Samaritan

Samaritan alphabet

Origins

The Samaritan alphabet was derived from the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet. According
to the Bible, the Samaritans came originally from Mesopotamia, then moved to Palestine
at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC and adopted the Jewish religion and culture.
The Samaritans themselves claim descent from the northern tribes of Israel. Evidence
from recent DNA tests supports this claim and shows they are related to the Israelites
through the paternal line.

The Samaritan alphabet is still used by Samaritans in the city of Nablus and
in the Samaritan quarter of Holon. There are currently just over 700 Samaritans.

Notable features

  • Type of writing system: abjad / consonant alphabet. Vowels indicated with diacritics.
  • Direction of writing: right to left in horizontal lines.

Used to write

Samaritan Hebrew, a descendant of Biblical Hebrew used by Samaritans as a liturgical language.

Samaritan Aramaic, a dialect of Aramaic used by the Samaritans in their sacred and scholarly literature.

Samaritan alphabet

Samaritan alphabet

Sample texts in the Samaritan alphabet

Sample text in the Samaritan alphabet
An extract from the Samaritan Bible (Leviticus)

Source: http://members.tripod.com/~osher_2/script.htm

Sample text - Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Samaritan

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Links

Information about the Samaritan script
http://members.tripod.com/~osher_2/script.htm
http://www.ancientscripts.com/samaritan.html
http://www.mystae.com/reflections/messiah/scripts/alphabet.html

Information about the Samaritan people
http://www.khazaria.com/genetics/abstracts.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan

Free Samaritan font
http://members.tripod.com/~osher_2/script.htm
http://www.orindalodge.org/kadoshsamaritan.php

  • Post category:Languages
  • Reading time:3 mins read