah invited members of

6912-686: The meaning of their name signifies Guardians/Keepers/Watchers [of the Law/ Samaritan Pentateuch ] , rather than being a toponym referring to the inhabitants of the region of Samaria, was remarked on by a number of Christian Church fathers, including Epiphanius of Salamis in the Panarion , Jerome and Eusebius in the Chronicon , and Origen in The Commentary on Saint John's Gospel. Josephus uses several terms for

7008-558: The negotiations of international treaties, e.g., the 1929 Warsaw convention . During the 1960s there was a rush to codify much of the common law in areas of contracts and torts. The new laws blended common law, local case-law, and fresh ideas. In 1977 the Knesset codified the penal code. Since the 1990s the Israeli Ministry of Justice , together with leading jurists, has been laboring on a complete recodification of all laws pertaining to civil matters. This new proposed civil codex

7104-607: The northern half of what is today referred to as the West Bank . They are adherents of Samaritanism , an Abrahamic , monotheistic , and ethnic religion that developed alongside Judaism . According to their tradition, the Samaritans are descended from the Israelites who, unlike the Ten Lost Tribes of the Twelve Tribes of Israel , were not subject to the Assyrian captivity after the northern Kingdom of Israel

7200-601: The parties are employer and employee, all cases against the National Insurance Institute and some other socially oriented matters. it is an independent system composed of five district tribunals (Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Haifa, South and North) and one national tribunal in Jerusalem ( Beit Ha'din Ha'artzi ). There are also religious tribunals in Israel. Some specific legal matters in Israel (e.g., matters of personal status such as marriage and divorce ) come under

7296-653: The penultimate and sometimes on the ultimate. Who, which: éšar. When suffixes are added, ê and ô in the last syllable may become î and û: bôr (Judean bohr) "pit" > búrôt "pits". Note also af "anger" > éppa "her anger". Segolates behave more or less as in other Hebrew varieties: beţen "stomach" > báţnek "your stomach", ke′seph "silver" > ke′sefánu (Judean Hebrew kaspe′nu ) "our silver", dérek > dirkakimma "your (m. pl.) road" but áreş (in Judean Hebrew: ' e'rets ) "earth" > árşak (Judean Hebrew ' arts-ekha ) "your earth". The definite article

7392-464: The preposition "in" ב- /av/ or /b/ ). */p/ has shifted to /f/ (except occasionally */pː/ > /bː/ ). */w/ has shifted to /b/ everywhere except in the conjunction ו- 'and' where it is pronounced as /w/ . */ɬ/ has merged with /ʃ/ , unlike in all other contemporary Hebrew traditions in which it is pronounced /s/ . The laryngeals /ʔ ħ h ʕ/ have become /ʔ/ or null everywhere, except before /a ɒ/ where */ħ ʕ/ sometimes become /ʕ/ . /q/

7488-518: The principles outlined have been held to not be legally binding directly by Israeli Supreme Court . Instead, the declaration is seen as a outlining the principles of the Israeli state that are to be taken into account by judges when interpreting legislation or the common law. For example, in Movement for Quality Government in Israel v. The Knesset (2024) , president Esther Hayut stated "In my view,

7584-596: The prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. However, the declaration is not a constitution and

7680-483: The refortification of the then-destroyed Jerusalem. Despite this political discourse, the text implies that relationships between the Jews and Samaritans were otherwise quite amicable, as intermarriage between the two seems commonplace, even to the point that the High Priest Joiada married Sanballat's daughter. Some theologians believe Nehemiah 11:3 describes other Israelite tribes returning to Judah with

7776-517: The religious tribunals. The 2023 Israeli judicial reform is a proposed series of changes to the judicial system and the balance of powers in Israel put forward by the current Israeli government, and spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin and the Chair of the Knesset 's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Simcha Rothman . It seeks to curb the judiciary's influence over lawmaking and public policy by limiting

7872-463: The stone altar, without using salt, a rite which made the then High Priest Ozzi rebuke and disown him. Eli and his acolytes revolted and shifted to Shiloh , where he built an alternative Temple and an altar, a perfect replica of the original on Mt. Gerizim. Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas had intercourse with women and feasted on the meats of the sacrifice, inside the Tabernacle . Thereafter Israel

7968-406: The theophoric Israelite names Delaiah and Shelemiah, while the name "Jeroboam", used by northern Israelite kings during the monarchic period, also appears on Samaritan coins. The archaeological evidence can find no sign of habitation in the Assyrian and Babylonian periods at Mount Gerizim, but indicates the existence of a sacred precinct on the site in the Persian period, by the 5th century BCE. This

