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Samaritan Script

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Samaritan ...
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This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). If you're unfamiliar with these symbols, consult Help:IPA. For the subtle but crucial distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

This article also contains special characters. If your device renders these as question marks, boxes, or other symbols of digital despair, you lack proper rendering support. A personal problem, really.

The Samaritan Hebrew script, or more simply the Samaritan script, is the alphabet the Samaritans use for their religious and liturgical writings. It is the vessel for the Samaritan Pentateuch, for texts in Samaritan Hebrew, and for a collection of commentaries and translations in Samaritan Aramaic and, on occasion, Arabic. It's a script clinging to its identity with the kind of stubbornness you have to respect, even if it's exhausting to witness.

Historically, the Samaritan script is a direct descendant of the paleo-Hebrew alphabet. This was the script in which vast portions of the Hebrew Bible were first written down, the common hand of the people of Israel and Judah during the Iron Age. In classical antiquity, however, the more widely recognized "square" Hebrew alphabet—a stylized import of the Aramaic script known as Ashurit (אשורי, “Assyrian”)—gained prominence. From the Babylonian exile onward, this Ashurit script became the standard for Jewish writing, a pragmatic adaptation to a changing world.

Yet, the old paleo-Hebrew forms didn't just vanish. They persisted, a ghost of a script haunting Jewish coinage and certain sacred contexts. Meanwhile, among the Samaritans of this period, evidence shows both paleo-Hebrew and Aramaic scripts were in circulation. The final break, the conscious evolution into a distinct Samaritan script, is a matter of academic debate—a polite term for a long-running argument.

The precise moment the Samaritan script decided to become its own entity is contested. Some scholars, looking at the stylistic evolution, argued it diverged from paleo-Hebrew in the late Hasmonean or early Roman period. More recent epigraphic and archaeological research, however, points to a later genesis, suggesting the script was consciously developed in the 4th century CE. Inscriptions, mosaic texts, and even inscribed pottery lamps from Late Antiquity onward attest to its use, a quiet but firm declaration of cultural and religious distinction.

History of the alphabet

History

The Samaritan script is a direct offshoot of the ancient paleo-Hebrew alphabet, the script of choice in ancient Israel during the Iron Age. While the majority of Jews transitioned to the square Aramaic ("Jewish") script after the exile, a practice that became standard during the Second Temple period, paleo-Hebrew refused to die quietly. Its letter forms were deliberately preserved, appearing on Jewish coins minted during the defiant First Jewish Revolt (66–70 CE) and the final, desperate Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE). It was a script of rebellion, a symbol of a past they refused to relinquish completely. Both Samaritan traditions and Jewish sources, including the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 21b), acknowledge that the Samaritans continued to use this older script for their sacred texts deep into Late Antiquity, possibly as late as the 3rd century CE.

Scholars, as they are wont to do, disagree on the exact birthday of the Samaritan script. It’s another academic brawl over dates, as if pinning it to a specific century will solve anything fundamental. Frank Moore Cross, James Purvis, and others argued that it branched off from the paleo-Hebrew alphabet during the late Hasmonean or early Roman era. Some even proposed a 1st-century CE origin, placing its birth in a period of intense religious and political ferment. However, more recent research by Dan Barag, grounded in the tangible evidence of epigraphy and archaeology—inscribed lamps, mosaic floors, and fragments of architecture—points to a more deliberate creation in the 4th century CE.

The archaeological record from Mount Gerizim, the sacred center of Samaritan life, offers a compelling, if silent, argument. Hundreds of inscriptions in Aramaic and the Jewish "square" script, along with a few in palaeo-Hebrew, have been unearthed there. All of these predate the destruction of the Samaritan temple by the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus in 113/112 BCE. Crucially, not one of these inscriptions is written in the distinctive Samaritan script. This glaring absence strongly suggests the alphabet, as we know it, was not yet in use during this period.

The first clear examples of the Samaritan script emerge centuries later. A key piece of evidence is the Emmaus Capital, a limestone capital bearing a Samaritan blessing alongside the Greek invocation Εἷς Θεός ("One God"). While some earlier scholars pushed for a 1st-century CE date, the specific use of this Greek formula firmly places the inscription no earlier than the mid-4th century CE. Another significant artifact is the lintel from Beit el-Ma, found near Shechem, which displays a Samaritan version of the Ten Commandments. The dating of this piece has been a moving target for scholars, with proposals ranging from the 3rd to the 12th century. The current consensus, however, situates it within the late Roman or Byzantine period, somewhere between the 4th and 6th centuries CE.

