Samaritans as Idolators
R. Abbahu sent R. Isaac ben Joseph to bring wine from the place of the Samaritans. A certain old man found him [R. Isaac, and] said to him, “There are no observers of the Torah here.” R. Isaac ben Joseph went and reported these words before R. Abbahu. R. Abbahu went and reported these words before R. Ami and R. Assi. And they did not move from there until they declared them [the Samaritans] idolaters in all respects.
Translated by Christine Hayes.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
You may also like
Samaritans and Purity Law
Samaritan women are regarded as menstruants from the cradle. Samaritan men impart impurity to a couch below and to a cover above, since they have intercourse with menstruants. And they [Samaritan…
The Talmud on the Status of Samaritans
R. Ishmael holds [that] Samaritans [Heb., Cutheans—Ed.] are lion converts [i.e., forced converts—Ed.], and the priests who assimilated among them were…
R. Ishmael Confronts a Samaritan
They gave Jacob [all their foreign gods and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob buried them beneath the terebinth tree that was near Shechem] (Genesis 35:4). R. Ishmael, the son of R. Yosi…
Engage with this Source
Related Guide
Real and Imagined "Others" in Ancient Jewish Literature
4th Century BCE–6th Century CE
You may also like
Samaritans and Purity Law
Samaritan women are regarded as menstruants from the cradle. Samaritan men impart impurity to a couch below and to a cover above, since they have intercourse with menstruants. And they [Samaritan…
The Talmud on the Status of Samaritans
R. Ishmael holds [that] Samaritans [Heb., Cutheans—Ed.] are lion converts [i.e., forced converts—Ed.], and the priests who assimilated among them were…
R. Ishmael Confronts a Samaritan
They gave Jacob [all their foreign gods and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob buried them beneath the terebinth tree that was near Shechem] (Genesis 35:4). R. Ishmael, the son of R. Yosi…