8064-540: The time of Ezra down to the destruction of Jerusalem (70 CE) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE). The emergence of a distinctive Samaritan identity, the outcome of a mutual estrangement between them and Jews, was something that developed over several centuries. Generally, a decisive rupture is believed to have taken place in the Hasmonean period . The Samaritan traditions of their history are contained in

8160-562: The time of the conquest of Samaria by Assyria (722–721 BCE). The biblical account in II Kings 17 had long been the decisive source for the formulation of historical accounts of Samaritan origins. Reconsideration of this passage, however, has led to more attention being paid to the Chronicles of the Samaritans themselves. With the publication of Chronicle II (Sefer ha-Yamim), the fullest Samaritan version of their own history became available:

8256-494: The time when Eli disrupted the Northern cult by moving from Shechem to Shiloh and attracting some northern Israelites to his new followers there. For the Samaritans, this was the "schism" par excellence. Furthermore, to this day the Samaritans claim descent from the tribe of Joseph. Josephus, a key source, has long been considered a prejudiced witness hostile to the Samaritans. He displays an ambiguous attitude, calling them both

8352-478: The tradition of either spelling out loud with the Samaritan letters "Yohth, Ie', Baa, Ie' " or saying "Shema" meaning "( The Divine ) Name" in Aramaic, similar to Judean Hebrew "Ha-Shem" . "in, using", pronounced: "as, like", pronounced: "to" pronounced: "and" pronounced: Other prepositions: Israeli law Israeli law is based mostly on a common law legal system, though it also reflects

8448-452: The tribes of Ephraim , Zebulun , Asher , Issachar and Manasseh to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover after the destruction of Israel. In light of this, it has been suggested that the bulk of those who survived the Assyrian invasions remained in the region. Per this interpretation, the Samaritan community of today is thought to be predominantly descended from those who remained. The Israeli biblical scholar Shemaryahu Talmon has supported

8544-455: The tribes of Reuben , Gad , Dan , and Naphtali are never again mentioned. Archaeological evidence from these regions shows that a large depopulation process took place there in the late 8th century BCE, with numerous sites being destroyed, abandoned, or feature a long occupation gap. In contrast, archaeological findings from Samaria—a larger and more populated area—suggest a more mixed picture. While some sites were destroyed or abandoned during

8640-488: The various intentions of their authors. The emergence of the Samaritans as an ethnic and religious community distinct from other Levant peoples appears to have occurred at some point after the Assyrian conquest of the Israelite Kingdom of Israel in approximately 721 BCE. The annals of Sargon II of Assyria indicate that he deported 27,290 inhabitants of the former kingdom. Jewish tradition affirms

8736-456: The world, there are also significant and growing numbers of communities, families, and individuals who, despite the fact that they are not part of the Samaritan community, identify with and observe the tenets and traditions of the Samaritans' ethnic religion. The largest community outside the Levant, the "Shomrey HaTorah" of Brazil (generally known as neo-Samaritans worldwide), has approximately 3,000 members as of February 2020. Inscriptions from

8832-625: Was destroyed and annexed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. Regarding the Samaritan Pentateuch as the unaltered Torah , the Samaritans view the Jews as close relatives, but claim that Judaism fundamentally alters the original Israelite religion. The most notable theological divide between Jewish and Samaritan doctrine concerns the world's holiest site, which the Jews believe is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and which Samaritans believe

8928-607: Was introduced in 2006, but its adoption through legislation is expected to take many years, if not decades. As a result of Enclave law , large portions of Israeli law apply in Israeli settlements and to Israeli residents in the occupied territories . The Israeli legal system is structured around three main levels of courts, operating in a hierarchical manner: the Magistrate Courts, the District Courts, and

9024-418: Was perverted with the injection of foreign customs by Assyrian colonists. In reality, the surviving Samaritans continued to practice Yahwism . This explains why they did not resist Judean kings, such as Hezekiah and Josiah, imposing their religious reforms in Samaria. Magnar Kartveit argues that the people who later became known as Samaritans likely had diverse origins and lived in Samaria and other areas, and it

9120-436: Was split into three factions: the original Mt. Gerizim community of loyalists, the breakaway group under Eli, and heretics worshipping idols associated with the latter's sons. Judaism emerged later with those who followed the example of Eli. Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of the Israelites from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan and the tribes of Israel settled the land. The reference to Mount Gerizim derives from

9216-507: Was the temple project on Mount Gerizim that provided the unifying characteristic that allows them to be identified as Samaritans. Modern genetic studies support the Samaritan narrative that they descend from indigenous Israelites. Shen et al. (2004) formerly speculated that outmarriage with foreign women may have taken place. Most recently the same group came up with genetic evidence that Samaritans are closely linked to Cohanim , and therefore can be traced back to an Israelite population prior to

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