Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-12-13
LIGHT ON THE BIBLE.
INVESTIGATION IN sA4ARiA'
A Chrsn,e,e which Goes Back TO the Begin
p,vr and starts with Adam.

A foreign correspondents W
yo,k Sun writes to that paper the iol-
lowing articles, which will interest all
Bible students
The chief interest connected with
| N.blous lies in the fact that 1t Is the
residence of the remnant Of those Sa-
m.r;,ans who were colonized here by
Sbalmaneser, King Of Assyria. when
no carried away the children OF Israel
csntive. From the biblical record I'D
Kings. 18th chapter,) it would appear
that the new settlers were drawn from
mixed nationalities and various cities
within his dominions. Some came from
Babylon itself, some from Klamath, a
town between Damascus and Aleppo,
and others from Cutnah--probably the
Kutha Of Arabian geographers, town
and district between the Tigris and
Fupbrates-some from Ava, which has
been identified with the modern Hit,
and some from Sepharvaim, once the
famous city of Sippara, both cities on
the Euphrates, 10 lower Mesopotamla.
We are also told that the new COLO
nists petitioned the King Of Assyria to
be taught the religion Of the Jews, and
that he sent them Jewish priest to
teach it to them, and that they added
il on. after curious fashion, to the va
rious forms of idolatry which they had
imported from their different localities,
and hence established mongrel sort Of
worship which became afterward puri-
fed, but which, nevertheless, rendered
them obnoxious to the Jews Of Judea !;
all the more so because they intermar-
rjed with the remnants Of the tribes OF
Israel which had escaped the captivity,
thus forming race as mongrel as their
religion. 1t is about 2,G0e years since
this event took place, but this ancient
worship of the Samaritans exists to this
day; so also does the bitter antagonlsm
which they and the Jews mutually en-
terrain for each other.
This is the oldest national feud proba-
bly, in existence, but as fresh as II II
only originated yesterday. Like the
Jews, the Samaritans have managed to
survive all the yicissitudes of fate, but
with the difference that small rem
nant has chung through them all to the
locality in which they were originally
established, though they have dwindled
in numbers to one hundred and sixty
souls. As an chronological fraction OF
antiquity, they are perhaps the most
interesting group Of people e1tant.
The first one ever made acquaintance
with was a young man who called upon
me in q mysterious manner one day In
Halfa. lie handed me document in
Arabic, in which, after stating that for
certain reasons. which he implied were
bv no means discreditable to him, he
was an outcast from his own people,
he implored charity and requested me
"to cast upon him regard Of com
passion and beneyolence. The docu-
ment further said:
"All that | have inherited from my
parents and ancestors is a manuscript
written in ancient Hebrew, nine hun
bred years old, containing two chapters
of the Bible, including the command
ments. which beg to offer you, in the
hope that you will recOmpense me il
return by sum which will relieve me
Of my Distress"
lie signed himself " Shellabi, the son
of Jacob, the Samaritan" Now,
knew that Jacobes Shellabi was the
spiritual head Of the sect, for he had
been in London under the title Of "Th'
Prince Of the Samaritans," and the ro'
nance which attended his style and
dignity had, it was reported, even cap
tivat ed fair English woman, who wa,
willing to become Samaritan for hi'
sake. Fortunately for her, "tht
Prince" was already married, fact
which, I believe, he only divulged OF
his return to his native land.
! Anyhow. here was the son of
prince in distress, and here was an ex
tremely ancient and curious manuscript
for sale. The youth looked such
scamp, however, that he did not enlis
my sympathies. suspected that h,
had lost his money by gambling, which
proved afterwards to be the case; 81
when he SAID he considered the manu-
script worth $40 / offered him 81. OF
which he retired Indignantly. A lev
DAYS later, however, he reappeared
took his dollar thankfully. and
retain possession Of the manuscript
It is on coarse parchment Of a vel
lowish-brown color, two feet 81!
inches long, and fifteen inche
wide. 1t was evidently original
longer, but has been torn OIL. On
, edge has been subjected to the actio
, Of fire. The writing is in TRANSFERS
columns, each column thirteen inche
long by five wide, and containing fror
sixty TO seventy lines. The charaC
tiers are of the old Samaritan type
small, rude, and irregular, differing i
many important respects from the ar
Gent Hebrew, and illegible to goo
o modern Hebrew scholar to whom
4 have shown it. | have no doubt. how
. ever, that it could be deciphered by a
: expert in such matters, who woul
n also be able to establish from the forma
a ton of the characters its antiquity.
p This incident excited my interest j
a the Samaritan question, and when wa
y at Nablous | visited the synagogue, eS
: amined the ancient Thorah, or book {
a the law, and have since looked into tn
c subject generally. The ancient Syns
$ gogus was appropriated by the Moslem
}, some centuries ago. The modern build
n ing is a small, unpretentious, oblon
/ structure. The walls are rough an
a whitewashed, and the roof is vault
j. ed with two little domeS in tn
e centre. The mizpah, or altar,
g about five feet square, covered wit
y a veil Of yellow silk. With
Is are receptacles for the sacred books
d Of these the most valuable are neve
e shown to strangers. One or two pc
l. sons have, however, seen the most al
ID cient, which the Samaritans claim
Is have been written by Abishua, the SC
lie of Phinehas, thirty-fye hundred yeal
is ago. 1t is only seen by the congreg
" ton once a wear. when elevated abo,