they were (m) difpers'd and loft: and those who were fent to inhabit Samaria in their ftead, and had foon the name of Samaritans, appear (2) not for a long while to have had the Pentateuch among them. For they were all (0) Heathens, and continu'd fo for many ages, as the bible informs us; which reprefents them as idolaters at first, and as being like what they were in the beginning, at the time when the fecond book of Kings was publish'd and the Jerufalem Jews conftantly gave them the name of Cutheans, as coming from Cutbah in Affyria; thereby fignifying them to be idolaters and heathens, as well as originally heathens. Had the Samaritans, fays (p) PRIDEAUX, receiv'd the law of Moses from the firft (that is, from the time of the ifraelitish priest being fent (9) by ESER HADDON among them, as is fuppos'd by many) and made that the rule of worship, which they paid the God of Ifrael, they could not have continu'd in that grofs idolatry, which on all hands it is agreed they did, till the building the tem (m) Simon Hift. Crit. du V. T. p. 66. (n) Ib. p. 65. (0) 2 Kings 24. 29 41. See Prideaux's Connection, Vol. 1. p. 416, 417. (p) Prideaux, lb. (1) 2 Kings 17. 28. temple on mount Gerizim in the time of ALEXANDER the great. 2. There is a corrupted paffage of great importance in the Samaritan Pentateuch; which enjoins, an altar to be built, and facrifices to be offer'd, (not at (r) mount Ebal, as all our hebrew and greek copies have it, but) at mount Gerizim; where (s) SANBALLAT, above a thousand years after the times of MOSES, did, at the inftigation and with the affiftance of MANASSEH, fon of JOIADA the high priest of the Jews, and other difoblig'd Refugee-Jews, firft, build a temple in oppofition to the temple at Jerufalem; where Refugee-Jews, from the time the temple was built, continu'd frequently to refort; and where, for the most part from the fame time a jewish-temple-worship has been kept up by perfons, who have been call'd Samaritains, from Samaria, the name of the district, wherein mount Gerizim lyes. And this corruption affects the autority of the Samaritan Pentateuch the more, in that, it was a defign'd corruption, in order to justify and autorize their new place of worfhip at mount Gerizim. The Samaritans have also added a large paffage to the fame effect in their Pentateuch; which has no (t) foot (r) Deut. 27. 4. (s) Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 11. c. 8. (1) Exod. 20. 17. foot-steps in our hebrew and greek copies. In both thefe cafes, indeed, Mr W. (u) declares, he fees no reafon to accufe the Samaritans, but the Jews of corruption. And he endeavours to fupport the Samaritan readings by feveral (w) reafons in his book, and by (x) one added fince, which he thinks determines the point in favour of the Samaritans ; which therefore, tho' equally precarious with the reft, I fhall here examine. There was, it seems, a contest (y) between the Jews and Samaritans at Alexandria in Egypt, "Whether the temple at "mount Gerizim, or that at Jerufalem, was "warranted and autorized by the Mofaick "law" The caufe was, by way of appeal, brought before PTOLEMY PHILOMETOR, king of Egypt; who, upon hearing the pleas on both fides, (of which JOSEPHus feems to give but a very general and imperfect ac count) gave judgment in favour of the Jews against the Samaritans. But yet Mr. W. thinks it appears from JOSEPHUS's relation, that the Jews copies had thofe paffages then in them, and did not difagree from the Samaritan; and, by confequence, that the Jews have fince corrupted their copies. But (u) Whifton's Effay, St. p. 169. (x)Ad finem Errat. (y) Jofeph. Antiq. 1. 13. c. 6. But the confideration of JOSEPHUS's relation (which the reader is defir'd to have before him) will, in my opinion, produce a very different conclufion, and induce the reader to believe, that the Samaritan readings were corruptions, and that the jewish copies stood then as they do now in that refpect; as the pleas which the king heard induced him to determine for the Jews. It does feem poffible from JOSEPHUus's relation, that the two Samaritan advocates did infist before king PTOLEMY on those pasfages before-mention'd of their Pentateuch, for the autority of their temple at Gerizim, tho' it is not any where faid fo, or that their Pentateuch had then any fuch paffages in it. For there feems no other foundation in the Mofaick law, from whence they are fuppos'd to argue, for making mount Gerizim the place appointed for a temple in oppofition to Jerufalem, and for the great confidence they had of being able to prove their point; all traditional pretences in favour of the antiquity of the temple at Gerizim before the temple at Jerufalem, being not only undoubtedly falfe, but capable of being eafily prov'd fo, as they could not but know themfelves; for their temple had been built but 150 years, whereas the temple at Jerufalem had been built long before, in the days of SOLOMON, It It may alfo be fuppos'd poffible, that the jewish advocate might argue against the Samaritans from his Pentateuch, as not having the Samaritan readings: for nothing appears, from whence it can be concluded he did not. Nay, if the Samaritan advocates urg'd their two prefent readings, we have reafon to believe he did fo; fince thofe readings were certainly wanting in his copies. For both the Hebrew and Septuagint copies had been, before this conteft, in the hands of the heathens, and particularly in the library of PTOLEMY, who would never have given judgment against the Samaritans, and condemn'd their advocates to dye, if the jewifh copies had favour'd the autority of their temple at Gerizim. All therefore that can be fuppos'd in favour of the Samaritan Pentateuch from JOSEPHUS is, that it, alone, perhaps, then had the two paffages mention'd; there being no ground in JOSEPHUS (or elfe where) to fuppofe, that the Jews Pentateuch then had them. But this fuppofition in favour of the Samaritan Pentateuch, will not prove the two readings genuine. But there are two confiderations, which feem to me to determine the corruption to be on the part of the Samaritans. 1. First, there have been three different forts of people, who at different times have inhabited Samaria, and been call'd Samaritans, and were different religious Sects. 1. Thofe |