Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 13.djvu/471

 SAMARIA

419

SAMARIA

the historical facts : Samaritan Targum or translation into the Aramaic vernacular; Greek translation (SaixapecTLKdv) for the diaspora; Arabic translation from the time of the sovereignty of the Arabs.

(4) Exegetical and Theological Literature. — To this belongs above all the haggadic commentary on the Pentateuch written by Marqa in pure Aramaic and generally ascribed to the fourth century. It contains chiefly edifying meditations on selected portions of the Pentateuch in six books. The copy of it which Petermann had made from a manuscript at Nablus in 1868 is at Berlin. Portions of this have been pub- lished: Heidenheim, Books I, II, IV, and extracts from the other books in "Biblioth. Samar.", Ill, Pts. 5 and 6 (Weimar, 1896); Baneth, "Des Samar. Marqah an die 22 Buchstaben anknupfende Abhand- lung" (Berlin, 1888); Munk, "Des Sam. M. Erzah- lung uber den Tod Moses" (Berlin, 1890); Emmerich, " Das Siegeslied, eine Schrifterklarung des Sam. M." (Berlin, 1897); Hildosheimer, "Marqahs Buch der Wunder" (Berlin, 1898). The most prosperous period of Samaritan theological learning was that of the Judaeo-Arabic literature, the pioneer in which was Saadja, while the path he opened was zealously fol- lowed by Rabbinists and Karaites. A number of Samaritan-Arabic commentaries on the Pentateuch belong to the three centuries succeeding that in which Saadja lived. Among these belongs, for example, a commentary on Genesis dated 10.53, of which Xeu- bauer publishes a fragment (Gen., i-xxviii, 10) in the "Journ. Asiat." (1873), 341. Ibrahim of the tribe of Jaqiib, who probably did not live before the six- teenth century, wrote a commentary on the Penta- teuch, planned on a large scale. A manuscript copy of the first four books made at Nablus through the efforts of Petermann is at Berlin. Publications from it are: Klumel, "Mischpatim, Ein samarit.-arab. Commentar zu Ex. xxi-xxii, 15, von Ibrahim ibn Jakub" (Berlin, 1902); Hanover, "Das Festgesetz der Samaritaner nach Ibrahim ibn Jakub" (Berlin, 1904). Various extracts are given by Geiger in ZDMG, XVII (1863), 723; XX (1866), 147; XXII (1868), 532. Other commentaries are to be found in manuscript in libraries; the titles of a number of them are known. Works on smaller portions of the Penta^- teuch were also not unusual.

Among the codifications of the Law the most im- portant is the "Kitab al-Kafi" written about 1050 by YAsuf ibn Salamah; the work is a kind of Samaritan Schulchan aruch, made up of the explanations of the most distinguished Samaritan teachers of the law. Of this work Kohn has edited the tenth chapter, " Die Zaraath-Gesetze dor Bib(>l nach dem Kitab al-Kafi des Jusuf ibn Salamah" (Frankfort on the Main, 1899). Munajja ibn Zadaka, an important and pro- lific writer, taught in the eleventh or twelfth century. Various writings of his are quoted; the most widely known was his "Kitab al Khilaf ", a more exact title of which would be, "Investigations and Controversial (Questions between the two Sects of Jews and Samar- itans". The work is divided into two parts; a manuscript copy of the second part, obtained by Petermann in 1868 at Nablus, is to be found at Berlin. Further information concerning this second part is given by L. Wreschner, " Samaritanische Traditionen" (Halle, 1888). Six small fragments of this work are at Breslau and have been published by Drabkin, "Fragmenta commentarii ad Pontateuchum Samar- itano-Arabici sex" (Breslau, 1875). In addition to these many theological works are cited or are to be found in manuscript in libraries. Cf. Nutt, loc. cit., 131 sqq.; Stein.schneider, "Die arabische Literatur der Juden" (Frankfort-on-Main, 1902), 319 sqq.

