| abstract | - The Samaritan Torah or Samaritan Pentateuch is a version of the Torah or Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) that is used by the Samaritans. Scholars consult the Samaritan Pentateuch when trying to determine the meaning of text of the original Pentateuch and to trace the development of text-families. Scrolls among the Dead Sea scrolls have been identified as proto-Samaritan Pentateuch text-type. Samaritan practices are based on their version of the Five Books of Moses, which is slightly different from the Jewish or Christian texts. Some differences are minor, such as the ages of different people mentioned in genealogy, while others are major, such as the commandment to be monogamous which appears in the Samaritan text. (cf Lev 18:18) Special importance is attached to the Abishua Scroll, which is used in the Samaritan synagogue of Nablus, and the Samaritans claim was penned by Abisha, great-grandson of Aaron, (1 Chronicles 6:3) the brother of Moses thirteen years after the entry into the land of Israel under the leadership of Joshua, son of Nun. Modern scholars, however, have observed that the scroll appears to include scraps of work by different scribes from different centuries, with the oldest texts dating to the 12th century A.D.
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