Samaritanism

Biblical scientists say that the Torah (Pentateuch) was only written in the 6th century BCE after the return from the Babylonian captivity. This was two centuries after the 8th century BCE Assyrian deportations of much of the population of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to what is now Kurdistan. The Samaritans are the descendants of the Israelites who remained in the land and were not carried away by the Assyrians. The Samaritans are thus unique in that they are the only denomination of the Northern Jurisdiction of Israel that are not part of Median Judaism. It is hence interesting that the Torah was written some two centuries after the Assyrian deportations and there must have been substantial religious interaction and even religious integration between the Southern Jurisdiction of Judah and the Northern Jurisdiction of Israel and mutual influences indeed. The substantial similarities between Rabbinic Judaism and Samaritanism therefore points to the fact that they did not develop in isolation from each other. Both Samaritans and Rabbinic Jews revere the Torah although there are some 6 000 minor differences between the Masoretic version of the Torah and the Samaritan version of the Torah. Samaritans do not recognize the rest of the Hebrew Bible.

The same is true of the Northern Jurisdiction more generally as the Judaic character of Ethiopian Judaism despite being part of Median Judaism proves substantial influence by the Southern Jurisdiction of Judah over the the Northern Jurisdiction of Israel. It is also likely that many Judaic features of Alevism are the result of influence from Rabbinic Judaism including obviously the practice of Alevi Kohanim (Alevi Dedes) dressing in the style of Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) men.