A Samaritan Periapt

Extract

The illustration shows a small amulet which is remarkable as being the first known example of a bilingual in Greek and Samaritan. On the obverse it bears, in Samaritan characters, ןורשי לאכ ןיא ēn ka'ēl Yeurûn, “ None like the God of Jeshurun” (Deut. xxxiii, 26). On the reverse, Εἷς θες: Βοθ[ε]ι Μαρκιανν “ One God. Help thou Marciane ! ” The female name, Marciane, recalls Marah הקרמ (a variant of the Latin Marcus), the first great Samaritan theologian. He has left a large literature, and is usually considered to have flourished about the fourth century of the Christian Era. His original name was Moses ben Amram ben Sered ; but from humility, or other consideration, he altered השמ Moeh. Instead of the ש, which has the numerical value of 300, he substituted ר = 200 and ק = 100 : thus preserving the original total, but replacing the revered name of Moses by the obscure Marah.