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Samaritan
Script type	Abjad
Period	4th century CE – present
Direction	Right-to-left script, top-to-bottom
Languages	Samaritan Hebrew,Samaritan Aramaic
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs[1] Proto-Sinaitic alphabet Phoenician alphabet Paleo-Hebrew alphabet Samaritan
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Samr(123), ​Samaritan
Unicode
Unicode alias	Samaritan
Unicode range	U+0800–U+083F
This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

TheSamaritan Hebrew script, or simplySamaritan script, is the alphabet used by theSamaritans for their religious and liturgical writings. It serves as the script of theSamaritan Pentateuch, of texts inSamaritan Hebrew, and of commentaries and translations inSamaritan Aramaic and occasionallyArabic.

Historically, the Samaritan script is a direct descendant of thepaleo-Hebrew alphabet, the script in which much of theHebrew Bible was originally written and which was used by the people ofIsrael and Judah during theIron Age. In classical antiquity, the better-known "square"Hebrew alphabet—a stylized form of theAramaic script known asAshurit (אשורי, “Assyrian”)—came into use and, from the period of theBabylonian exile onward, became the standard script of Jewish writing. Paleo-Hebrew letter forms, however, continued to appear on Jewish coinage and in certain sacred contexts, while both paleo-Hebrew and Aramaic scripts are attested among the Samaritans in this period.

The precise date of the Samaritan script's emergence is debated. Some scholars have argued that it diverged from paleo-Hebrew in the lateHasmonean or earlyRoman period. More recent epigraphic and archaeological research, however, indicates that the script was developed in the 4th century CE. Inscriptions, mosaic texts, and inscribed pottery lamps attest to its use fromLate Antiquity onward.

The Samaritan script derives from the ancient paleo-Hebrew alphabet,^[2] which was used inancient Israel during theIron Age. Although most Jews adopted the square Aramaic ("Jewish") script during theSecond Temple period, paleo-Hebrew letter forms were preserved on Jewish coins from theFirst Jewish Revolt (66–70 CE) and theBar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE). Samaritan traditions and Jewish sources (e.g., theBabylonian Talmud,Sanhedrin 21b) suggest that the Samaritans continued to use paleo-Hebrew for sacred texts into Late Antiquity, possibly as late as the 3rd century CE.^[3]

Scholars differ on the precise date of the Samaritan script's emergence.^[4] Frank Moore Cross, James Purvis, and others argued that it branched from the paleo-Hebrew alphabet during the late Hasmonean or early Roman period, while some have suggested a 1st-century CE origin.^[4] More recent research byDan Barag, based on epigraphic and archaeological evidence—such as inscribed lamps, mosaic inscriptions, and architectural fragments—indicates that the Samaritan alphabet was created in the 4th century CE.^[5]

Inscriptions fromMount Gerizim provide important early evidence for the history of Samaritan writing. Hundreds of texts in Aramaic and Jewish "square" script, along with a handful in palaeo-Hebrew, have been discovered at the site, all predating the destruction of theSamaritan temple byJohn Hyrcanus in 113/112 BCE.^[6] None of these are written in the Samaritan script, a fact that suggests the alphabet was not yet in use during this period.^[6]

The first clear attestations of the Samaritan script appear only several centuries later. A notable example is theEmmaus Capital, a limestone capital inscribed with a Samaritan blessing alongside the Greek invocationΕἷς Θεός ("One God").^[7] Although some scholars once proposed a 1st-century CE date, the use of this Greek formula indicates that the inscription cannot predate the mid-4th century CE.^[7] Similarly, the lintel from Beit el-Ma, discovered nearShechem, bears a Samaritan version of theTen Commandments. Scholarly opinion on its dating has ranged from the 3rd to the 12th century, but the prevailing view places it within the late Roman orByzantine period, between the 4th and 6th centuries CE.^[8]

The use of the script by the Samaritans is documented as early as the 4th century CE by the Christian scholarJerome, who records having seen authentic examples of Samaritan writing.^[9][10] In one of his works, he remarks:

That twenty-two letters are in use among theHebraei [Jews] is also confirmed by the language of theSyri and theChaldaei, which is to a large degree closely related. [...] The Samaritans also are accustomed to write the Pentateuch ofMoses in the same number of letters, but differing in their shapes and terminations. And it is certain thatEzra, the scribe and teacher of the Law, subsequent to thecapture of Jerusalem and there-dedication of the Temple underZorababel, invented different letters, which we now use, while up to that time the characters used by the Samaritans and theHebraei had been the same.^[11][10]

During the Byzantine period, the Samaritan script appears in mosaic inscriptions discovered in several Samaritan synagogues. AtSha'alvim, a mosaic dating to the 4th–6th centuries CE preserves the biblical acclamation "The Lord will reign forever and ever" (Exod. 15:18), placed near the site of thebimah and Ark of the Law.^[12] Other mosaic inscriptions in the Samaritan script have been found atEl-Khirbe andTzur Natan. AtBeit She'an, a mosaic inscription in Samaritan script was uncovered in a room adjoining a synagogue.^[12] Further evidence for the Samaritan script in Late Antiquity comes from inscribed amulets, rings, and bracelets (many from thecoastal plain and theSamarian hills), most dating between the late Roman and Byzantine periods (4th–6th centuries CE).^[13]

According to Dan Barag, the development of a distinct Samaritan script should be seen as part of a wider effort to preserve Samaritan religious and cultural identity during a period ofChristian expansion and missionary activity. The adoption of a new alphabet derived from the older Hebrew script may also have reflected a desire to distance Samaritan practice from Jewish traditions considered outdated.^[14] Prominent figures such as the high priestBaba Rabba or the scholarMarqah might have been connected with this cultural revival, although there is no direct evidence of their involvement. What is clear, however, is that the emergence of the script formed part of a deliberate process of differentiation and self-preservation.^[14]

The Samaritan alphabet first became known to the Western world with the publication of a manuscript of theSamaritan Pentateuch in 1631 byJean Morin.^[15] In 1616 the travelerPietro della Valle had purchased a copy of the text inDamascus, and this manuscript, now known as Codex B, was deposited in aParisian library.^[16]

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Acursive style of the alphabet also exists.

Samaritan script was added to theUnicode Standard in October 2009 with the release of version 5.2.

The Unicode block for Samaritan is U+0800–U+083F:

• Samaritan vocalization
• Samaritan source sign

• Barag, Dan (2009). "Samaritan writing and writings".From Hellenism To Islam: Cultural and Linguistic Change in the Roman Near East. Cambridge University Press. pp. 303–323.ISBN 978-0-521-87581-3.
• Flôrenṭîn, Moše (2005).Late Samaritan Hebrew: A Linguistic Analysis of Its Different Types. Brill.ISBN 978-900413841-4.

• A Samaritan Bible, at the British libraryArchived 2013-11-03 at theWayback Machine
• Omniglot.com - Samaritan alphabet
• Link to free Samaritan font (consonants only as of 2010)
• Online keyboard for Samaritan script

• Abjad writing systems
• Canaanite writing systems
• Hebrew language
• Samaritan culture and history
• Semitic writing systems
• Right-to-left writing systems

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