WE shall speak here only of this Book, because it is the only one of all those that are Canonical, which is in use among the Samaritans: They call it The Law of Moses, and observe it more literally than the Jews themselves; they being unacquainted with the Explanations or Glosses contained in the Talmud, and punctually followed by the Jews. Richard Simon, in his Critical Dissertation on the Old Testament, p. 65. examines whether their Copy is preferable to that of the Jews, or whether we should follow both as two Copies of the same Original, which have each their Perfections and Defects. To this End he shews the Diversities of these two Copies, upon comparing them together, and seems inclined to think the Samaritan preferable to that of the Jews, contrary to the Opinion of F. Morinus and others. His Reasons for it may be seen in the same Place of his Critical Dissertation. For our part, we shall be satisfied with giving an exact Knowledge of this Book, which has been so much talked of, and describing the different Editions of it.
The Samaritan Pentateuch is that which is in use among the Samaritans at this Day, and is written in old Hebrew Characters, such as the Jews had among them before the Babylonish Captivity, and before they had adopted the Chaldee Characters, which they use at present. The Samaritan Pentateuch therefore is written in the same Language as that of the Jews, and differs in nothing, properly speaking, but the Characters. There are however some Variations observed by learned Men; which have persuaded some that the Samaritans reformed their Copies from the Version of the Septuagint. See what Usher says of this Matter, Morinus, Walton, and others, who have examined the Samaritan Pentateuch, according to the Rules of Criticism; such as Edmund Castel, in his Preface of the Design and Use of Samaritan Animadversions on the Pentateuch, in Walton’s Polyglot, tom. 6. and John Henry Hottinger, in his Exercitations against F. Morinus, relating to the Samaritan Pentateuch, printed at Zurich, 1644, in 4to.
As to the Editions of the Samaritan Pentateuch, there were no printed Copies of it in Europe till the 17th Century. Usher would have the honour of being one of the first who procured them to be sent into this Part of the World (Epist. ad Lud. Capell. ad calcem Syntagm. de 70 Interpretib.) Petrus della Valle being at Damascus in 1616, bought a Copy, which he sent to Achilles de Harlay, at that time the King of France’s Ambassador at Constantinople. From this Copy the Samaritan Pentateuch of le Jay’s Polyglot was printed in 1645.
But F. Morinus had published it in 1632, by the Cardinal de Berulle’s Order.
Pentateuchus Samaritan, cum Versione Latinâ, in Polyglott. Londinens. ann. 1657. This Edition is more correct than that of Paris. It is not however without Faults.
We shall add something in this Place concerning the same Pentateuch in Arabic and Persian. Edward Pocock has written a Preface, wherein he accounts for the different Readings that are in the Arabic Pentateuch. It is printed in Walton’s Polyglot, tom. 6. This is a Remark for which we are obliged to the learned M. Salmon, Librarian to the Sorbonne, as well as for many more which he has been pleased to communicate to us.
The Pentateuch in Arabic was printed at Leyden in 1616, 1622, in 4to. and since in Walton’s Polyglot. We find it there likewise in the Persian Language, in tom. 4.