RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Samaria Samson
indole, Halle, 1815; F. Bleek, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, ed. Kamphausen, pp. 757 sqq., Berlin, 1870; W. M. L. de Wette, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, ed. Schrader, pp. 203 sqq., Berlin, 1869; F. Bleek, Einleitung, etc., ed. J. Wellhausen, pp. 570, 643, Berlin, 1878; E. W. E. Reuss, Geschichte der heiligen Schriften des Alten Testaments, pp. 470 sqq., Brunswick, 1881; B. Pick, in Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan., 1877-Apr., 1878; Konig, in DB, extra vol., pp. 68- 72. On the Samaritan translations of the Pentateuch: printed texts are in the Paris and London Polyglots; an edition was begun by G. Petermann, Pentateuchus Samaritanus, of which he published Genesis and Exodus, Berlin, 1872-73, continued and completed by C. Vollers, 1883-01 (Petermann's part not very well done; cf. Kohn in ZDMG, xlvii. 626-697); A. Brull, Das Samaritanische Targum zum Pentateuch, 5 parts and two appendixes, Frankfort, 1873- 1876; idem, Krilische Studien uber samaritanische Fragmente in Oxford, ib. 1875; S. Kohn, Zur Sprache, etc.,
ut sup., pp. 215 sqq.; M. Heidenheim, in Bibliotheca Samaritana, vol. i., Leipsic, 1884 (uncritical); A. Harkavy gives a collation of the St. Petersburg fragments with the polyglot text in Katalog der hebraischen und samaritanischen Handschnften, Leipsic, 1875; P. Kahle, in ZA, xvi (1901), 83 sqq., xvii (1902), 1 sqq.; Kohn in ZDMG, 1890, pp. 650 sqq.; P. Kahle, Textkritische und lexikalische Bemerkungen sum samaritanischen Pentateuchtargum, Halle, 1898; and the works on introduction ut sup. by Eichhorn, De Wette- Schrader, Bleek-Kamphausen, and Konig. On the Arabic version of the Pentateuch: the work3 on introduction by Eichhorn (ii. 264 sqq.), and De Wette-Schrader (p. 135); H. E. G. Paulus, in Neues Repertorium, 1791, pp. 171 sqq.; S. de Saey, De versione Samaritano-Arabica librorum Moysis, in Allgemeine Bibliothek der biblischen Litteratur, x. 1—176, with additions, in Memoires de I'academie des inscriptions et belles lettres, xlix. 1 sqq. (fundamental); A. Kuenen issued the text of the first three books, Leyden, 1851-54; J. Bloch, Die samaritanisch-arabische Pentateuchubersetzung, Deut. i — xi., Berlin, 1901 (cf. P. Kahle, in Zeitschrift fur hebrdische Bibliographic, 1902, no. 1). On the Book of Joshua: for the older literature the " Introduction " of Eichhorn, iii. 412 sqq., and of De Wette-Schrader, pp. 307 sqq.; and Juynboll, Chronicon Samaritanum, Leyden, 1848 (edits the only manuscript in Arabic with Samaritan letters); M. Gaster, Das Buch Joshua in hebraisch-samaritanischer Rezension, entdeckt und zum ersten Male herausgegeben, Leipsic, 1908. On the other chronicles: C. F. Schnurrer edited twenty pages of the text of Abu'l Fath in Neues Repertorium (1790), 117 sqq.; E. Vilmar, Abulfathi annales Samaritani, Gotha, 1865 (complete); the Bodleian codex by Payne Smith in Deutschen Vierteljahrsschrift fiXr englisch-theologische Forschung, ii (1863), 304 sqq., 432 sqq.; and De Wette-Schrader, ut sup., pp. 308-309. A. Neubauer edited a later manuscript, not the same as Abu'l Fath's work, in J A, xiv (1869), 385-386; E. N. Adler and M. Seligsohn edited in REJ, xliv (1902)-xlvi (1903) a " new Samaritan Chronicle " (cf. Clermont-Ganneau, in Journal des savants, Jan., 1904, pp. 34 sqq., and Recueil d' archeologie orientate, vol. vi). On manuscripts of other literature : Barton in Bibliotheca sacra, Oct., 1903, pp. 612 sqq.; Neubauer, in Chronique samaritaine, pp. 467 sqq. (on MSS. in the 3. On Mann- British Museum) ; G. Margoliouth, Descripscripts and tive List of Hebrew and Samaritan MSS., Other London, 1893 (on the same); for the Bod- Works, leian MSS., Neubauer, Catalogue of Hebrew MSS., Oxford, 1853; for those at St. Petersburg, A. Harkavy, Collection of Samaritan MSS. at St. Petersburg, London, 1874. [Add R. Gottheil, in JBL, xxv. 1 (1906).] A general review of later publications till 1866 is given by A. Geiger, in ZDMG, vols, xvi.-xxii. On the liturgy: W. Gesenius, Carmina Samaritana, Halle, 1824; numerous examples are given by M. Heidenheim in the Deutsches Vierteljahrsschrift, Gotha, 1860-67; cf. idem, in Bibliotheca Samaritana, ii.