Samaritan High Priest

The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest (kohen gadol) of the remaining Samaritan community in the Levant. According to the Samaritan's tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and has been held by 133 priests in the last thirty-four centuries. However, the historicity of this claim is disputable. One account by Josephus suggests that its office holders are an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests of Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great.[1][2]

Family of the Samaritan High Priests, 1876. To the left is a scribe named Shalabi, to the right are Isaac the son of the High Priest Amram ben Shalma, then Abisha, the son of Amram's brother Pinehas, and finally Uzzi the son of the High Priest Yaacob ben Aaharon ben Shalma, the son of Amram's brother Aaharon.

Lineage
Samaritan Kohanim c. 1876. The inscription on the bottom label the persons from, left to right: "Phineas the Kohen, Jacob the Kohen, Isaac the Kohen". The small child is Jacob's daughter.

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, 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.[3] 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

Samaritan list
Samaritan High Priest Yaakov ben Aharon and the Abisha Scroll, 1905

According to Samaritan genealogical records, the succession of the office of High Priest runs as follows:

  1. Sashai ben Abishua, who was a contemporary and rival of the Jewish High Priest Eli of Shiloah.
  2. Bakhi ben Abishua, probably identical to the Jewish High Priest Bukki.
  3. Uzzi ben Sashai
  4. Sashai II
  5. Bakhi II
  6. Shembet ben Nedab ben Uzzi ben Sashai, who served at the shrine to God at Shechem alone.
  7. Shalom I ben Shembet,
  8. Hezekiah I ben Pedaiel ben Shembet,
  9. Jonathan I ben Abiathar (2 Samuel 15:27), served as a messenger during Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:36, 17:17).
  10. Jair I ben Jonathan,
  11. Daliah I ben Hezekiah,
  12. Jair II ben Abiezer ben Jair,
  13. Jonathan II ben Mennah ben Abiezer
  14. Ishmael ben Koraiah ben Daliah
  15. Tabia I
  16. Zedekiah
  17. Ahid
  18. Jair III
  19. Jehozadak
  20. Zadok
  21. Amram I
  22. Hezekiah II
  23. Amram II
  24. Akkub
  25. Akkubiah I ben Hoshea, who was a contemporary of Isaiah and King Hezekiah.
  26. Hillel I
  27. Seriah
  28. Levi I
  29. Netaniel I
  30. Azariah sat as High Priest during the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem
  31. Aabed-El I
  32. Hezekiah III
  33. Hananiah
  34. Amram III
  35. Hillel II
  36. Hezekiah IV
  37. Daliah II
  38. Akkub II
  39. Akkubiah II
  40. Levi II
  41. Elazar II
  42. Manasseh, the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite
  43. Jair IV
  44. Netaniel II
  45. Joachim
  46. Jonathan III, High Priest during the lifetime of Jesus
  47. Elishama, who held the office during the destruction of the second Jerusalem temple
  48. Shemaiah
  49. Tabia II
  50. Amram IV
  51. Akabon I
  52. Phinhas II
  53. Levi III, who held the office during the revolt of Simon Bar Koziba (Simon bar Kokhba)
  54. Elazar III
  55. Baba I
  56. Elazar IV
  57. Akabon II
  58. Netaniel III
  59. (~308-328 AD[4]) Baba II Rabba, ben Netaniel
  60. Akabon III
  61. Netaniel IV
  62. Akabon IV
  63. Elazar V
  64. Akabon V
  65. Elazar VI
  66. Akabon VI, late 6th century
  67. Elazar VII
  68. Netaniel V, early 7th century
  69. Elazar VIII, c. 630
  70. Netaniel VI
  71. Elazar IX, 640–650
  72. Akabon VII
  73. Elazar X
  74. Akabon VIII
  75. Elazar XI
  76. Akabon IX, c. 750
  77. Elazar XII, 780-810
  78. Simeon
  79. Levi IV
  80. Phinhas III
  81. Netaniel VII
  82. Baba III
  83. Elazar XIII
  84. Netaniel VIII
  85. Elazar XIV
  86. Phinhas IV
  87. Netaniel IX
  88. Aabed-El II
  89. Elazar XV
  90. Aabed-El III
  91. Elazar XVI
  92. Aabed-El IV
  93. Aaharon II
  94. Eleazer XVII
  95. Tsedaka I
  96. Amram V
  97. Aaharon III
  98. Amram VI
  99. Uzzi II
  100. Yoseph I
  101. Phinhas V
  102. Elazar XVII, late 13th century
  103. Phinhas VI, haNatzri
  104. Abisha II
  105. Elazar XVIII
  106. Itamar
  107. Amram VII
  108. Uzzi III
  109. Phinhas VII
  110. Elazar XIX
  111. Phinhas IX
  112. (1613–1624) Shalma I ben Phinhas
  113. (1624–1650) Tsedaka II ben Tabia ha'Åbtå'i
  114. (1650–1694) Yitzhaq I ben Tsedaka
  115. (1694–1732) Abram ben Yitzhaq
  116. (1732–1752) Levi V ben Abram
  117. (1752–1787) Tabia III ben Yitzhaq ben Abram
  118. (1787–1855) Shalma II ben Tabia
  119. (1855–1874) Amram VIII ben Shalma
  120. (1874–1916) Yaacob I ben Aaharon ben Shalma
  121. (1916–1932) Yitzhaq II ben Amram ben Shalma ben Tabia
  122. (1933–1943) Matzliach ben Phinhas ben Yitzhaq ben Shalma
  123. (1943–1961) Abisha III ben Phinhas ben Yittzhaq ben Shalma
  124. (1961–1980) Amram IX ben Yitzhaq ben Amram ben Shalma
  125. (1980–1982) Asher ben Matzliach ben Phinhas
  126. (1982–1984) Phinhas X ben Matzliach ben Phinhas
  127. (1984–1987) Yaacob II ben Uzzi ben Yaacob ben Aaharon
  128. (1987–1998) Yoseph II ben Ab-Hisda ben Yaacov ben Aaharon {1919-1998}
  129. (1998–2001) Levi VI ben Abisha ben Phinhas ben Yitzhaq {1920-2001}
  130. (2001–2004) Shalom II ben Amram ben Yitzhaq/Salum Is'haq al-Samiri {1922-2004}
  131. (2004–2010) Elazar XX ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq {1927-2010}
  132. (2010–2013) Aharon IV ben Ab-Chisda ben Yaacob
  133. (2013–) Aabed-El V ben Asher ben Matzliach
    Yitzhaq ben Amram ben Shalma ben Tabia, Samaritan High Priest, taking refuge from riots on Easter 1920 with Dr. A.C. Harte, Director of Jerusalem YMCA.

