The Samaritan High Priest (Samaritan Hebrew: ; ) is the High Priest of Israel for the Samaritans.
According to Samaritan tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and has been held by 133 priests over the last 3400 years. However, the historicity of this claim is disputed. One account by Josephus suggests that its office holders are an offshoot of the Zadokite High Priests of the Second Temple from around the time of Alexander the Great. , the incumbent High Priest is Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach.
Office of the High Priest
Duties and responsibilities The Samaritan High Priest has the following duties in the present:The Samaritans: The Samaritan High Priests
He decides all religious law issues. He presides over the religious ceremonies on Mount Garizim. He validates all marriages and divorces within the Samaritan community. He annually publishes the liturgical calendar of the Samaritans. He confirms a joining of the Samaritan community. He appoints the Cantors and the Shechita of the community. He represents the Samaritan community to the outside world.
Lineage Since 1623/24, the office of high priest has been passed down in a family traced back to Aaron's grandson Itamar. After the death of a high priest, the office passes to the oldest male in that family, unless he has entered into a marriage that disqualifies him from the high priesthood.
It appears, based upon the larger gaps in time between high priests, that several names might be missing, or that there were long periods of vacancy between priests.
The continuous lineage of Samaritan High Priests, descending directly from Aaron, through his son Eleazar, and his son Phinehas, was however disrupted in the early 17th century. In 1624, Shalma I ben Phinehas, the last Samaritan High Priest of the line of Eleazar son of Aaron died without male succession, but descendants of Aaron's other son, Ithamar, remained and took over the office.
There are four families within the house of Ithamar. The Åbtå order, descended from the 113th High Priest Tsedaka ben Tabia, which has held the office of the High Priesthood since 1624; the House of Phineas a.k.a. Dār 'Åder, descended from Fīn'ās ban Yīṣ'å̄q (Phineas ben Isaac); Dār Yīṣ'å̄q, descended from Yīṣ'å̄q ban Åmrām (Isaac ben Amram); and Dār Yāqob, descended from Yāqob ban Årron (Jacob ben Aaron).
List of Samaritan High Priests
Pummer's list The following list gives the names and terms of office according to Reinhard Pummer.Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 154–172. Pummer uses a spelling for the name of the high priest that is based on the English Bible for the bearers of biblical names, while he chooses a more scientific transcription for the full name (last column). The traditional counting begins with the first post-biblical high priest Sheshai. It differs in order in some cases from the list prepared by Moses Gaster on the basis of the ancient Samaritan sources, and includes additional names (italics here).
Traditional Numbering High Priest Name Term Comments Civil name and life dataAaron I (אהרן)Biblical figure, brother of Moses. He is considered in the Torah to be the "ancestor of the legitimate Levitical-Aaronid priesthood."Joachim Schaper: Aaron. In: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). 4. Auflage. Band 1, Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen 1998, Sp. 2–3., vgl. Exodus Kap. 28–29; Levitikus Kap. 8–10; Numeri Kap. 3–4; 8 und 16–18.Eleazar I (אלעזר)Biblical figure, son of Aaron and his successor as high priest.Phinehas I (פינחס)Biblical figure, son of Eleazar. Because of his religious "zeal" he and his descendants are awarded a perpetual priesthood.Abishua I (אבישע)According to Samaritan tradition, Aaron's great-grandsonIn der Tora nicht erwähnt, aber in und (Schriften des jüdischen Kanons) als Sohn des Phinehas aufgeführt. is said to have written down a Pentateuch scroll that is first mentioned by Abū l'Fatḥ in the 14th century and, in a very poor state of preservation, is kept by the Samaritan community as a precious possession. The Abisha Scroll is considered the original of all Samaritan Torah scrolls.Alan D. Crown: The Abisha Scroll – 3000 Years Old? In: Bible Review 7, 5 (1991), online: Center for Online Judaic Studies.1Sashai ben Abishua2Bakhi ben Sashaiprobably identical to the Jewish High Priest Bukki3Uzzi ben SashaiAccording to Samaritan tradition, Uzzi hid the tent sanctuary of the desert migration (Mishkan) in a cave at Garizim when the Israelites introduced the cult at Shiloh, which was illegitimate from the Samaritan point of view.Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, p. 417.4Shashai II ben Uzzi5Bakhi II ben Sashai6Shembet ben Bakhiwho served at the shrine to God at Shechem alone7Shalom I ben Shembet8Hezekiah I ben Shalom9Jonathan I ben Abiathar (ben Hezekiah?)According to Samaritan tradition, he is said to have been a contemporary of King David.Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 412. (2 Samuel 15:27), served as a messenger during Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:36, 17:17) 10Jair I ben Jonathan11Daliah I 12Jair II ben DaliahIn his time the Jerusalem temple is said to have been built.13Jonathan II ben Jair14Ishmael ben Jonathan15Tabia IThis high priest is said to have been murdered by the Ishmaelites.Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 413.16Zedekiah I17Ahid18Jair III19Jehozadak20Zadok (צדוק)21Amram I (עמרם)22Hilkiah or Hezekiah II23Amram II (עמרם)24Akkub25Akkubiah IAccording to the Samaritan chronicler Abū l'Fatḥ (14th century), Aqabiah was a contemporary of Nebuchadnezzar II and thus of the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (587 B.C.).Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 159 Anm. 34. He is said to have been led into Babylonian exile with the Israelites.26Hillel I27SeriahHe is said to have returned with his people from exile.28Levi I (לוי)29Netaniel I30AzariahIn the 10th year of his high priesthood he is said to have been captured by the Chaldeans.31Aabed-El IThis high priest returned from exile; in his time the Samaritan community is said to have had 300,000 members.32Hezekiah III33Hananiah34Amram III (עמרם)His son is said to have married the daughter of King "Derus"; according to tradition, the Samaritans made a riot and killed both of them.35Hillel II/HananThis high priest is said to have married the daughter of the king of Assyria and to have been killed by the Samaritans.Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 414.36Hezekiah IVAccording to the Samaritan historian Abū l'Fatḥ, Hezekiah was high priest when Alexander III of Macedonia defeated the Persian king Darius.Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 161 Anm. 35.37Daliah II38Akkub II39Akkubiah II40Levi II (לוי)41Eleazar II42Manassehthe son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite43Jair IV44Netaniel II45Joachim According to Samaritan tradition, Jesus of Nazareth was born during the tenure of Jehoiakim.Reinhard Pummer: An Update of Moses Gaster’s "Chain of Samaritan High Priests", Berlin / Boston 2018, S. 162 Anm. 36.46Jonathan III In his time Jesus is said to have been killed "in the cursed Shalem" (= Jerusalem).47Elishama48Shemaiah49Tabia II50Amram IV (עמרם)51Akabon I52Phinehas II53Levi III (לוי)early 2nd centuryEmperor Hadrian (r. 117–138 CE) is said to have shown special favors to the Samaritans in the time of the high priest Levi III.Moses Gaster: The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis, 1909, S. 414f.54Eleazar III55Baba I (בבא)56Eleazar IV57Akabon II58Netaniel III59Baba II Rabbac. 308–