-iv., Leipsic, 1885-8-7; A. Merx, Carmina Samaritana, Rome, 1887; A. E. Cowley, in JQR, vii (1894), 121 sqq.; idem, The Samaritan Liturgy, 2 vols., New York, 1909, London, 1910; S. Rappopont, La Liturgie samaritaine, office du soir des fetes, Angers, 1900; idem, in JA, 9 ser., xvi. 289 sqq. On the Haggada and exegesis of the Pentateuch: here belonga the Samaritan Markah, in pure Aramaic, a commentary of the fourth century, copied by Petermann in 1868 from a Nablus MS., ed. H. Baneth, Berlin, 1888; cf. E. Munk, Des Samaritaners Marqah, Berlin, 1890; M. Heidenheim, Der Kommentar Marqahs, in Bibliotheca Samaritana, vol. iii., Weimar, 1896; L. Em-
merich, Das Siegeslied, eine Schrifterklarung des Samaritaners Marqah, part i., Berlin, 1897; L. Hildesheimer, Des Samaritaners Marqah Buch der Wunder, Berlin, 1898. C. F. Schnurrer published in the Repertorium fur biblische . . Litteratur, xvi (1785), 154 sqq., Probe eines samarit.-biblischen Kommentars on Gen. xlix.; Drabkin, Fragmenta commentarii ad pentat. Samaritano-Arabici sex, Breslau, 1875. On halacha: the chief work is the Kitab al-kafi, a work dated 1042 a.d., in thirty-two chapters, compiled from the work of the most esteemed Samaritans; N. Cohn edited chap. x. as Die Zaraathgesetze der Bibel . , Frankfort, 1899;
M. Klumel, " Mischpatim." Ein samarit.-arab. Kommentar zu Ex. xxi.-xxii. IB, Berlin, 1902; S. Hanover, Das Festgesetz des Samaritaner , ib. 1904. Literature on
the Taheb: the earlier works are given in Schiirer, Geschichte, ii. 522; A. Merx, Ein samarit. Fragment uber den Taeb oder Messias aus der Gothaer Handschrift, Leyden, 1893 (cf. Hilgenfeld in ZWT, 1894, pp. 233 sqq., 1895, p. 156); Cowley, in Expositor, Mar., 1895, pp. 161 sqq.; Goldziher, in ZDMG, lvi (1902), 411-412. On other (secular) literature, J. Freudenthal, Hellenistische Studien, heft 1, Breslau, 1874.
(E. Katjtzsch.)
SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH. See Bible Versions, A., IV.
SAMSON: The son of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, and the last popular hero of the book of Judges (xiii.-xvi.), which drew upon special written sources, apparently with only a few additions. The special characteristic of Samson was his great and divinely given strength, due to the fact that before his birth he had been dedicated a lifelong Nazirite, his powers depending on his faithful observance of his vows, particularly by refraining from cutting his hair. He was, moreover, quick of wit, and full of biting irony, but he was also reckless and self-confident, so that he was finally overcome rather by the craft than by the strength of his foes. In like fashion he was unpractical, and though the spirit of Yahweh moved him against the enemies of Israel (Judges xiii. 25, xiv. 4), his prowess was manifested chiefly in deeds of mischief and in love adventures. The spirit of Yahweh which aided him, especially in time of need (Judges xiv. 6, 19, xv. 14; cf. xvi. 20), was often made to serve foolish and unworthy ends, so that even his serious battles had no unifying purpose, and his victories bore no adequate result. Only in a formal sense, to be in harmony with the accounts of his predecessors, can he be said to have " judged Israel " twenty years (Judges xv. 20, xvi. 31). He is never described as leading his people, who received but slight profit from the enterprises which he undertook for his own glory (Judges xiii. 5), and his character was marred by his excessive amorousness. Samson thus presents a dual aspect, the antithesis between divine calling and the nature of man, the theories of opposition between pagan nature myth and monotheistic reworking, or between popular account and religious revision, being inadequate explanations.
Judges xiii. records a twofold appearance of an angel of the Lord, announcing to Manoah and his barren wife the birth of a son who should be dedicated to Yahweh from his birth and should " begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." The first cycle of Samson's deeds centers around his wooing of and marriage with a Philistine bride living at Timnath. On his way to her he tore asunder a lion, an event which furnished him the basis for a riddle with which he puzzled the Philistine wedding
Samson Samuel