(5) Liturgy and Religious Poetry. — A large number of _ the manuscripts are liturgical texts. They con- tain prayers and hymns for various feasts and occa- sions in Aramaic and Hebrew. The majority belong

to a fairly late period, as the numerous Arabic idioms show. In some of them, each Hebrew or Aramaic strophe is followed by an Arabic translation. The earliest and most celebrated liturgical poet is Marqa; next to him comes his contemporary Amram. Later poets are, for example, Abu'l Hasan (eleventh century) and his son Ab-Galuga; the high-priest Pinehas ben Joseph (fourteenth century), his son Abisha, the lat- ter's contemporary Abdallah ben Salamah; further, Abraham al-Qabasi (sixteenth century) and others. The British Museum has a complete manuscript of the Samaritan Liturgy in twelve quarto volumes.

Cowley, The Samaritan Liturgy, edited u)ith Introduction etc. (2 vols., Oxford, 1910). Of earlier publications of various hymns should be mentioned: Gesenius, Carmina Samaritana (Leipzig, 1824); Geiger in ZDMG, XVIII (1864), 814 sqq.: The Prayer of Ab-Galuga; XXI (1867), 273 sqq.: The Litany of Marqa; Kohn, Zur Sprache, Literatur und Dogmatik d. Samnr. (an old Pesach-Hagada). What Heidenheim offers in his Quarterly and in the Biblioth. Samar. must be characterized as decidedly imperfect. In general, cf. Cowley, The Sam. Liturgy and Reading of the Law in Jewish Quarterly Review, VII (1894), 121 sqq.; Rappoport, La liturgie samaritaine (Angers, 1900).

(6) Chronicles and other Forms of Secular Litera- ture. — A distinct branch of the literature is formed by the Samaritan chronicles. Among these are: (a) the Book of Joshua, in Arabic, the main part of which probably belongs to the thirteenth century, even though here and there it may be based on earlier records. In thirty-eight chapters it treats, somewhat in the manner of a Midrash, the history from the death of Moses to the death of Josue, with many apocrj'phal additions. An appendix to the ninth chapter carries on the recital to Alexander Severus. The sole manuscript in Samaritan characters came from Cairo and is to be found now at Leyden. It was published in Arabic with a Latin translation by Juynboll, " Chronicon Samaritanum " (Leyden, 1848). A Hebrew translation was issued by Kirchheim, 'irs'.r ^-ir:3 (Frankfort on the Main, 1855) ; an English one by O. T. Crane, "The Samaritan Chronicle or the Book of Joshua" (New York, 1890). Gaster believed he had discovered the Hebraico-Samaritan "Book of Josue", and published it in square char- acters, with a German translation, in the ZDMG, LXII (1908), 209 sqq., 494 sqq. He was, however, the victim of a mystification. Cf. Kahle, loc. cit., 250 sq.; Dalmann in "Theol. Literaturzeitung" (1908), 533, 665; Fraenkel, loc. cit., 481 sqq.; Yahuda in "Sitzung.sber. d. Akad. d. Wissensch. in Berlin", XXIX (1908), 887 sqq. (b) The Arabic Chronicle of Abu'l Fath. — According to the statement of the author this chronicle was written at Nablus in the year 756 of the Hegira or a. d. 1355, at the request of the high-priest Pinehas. It relates the course of events from the time of Adam to that of Mohammed, using older chronicles as a basis. Some manuscripts give a continuation up to Harun-al-Rashid. The work contains numerous anachronisms and fables; it is in- tended to magnify the Samaritans in an unfair man- ner, and passes over whole periods of time. It was edited by Vilmar, "Abulfathi annales Samaritani" (Gotha, 18,56). The Latin translation that was an- nounced has not yet appeared, (c) El Tolide, known as "the Neubauer Chronicle". — A copy of this chronicle, made in 1859 by the high-priest Jaqub ben Aaron, was published by A. Neubauer in the "Journal A.siatique" (1869), 385 sqq. The chronicle is written in Hebrew and is accompanied by a literal Arabic translation. The main part, written in 1149, is the work of the high-priest Eleazar ben Amram, the con- tinuation, written in 1340, is that of Jaqub ben Ismael. Other writers have brought the chronicle down to 1856. It contains hardly more than bare chronologies from Adam on, together with brief historical notices, and is in reality little more than a catalogue of the high-priests and of the most im- portant Samaritan families, (d) A chronicle edited by E, N. Adler and M. SeUgsohn, "Une nouvelle