Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 17/03/2005 20:26, wattswestmaas wrote:

> ...
>
> To the point - My question:  The samaritan script? It surely must have been
> the assyrian script as well?  Sice the people that were moved to Northern
> Israel at the time of its emptying of hebrews were from Assyria and Chaldea
> right?  So they would have brought their writing with them? I have a
> document before me that gives the impression that the samaritans adopted the
> old aramaic/proto hebrew - which seems totally absurd!
>
>  
It may seem absurd, but it is demonstrably true. The Samaritan script is 
based on the pre-exilic palaeo-Hebrew. But the later Hebrew is based on 
the already divergent script in use in Babylonia etc during the time of 
the Exile, and which was presumably brought back from there by the 
returning exiles.

Remember that the Samaritan priests were Israelites, 2 Kings 17:27-28, 
and Samaritan literacy probably came through them.

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



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