Samiri is derived
from smr. They say smr i.e he nailed it, i.e he made it fast firm or strong
with a nail or nails, a being called smr. Hence samri is on who makes things
fast with nails, i.e one belonging to the profession of black-smiths,
carpenters, etc. this samariat means, a people who carry on the profession of
blacksmiths, carpenters, etc. i.e. artisans. The mischief-maker, seems to
belong to this class. So samiri may be a descriptive or attributive name. or it
may be a relative noun from (the Samaritans) a people said to be one of the
tribes of the children of Israel; or a sect of the Jews, differing from them in
many of their institutions. Properly speaking they were inhabitants of Samaria.
The name is now restricted to a small tribe of people living in Nublus and
calling themselves "bene Yisrael". Their history as a distinct
community began with the taking of Samaria by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. (Lane and Jew Encyclopaedia)
The Encyclopaedia Judaica (under "Samaritans")
summarizes both past and present views on the Samaritans' origins. It says:
Until the middle of the 20th century it was customary
to believe that the Samaritans originated from a mixture of the people living
in Samaria and other peoples at the time of the conquest of Samaria by Assyria
(722–721 BCE). The biblical account in II Kings 17 had long been the decisive
source for the formulation of historical accounts of Samaritan origins.
Reconsideration of this passage, however, has led to more attention being paid
to the Chronicles of the Samaritans themselves. With the publication of
Chronicle II (Sefer ha-Yamim), the fullest Samaritan version of their own
history became available: the chronicles, and a variety of non-Samaritan
materials. According to the former, the Samaritans are the direct descendants
of the Joseph tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, and until the 17th century CE they
possessed a high priesthood descending directly from Aaron through Eleazar and
Phinehas. They claim to have continuously occupied their ancient territory and
to have been at peace with other Israelite tribes until the time when Eli
disrupted the Northern cult by moving from Shechem to Shiloh and attracting
some northern Israelites to his new followers there. For the Samaritans, this
was the "schism" par excellence.
—"Samaritans" in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1972, Volume 14, col. 727.
Furthermore, to this day the Samaritans claim descent
from the tribe of Joseph:
The laymen also possess their traditional claims. They
are all of the tribe of Joseph, except those of the tribe of Benjamin, but this
traditional branch of people, which, the Chronicles assert, was established at
Gaza in earlier days, seems to have disappeared. There exists an aristocratic
feeling amongst the different families in this community, and some are very
proud over their pedigree and the great men it had produced.
—J. A. Montgomery, The Samaritans, the Earliest Jewish Sect: Their
History, Theology and Literature, 1907,
p. 32
How do the
Samaritans portray themselves during the period of Assyrian rule? According to
their Chronicles, the righteous remnants who belonged to "the community of
the Samaritan Israelites, that is the tribe of Ephraim and the tribe of
Manasseh, sons of Joseph, and a few other priests and a small number from the
rest of the tribes of Israel" who "did not deviate from the way of
the holy law, nor did they worship other gods. They did not behave as the
nations did, and did not forsake the chosen place Mount Gerizim Bethel, but
they continued to worship the Lord their God..."
J.
Macdonald, The Samaritan Chronicle No. II
(Or Sepher Ha-Yamim) From Joshua To Nebuchadnezzar, 1969, op.
cit., II Kings - II
Chronicles, H, H*-J*, p. 178.
“Samiri’s name as generally believed, was Musa Ibn Zafar. Ibn Jarar has
narrated from Sayiddina Ibn ‘Abbas {ra} that Samiri was born in the year
when under the orders of Pharaoh all male Israili children were to be
killed. His mother, fearing the worst, put him in the hallow of a cave
and covered its mouth.” –
Tafsir Maa’riful Qur’aan, page 144.
Sayiddina Ibn ‘Abbas {ra} says that he belonged to a
nation of cow-worshippers who somehow reached Egypt and pretended to
join the religion of Bani ‘Israil whereas in actual fact he was a
hypocrite. (Qurtubi) – Tafsir Maa’riful Qur’aan, page 143.
Where did they come from, if they were not from around Egypt?
“According to Sayddina Sa’id ibn Jubair {ra} he was a Persian from the Kirman province.” – Tafsir Maa’riful Qur’aan, page 143.
SAMARITANS
OR SAMARIANS?
As mentioned earlier, the
traditional view of the origins of Samaritans is based on II Kings 17. The
verse in question is II Kings 17:29 where the Hebrew word shomronim or shomeronim
appears and is usually
translated into English as "Samaritans" (underlined in the Hebrew
text below).
But
every nation still made gods of its own, and put them in the shrines of the
high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities which they
dwelt... (RSV)
The name shomronim that appears in II Kings 17:29 is associated
with the worship of idols. However, the Samaritans do not address themselves by
this name at all. They call themselves shamerin
, that is "keepers" or
"observers" of the Torah.[13] The
Samaritans themselves make a clear distinction between their own ancestors and
the inhabitants of Samaria. For example, in the part of the Samaritan Chronicle II which
corresponds to I Kings 16 of the Hebrew Bible, the biblical account of the
founding of Samaria by Omri is followed by a note which explains that the
inhabitants of Samaria and its nearby cities were called "Shomronim after the name Shomron".[14] Thus
the distinction between the people of Samaria and the Samaritans is clearly
maintained in the Samaritan Chronicle II.
