Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Thomas L. Thompson" <tlt AT teol.ku.dk>]

Dear Yigal,
Well the Samaritans and their relationship to Judaism is not directly my own 
field, and it has only been a relatively short time that this question has 
taken up much of my time, but I will try to address your two questions, as 
both of them seem to me to be quite important.
 
2) This is an intriguing question. I think quite possibly that Gerizim is 
original to the Pentateuch. How early that is is another question that is 
partially dependent on a satisfactory description of its composition. I 
suspect, for instance that Genesis--or much of it--is later than, for example 
Exodus-Numbers. Whether the torah is common to Palestinian literature or 
whether it is adopted by Judaism is an important consideration. If it is 
common in its origin to both Judaism and Samaritanism, this might suggest a 
Persian period + chronology.
As for the status of Gerizim, the excavations strengthen the idea that this 
may be very early indeed. How early is something we will have to wait for 
patiently as--insofar as I have understood--they have not gotten down to 
bedrock yet, but 6th century is early indeed--far earlier than Jerusalem's 
temple.
 
1) I argued already in my Early History of 1992 that the populations of the 
regions of Judea and Samaria should be dealt with in separate but related 
histories from the Iron Age. Judaism seems to be the relatively latecomer, 
when one begins to consider identification and self-identity as Jews and 
Samaritans (that is, Shomronim)--a relationship of the older tradition of the 
Samaritans and the younger Judaism, which has many confirmations in the 
biblical traditions (see here my new book, The Messiah Myth, Basic, New York, 
April, 2005). Ingrid's 2000 book on the Samaritans deals extensively--and I 
think essentially correctly--with Josephus' treatment of the Samaritans as 
both tendentious and distorting.
 
Sincerely,
Thomas
 
Thomas L. Thompson
Professor, University of Copenhagen
 

        
        Yigal Levin wrote:

        Dear Thomas,
        
        If you are willing to share them, I would be interested to hear your 
views
        on the following two issues:
        1. The role that the political division between Samaria and Jerusalem,
        especially during the Persian Period but perhaps also during the Iron 
Age,
        had on the development of Judaism and Samaritanism into two distinct 
groups.
        
        2. As far as it is possible to tell from the archaeological and 
textual
        evidence, when do you think that Mt. Gerizim attained its status as 
the
        Samaritans' cultic center? Was it not only after the sack of Samaria 
by
        Alexander and its conversion into a Greek city? Or is there evidence 
of it
        having occurred earlier? Would this not then give us a date for at 
least the
        inclusion of Mt. Geranium into the Samaritan Pentateuch?
        
        Thank you,
        
        Yigal