Moses Gaster's list

Moses Gaster, in his 1909 article The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis: Published for the First Time, published a slightly different order which he translated from two codices written by the High Priests:[5]

  1. Sashai I
  2. Bakhi I
  3. Uzzi
  4. Sashai II
  5. Bakhi II
  6. Shembet
  7. Shalom I
  8. Hezekiah I
  9. Jonathan I
  10. Daliah I
  11. Jair II
  12. Jonathan II
  13. Ishmael
  14. Tabia I
  15. Zadok, #16—19 in the above list are evidently omitted
  16. Amram I
  17. Hilkiah, Hezekiah in the above list
  18. Amram II
  19. Akkub
  20. Akkubiah
  21. Hillel I
  22. Seriah
  23. Levi I
  24. Netaniel I
  25. Azariah
  26. Aabed-El I
  27. Hezekiah II(I)
  28. Hananiah
  29. Amram III
  30. Hana, Hillel II in the above list
  31. Hezekiah III(IV)
  32. Daliah II
  33. Akkub II
  34. Akkubiah II
  35. Levi II
  36. Elazar II
  37. Manasseh
  38. Jair IV
  39. Netaniel II
  40. Joachim
  41. Jonathan III
  42. Elishama
  43. Shemaiah
  44. Tabia II
  45. Amram IV
  46. Akabon I
  47. Phinhas II
  48. Levi III
  49. Elazar III
  50. Baba I
  51. Elazar IV
  52. Akabon II
  53. Netaniel III
  54. Akabon III, see #60 in the above list
  55. Netaniel IV
  56. Akabon IV
  57. Elazar V
  58. Akabon V
  59. Elazar VI
  60. Akabon VI
  61. Elazar VII
  62. Netaniel V
  63. Elazar VIII
  64. Netaniel VI
  65. Elazar IX
  66. Akabon VII
  67. Elazar X
  68. Akabon VIII
  69. Elazar XI
  70. Akabon IX
  71. Elazar XII
  72. Simeon
  73. Levi IV
  74. Phinhas III
  75. Netaniel VII
  76. Baba II(I)
  77. Elazar XIII
  78. Netaniel VIII
  79. Elazar XIV
  80. Phinhas IV
  81. Netaniel IX
  82. Aabed-El II
  83. Elazar XV
  84. Aabed-El III
  85. Elazar XVI
  86. Aaharon II, see #93 on the above list
  87. Tsedaka I, see #94 on the above list
  88. Amram V
  89. Aaharon III
  90. Amram VI
  91. Aaharon IV
  92. Netaniel X
  93. Itamar I
  94. Amram VI(I), see #98 on the above list
  95. Uzzi II, see #99 on the above list
  96. Yoseph I, see #100 on the above list
  97. Phinhas V, see #101 on the above list
  98. Elazar XVII
  99. Phinhas VI
  100. Abisha II
  101. Elazar XVIII
  102. Phinhas VII
  103. Elazar XIX, see #110 on the above list
  104. Phinhas IX
  105. (1613–1624) Shalma I
  106. (1624–1650) Tsedaka II
  107. (1650–1694) Yitzhaq I
  108. (1694–1732) Abram
  109. (1732–1752) Levi V
  110. (1752–1787) Tabia III
  111. (1787–1855) Shalma II
  112. (1855–1874) Amram VIII
  113. (1874–1916) Yaacob I

See also

References
  1. Josephus (1958). Jewish Antiquities. Loeb Classic Library, Josephus 6: Jewish Antiquities Books 9-11. Translated by Ralph Marcus. Harvard University Press. Book 11, chapter 7.2 – 8, p. 461-483.
  2. Steinberg, David (20 August 2005). "The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects". houseofdavid.ca. Section: "The Origin of the Samaritans: What Really Happened?". Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  3. Sean Ireton (2003). "The Samaritans - A Jewish Sect in Israel: Strategies for Survival of an Ethno-religious Minority in the Twenty First Century". Anthrobase. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  4. Cohen, Jeffrey M. (1981). A Samaritan chronicle: a source-critical analysis of the life and times of the great Samaritan reformer, Baba Rabbah. Studia Post-Biblica 30. Leiden: Brill. pp. 225–226. ISBN 9789004062153.
  5. Gaster, M. “The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis: Published for the First Time.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1909, pp. 393–420. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25210743. Accessed 21 Sept. 2020.
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