Put simply, shomronim means
the "inhabitants of Samaria" and it has nothing to do with shamerin, "keepers" or
"observers" of the Torah, which the Samaritans use for themselves. In
fact, a long line of Samaritan scholarship has already pointed out this fact,
which, unfortunately, is ignored by those at their own peril. For example,
about 100 years ago James Montgomery pointed out that the Samaritans:
....
call themselves by the ancient geographical apellative, Samerim,
which they interpret however as meaning "the Observers", i.e., of the
Law.[15]
Similarly, The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible confirms
that:
... the
Samaritans prefer to style themselves 'Shamerim'
i.e.,
"the observant" - rather than 'Shomeronim'
i.e.,
"the inhabitants of Samaria."[16]
The Encyclopaedia Judaica under
the entry "Samaritans" says:
Little
guidance is obtained from the name of the Samaritans. The Bible uses the
name Shomronimonce, in II Kings 17:29, but this probably
means Samarians rather than Samaritans. The Samaritans themselves
do not use the name at all; they have long called
themselves Shamerin; i.e., "keepers" or "observers" of
the truth = al ha-amet, both the short and long forms being
in constant use in their chronicles. They take the
name Shomronim to mean inhabitants of the town of Samaria built
by Omri (cf. I Kings 16:24), where the probable origin of the
word Shomronim is to be found).[17]
[13] J. A. Montgomery, The Samaritans The Earliest Jewish Sect: Their
History, Theology And Literature, 1907, The Bohlen Lectures For
1906, The John C. Wilson Co.: Philadelphia, p. 24.
[14] J. Macdonald, The Samaritan Chronicle No. II (Or Sepher
Ha-Yamim) From Joshua To Nebuchadnezzar, 1969, Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift
Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft - Volume 107, Walter de Gruyter &
Co.: Berlin, I Kings XII-XXII, I, C*, p. 163.
[15] J. A. Montgomery, The Samaritans The Earliest Jewish Sect: Their
History, Theology And Literature, 1907, op. cit., p. 24.
[16] "Samaritans" in G. A. Buttrick (Ed.), The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible,
Volume 4, 1962 (1996 Print), Abingdon Press, Nashville, p. 191.
[17] "Samaritans" in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1972, Volume 14, Encyclopaedia
Judaica Jerusalem, col. 728.
Let’s continue by trying to grasp the history of this Samiri, so we can know who he was or from where he came:
“Samiri’s name as generally believed, was Musa Ibn Zafar. Ibn Jarar has narrated from Sayiddina Ibn ‘Abbas {ra} that Samiri was born in the year when under the orders of Pharaoh all male Israili children were to be killed. His mother, fearing the worst, put him in the hallow of a cave and covered its mouth.” – Tafsir Maa’riful Qur’aan, page 144.
Now that we’ve established some form of historical context to this person, his lineage does go back to the time of Moses (Musa alayhi as salaam), so this person did exist at the time of Moses. In that context, why is he called “As Samiri”, well, there are two probablities here:
(1) It could be a place from which he came.
(2) It could be a title due to his beliefs.
Earlier Islamic sources tend to cite both (1) and (2) as their understanding of the person named As-Samiri, that being, he came from a people who were worshipers of the cows:
Sayiddina Ibn ‘Abbas {ra} says that he belonged to a nation of cow-worshippers who somehow reached Egypt and pretended to join the religion of Bani ‘Israil whereas in actual fact he was a hypocrite. (Qurtubi) – Tafsir Maa’riful Qur’aan, page 143.
Where did they come from, if they were not from around Egypt?
“According to Sayddina Sa’id ibn Jubair {ra} he was a Persian from the Kirman province.” – Tafsir Maa’riful Qur’aan, page 143.
Now this logically makes sense.
(1) The Samiri was born during the time of Moses.
(2) The Samiri was from Persian (Mesopotamia) and was brought to or near Egypt when a group of Persians migrated.
(3) Persia is near the Indus Valley River Civilization (known cow worshipers), in fact, they share similar cultural traits (languages, religions, dress).
Therefore it is logical to assume that the Samiri is a person who was from among a people who worshiped cows, and who had migrated to near Egypt. The entire narration from the Qur’aan makes sense when compared to basic history. Of course one had to be objective and look outside the inconsistent and incoherent Biblical tradition and really accept the historical narrative as it exists through modern historical interpretations.
The historical context is easy to grasp, the Samiri was a cow worshiper with Mesopotamian origins (from which his religion came) through the Indian peoples (Indus Valley Civilization – known cow worshipers):
In the case of Egyptian and Harappan civilizations, there exists considerable evidence that the two societies, which flanked Mesopotamia on the west and east, respectively, had continuous trade contact with the cities of Sumer and, in the case of Egypt, political and military contacts as well. So the channels for the diffusion of technology and ideas certainly were there. It should probably be stressed at this point that a certain amount of diffusion and cross-fertilization is critical to the development of any civilization and no society has developed in total isolation. Whatever the degree of borrowing, however, every civilization adapts and applies ideas, technologies and institutions to its own physical environment and cultural heritage. – (The World’s History (Volumes 1 and 2 – 2nd Edition), Chapter 3 (River Valley Civilizations), Page 11 – by Howard Spodek.)
Therefore in conclusion, the Biblical claim is that a city known as Samaria did not exist until some 700 years after Moses, therefore the Samiri people could not have existed. Whereas historical knowledge (go figure, the Bible contradicts history) indicates that the Mesopotamian, Harappan (Indus Valley Civilization) and the Egyptians all shared a common and integrated history some 1500 years before Moses (Civlizations from 3000 BCE, Moses from 1500 BCE) and the incident of Pharaoh.
