Page:Judaism and Islam, a prize essay - Geiger - 1898.pdf/149

 THE WORSHIP OP THE CALF. 131

the Israelites, named Samiri,! led them astray and also made the calf. This arose perhaps from Samael, 2 the name of one who is supposed by the Jews to have been helpful at the making of the calf ; but at any rate the tale has been differently developed by Muhammad. According to him this was one of the Israelites who was present, and whom Moses condemned to everlasting wandering, 3 so that he was compelled to say perpetually, " Touch not." 4 One recognises that this legend is composed of different elements. It is not foreign to Jewish tradition that another Israelite, not Aaron, made the calf, and according to one legend, Micah, 5 who is mentioned in Judges, helped in the making; 6 whence it comes that many Arabians assert that Samiri and Micah are one and the same person. 7 Perhaps Muhammad formed the word Samiri from a confusion with the name Samael.

Samiri was the name for Samaritan, and according to the Arabians the Samaritans said, " Touch us not." 8 With how much reason the Arabians hold .this is indeed unknown, perhaps only from confusion with a sect of the Pharisees described as bad in the Talmud, where it is named " The set-apart, touch me not ; " 9 but I have only a dim recollection of the passage. In short the Samaritans were certainly known to later Arabians by this name, and

3 Sura XX. 97. Compare the wandering Jew in the Christian legend.

4 JC*S 5 Judges, xvii.

6 Rashi on Sanhedrin 101. 2.

7 Of. Ahmad Ben Idris in Hottinger's Hist. Orient., page 84.

8 Cf. Makarizi (in De Sacy, Chrest. Arabe, i. 113 in the second edition, 189 in the first edition) : y*L* S y}fi ^&\ f&\ f& ^ and further : d^L** !Wl> U>jf2 8^LJ\ Q\ (J)^\ *x*^\ tf. x+*s" gWj; j\ JU on which passage De Saoy quotes the Sura, along with Baidhdwi's comment.