Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 17/11/2004 22:58, MarianneLuban AT aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 11/17/2004 2:39:09 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
> peterkirk AT qaya.org writes:
>
>
> > There is a priestly family tree dating back to 1626 at
> > http://www.the-samaritans.com/html_articles/Brieftheoritical.htm.
>
>
>
> The beginnings of this tree look rather murky to me.  Anyway, why then 
> did the Samaritans write pleading letters to the west around 1672 
> seeking a descendant of Phineas for the priestly role, if  the family 
> outlined in the tree was already so well established by then in this 
> capacity?  Seems odd.  At any rate, this tree ends in the 40's but is 
> still going, of course.


Well, my guess would be that the Sadaka and Ishak mentioned there were 
not actually accepted in their time, perhaps as anything more than 
interim stand-in Levites in the absence of a real priest, but their line 
was gradually accepted when no real priests could be found.

I wonder if Tabya d.1797 was really the son of Ishak d.1702 and b. 
before 1640? Maybe aged Ishak's young wife had some help from a local 
Arab. That would be the period indicated by the genetic test, although 
I'm sure the 250 year estimate is very rough.

The article was presumably written in the 1940s.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/