testimonj-, and at a later period we occasionally meet with a less bitter tone ; for, while some of the Rabbis, remembering 2 K i72o-'28, called them ' proselytes of the lions,' Rabbi 'Akiba was ready to recognize them as true proselytes (Bab. Kidd. 756), while others said it was permitted to have dealings with one who became a true proselyte (Jerus. Shek. i. 4). Samaritan wine was universally condemned, but 'the victuals of the Cuthaeans are permitted if not mixed with wine or vinegar' (Jerus. Ah. Zar. v. 4); and the unleavened bread of the Cuthaeans is permitted (Bab. Kidd. 76a). Although Samaria is not part of Israel, 'the land, the roads, the wells, and the dwellings of the Cuthaeans are clean ' (Jerus. Ab. Zar. v. 4). An Israelite might circumcise a Cuthsan, but the contrary was not permitted, as it might then be done in the name of Gerizim (Jerus. Jebamoth vn. 1). It was permitted to add 'Amen' to a blessing asked by a Cuthsean, but onlv after hearing the whole blessing (M. Ber. viii. 8). Meat slaughtered by a Cutha;an is allowed if an Israelite is present, or if the Samaritan himself eats from it (Bab. Cholin Zh). Samaritan literature is, on the whole, less aggressive ; but that arises from the fact that we have less of it, and the greater necessity the Samaritan had to stand on the defensive. Still, in every proof they bring forward in fa\our of their sanctuary as the one holj place, there is implied or expressed the idea that the Jew is schismatical, if not heretical. They use the designation ' Israelite ' for themselves alone, and refuse it to the Jews. Still, they have no objection to be called ' Samaritans,' which they write DnmB- or min noilJ'— 'Guardians of the Law.' (See Letter to Ludolf). They have an intense dislike to Jerusalem, and the bitterness of their hate culminates in their play upon its name, when they describe the Jews as cVr nnx—' accursed to perfection' or 'perfectly cursed' (el-Tolidoth). The more moderate attitude of which we have spoken seems to have been, on the whole, later than the days of the Gospels, and may have been caused by the Samaritans having made common cause with the Jews against Vespasian (BJ in. vii. 32). At that time they shared in the Dispersion, and their synagogues were then to be found in Egypt and Rome. At the present moment the relationship between the two races is no closer than in the past. Some twenty years ago, the Samaritans, fearing the extinction of their sect, sought to arrange for intermarriage with the Jews, but this was refused.
3. Religion. — The basis of the Samaritan religion is the Pentateuch, as they read and understand it ; and to this they have been as loyal as the Jews to their Law. Since long before the Christian era they have been strongly monotheistic. Not only are they the enemies of images and every visible representation of the Deity, but they have ever re- sented as strongly as do the Jewish Taigums every anthropomorphic representation of God ; and, so far as we can judge, they have made no concessions to heathenism. They were, indeed, accused by the Rabbis of worshipping a dove on Gerizim {Cholin 6a), and also of worshipping the idols Jacob buried (Gn 354) under the oak of Moreh {Ber. Eab. § 81) ; but these were malicious falsehoods. From the Jewish point of view another cfl'ence against the Law was that they pronounced the Sacred Name — Jahioeh — with its own vowels (Jerus. Sank. x. 1 ; Bab. Sank. 90). Theodoret seems to confirm this, and tells us that their pronunciation was 'JajSi (/3 = v, as in mod. Greek) — a point of interest is that scholars for grammatical reasons pronounce it in the same manner. For some centuries, how- ever, they have been accustomed to pronounce it Shima (' the name '), just as the Jews use hnsshon in conversation (Letter to Ludolf). In the matter of their ritual orthodoxy we have even the testi- mony of Josephus ; for, when he tells of Jewish fugitives accused of ritual irregularities being re- ceived by the Samaritans, he adds that they com- plained of being falsely accused {Ant. xi. viii. 7). To this we may add the remarkable confession of Rabban Simeon, the son of Gamaliel, who says : ' Every command which the Cuthaeans keep they observe more strictly than the Israelites' (Bab. Cholin 4rt). They practise circumcision, and keep the Law strictly. Tliey observe all the Mosaic feasts ; and, in accordance with their reading of the Law, they go three times a year to Gerizim for the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, and at such times practically the whole community lives in the mountain. Only at the Passover season, however, do they offer sacrifices, and, as the arrangements at that time bring before us
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much more vividly the occasion of the institution of that feast than the cahu order of the Jewish ritual, it claims our attention. The usual order is tliat seven days before the Passover the whole community camps out on the top of Gerizim in the neighbourhood of the sacred rock, which they regard as the site of their ancient temple. On the evening of the 14th Nisan the whole congregation assembles, and the high priest reads the words of institution in Ex 12'"'-. Precisely at sunset, as he concludes the sixth verse, a sufficient number of lambs for the community is slain by men dressed in white clothing. Each member of the congrega- tion then marks his forehead Avith tlie blood. The wool is removed by scalding with boiling water previously made ready. The bodies are now ex- amined, to make sure that there is no blemish, and thereafter they are sjiitted and roasted in a pit arranged as an oven. An liour or two later, when they are sufficiently cooked, the Samaritans stand- ing, eat in haste with their loins girded, with shoes on their feet, and with staff in hand. All that remains, together with the right shoulders and hamstrings previously removed, is carefully gathered up and burned in the night. Early on the morning of the fifteenth day they all return to their duties in the town.