The Christian scholar Jerome, writing in the 4th century CE, provides one of the earliest literary confirmations of the script's use. He notes that he had seen authentic examples of Samaritan writing. In one of his works, he lays out the distinction with clinical precision:

That twenty-two letters are in use among the Hebraei [Jews] is also confirmed by the language of the Syri and the Chaldaei, which is to a large degree closely related. [...] The Samaritans also are accustomed to write the Pentateuch of Moses in the same number of letters, but differing in their shapes and terminations. And it is certain that Ezra, the scribe and teacher of the Law, subsequent to the capture of Jerusalem and the re-dedication of the Temple under Zorababel, invented different letters, which we now use, while up to that time the characters used by the Samaritans and the Hebraei had been the same.

A 4th-century Samaritan inscription from the Sha'alvim synagogue, now displayed at the Good Samaritan Museum. It reads, "The Lord will reign forever and ever."

During the Byzantine period, the script appears with greater frequency, particularly in mosaic inscriptions found in Samaritan synagogues. At Sha'alvim (also known as Salbit), a mosaic dated to the 4th–6th centuries CE preserves the biblical acclamation "The Lord will reign forever and ever" (Exodus 15:18), positioned meaningfully near the bimah and the Ark of the Law. Similar mosaic inscriptions in the Samaritan script have been discovered at El-Khirbe and Tzur Natan. At Beit She'an, another mosaic with Samaritan script was found in a room adjacent to a synagogue. Further evidence from Late Antiquity includes inscribed amulets, rings, and bracelets, many found in the coastal plain and the Samarian hills, which mostly date between the 4th and 6th centuries CE.

According to Dan Barag, the formalization of a distinct Samaritan script should be understood not as a simple evolution, but as a deliberate act of cultural self-preservation. It was part of a broader effort to maintain Samaritan religious and cultural identity in an era of ascendant Christianity and its aggressive missionary activities. Adopting a new alphabet, one derived from the ancient Hebrew script, was also likely a statement—a way to distance Samaritan practice from Jewish traditions which they may have considered altered or outdated. While there is no direct evidence linking prominent figures like the high priest Baba Rabba or the scholar Marqah to this revival, it's clear the script's emergence was part of a conscious process of differentiation. It was a testament to the human need to carve one's identity into stone, metal, and memory—a futile but beautiful gesture against the void. Or maybe they just liked the way the letters looked. Who can say.

Research history

The Samaritan alphabet remained largely unknown to the Western world until 1631, with the publication of a manuscript of the Samaritan Pentateuch by the French theologian Jean Morin. The story of its "discovery" is, as usual, one of European travel and acquisition. In 1616, the Italian traveler Pietro della Valle purchased a copy of the text in Damascus. This manuscript, now known as Codex B, was eventually deposited in a Parisian library, where it became an object of scholarly curiosity, finally introducing this ancient script to a world that had forgotten it.

Letters

This section, much like the foundations of many belief systems, does not cite any sources. You've been warned.

An ancient inscription in Samaritan Hebrew, from a photograph taken around 1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund.

A cursive style of the alphabet also exists, for when one needs to write down divine truths in a hurry.

Consonants

Letter Name IPA Approximate western European pronunciation Jewish Hebrew equivalent
ࠀ ʾālāf ∅ ~ [ʔ] Either silent or like the pause in uh-oh. Also serves as a mater lectionis for certain open vowels. א
ࠁ bīt [b] Like in bear. Uncomplicated. ב
ࠂ gāʾman [g] Like in goat. ג
ࠃ dāʾlāt [d] Like in dingle. ד
ࠄ ʾīy ∅ ~ [ʔ] ~ [h] Either silent or like in uh-oh. ה
ࠅ bā [b], [w] Usually like in bear, but sometimes like in water. Also a mater lectionis for certain back vowels. ו
ࠆ zēn [z] Like in zax. ז
ࠇ ʿīt ∅ ~ [ʔ], [ʕ] ~ [ꭓ] No equivalent in Standard English. Imagine the Scottish loch, but voiced. Usually, it's just silent or a glottal stop. ח
ࠈ ṭīt [tˤ] No equivalent. An emphatic, sharper /t/ sound. ט
ࠉ yūt [j] Like in yolk. Also a mater lectionis for some close vowels. י
ࠊ kāf [k] Like in skirt. כ
ࠋ lāʾbāt [l] Like in luck. ל
ࠌ mīm [m] Like in mother. מ
ࠍ nūn [n] Like in night. נ
ࠎ sinʾgā̄t [s] Like in sight. ס
ࠏ ʿīn [ʕ], ∅ ~ [ʔ] No equivalent. Another pharyngeal sound, but usually silent or a glottal stop in modern pronunciation. ע
ࠐ fī [f], [bː] Usually like in father. פ
ࠑ ṣāʾdīy [sˤ] No equivalent. An emphatic /s/ sound. צ
ࠒ qūf [q] No equivalent. A deep, back-of-the-throat 'k' sound, like in Multicultural London English cut. ק
ࠓ rīš [r] Not in Standard English. Like a Scottish rolled r. ר
ࠔ šān [ʃ] Like in short. ש
ࠕ tāf [t] Like in rat. ת

Niqqud

This table is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. Or not. Free will is a thing.

Niqqud Name IPA Approximate western European pronunciation
ࠫ o [o] Like in home but as a monophthong.
ࠪ i [i] Like in General American fleece.
ࠩ ī [iː] Like in Received Pronunciation fleece.
ࠨ î
ࠧ u [u] Like in General American goose.
ࠦ ū [uː] Like in Received Pronunciation goose.
ࠥ ă
ࠤ ă
ࠣ a
ࠢ ā
ࠡ āː
ࠠ å
ࠠ å̄
ࠞ å̄ː
ࠝ e
ࠜ ē
ࠛ Marks epenthetic yūt.
ࠚ Marks an epenthetic yût.
ࠬ ∅ Marks the absence of a vowel. A blessed silence.
࠙ Marks gemination.
࠘ Marks occlusion.
ࠗ
ࠖ

Punctuation

This table is also incomplete. A recurring theme.

Punctuation mark Name Function
࠭‎ nequdaa Variant reading sign.
࠰ nequdaa Word separator.
࠱ afsaaq Interruption.
࠲‎ afsed Restraint.
࠳ bau Prayer.
࠴ atmau Surprise.
࠵ shiyyaalaa Question.
࠶ Abbreviation mark.
࠷ Melodic qitsa.
࠸ ziqaa Shouting.
࠹ qitsa End of section.
࠺ zef Outburst.
࠻ turu Teaching.
࠼ arkanu Submissiveness.
࠽‎ sof mashfaat Full stop. Finally.
࠾‎ annaau Rest.

Unicode

The main article for this thrilling topic is Samaritan (Unicode block).

The Samaritan script was finally added to the Unicode Standard in October 2009 with the release of version 5.2. This means your computer can now properly render the characters of an ancient liturgical language, a task I'm sure it performs with as much enthusiasm as I'm mustering right now.

The Unicode block for Samaritan is U+0800–U+083F. Here it is, in all its codified glory.

Samaritan
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+080x ࠀ ࠁ ࠂ ࠃ ࠄ ࠅ ࠆ ࠇ ࠈ ࠉ ࠊ ࠋ ࠌ ࠍ ࠎ ࠏ
U+081x ࠐ ࠑ ࠒ ࠓ ࠔ ࠕ ࠖ ࠗ ࠘ ࠙ ࠚ ࠛ ࠜ ࠝ ࠞ ࠟ
U+082x ࠠ ࠡ ࠢ ࠣ ࠤ ࠥ ࠦ ࠧ ࠨ ࠩ ࠪ ࠫ ࠬ ࠭
U+083x ࠰ ࠱ ࠲ ࠳ ࠴ ࠵ ࠶ ࠷ ࠸ ࠹ ࠺ ࠻ ࠼ ࠽ ࠾

Notes

  1. As of Unicode version 17.0
  2. Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points. Voids in the matrix.

See also