The Samaritan script derives from the ancient paleo-Hebrew alphabet, which was used in
ancient Israel during the
Iron Age. Although most Jews adopted the
square Aramaic ("Jewish") script during the
Second Temple period, paleo-Hebrew letter forms were preserved on Jewish coins from the
First Jewish Revolt (66–70 CE) and the
Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE). Samaritan traditions and Jewish sources (e.g., the
Babylonian Talmud,
Sanhedrin 21b) suggest that the Samaritans continued to use paleo-Hebrew for sacred texts into Late Antiquity, possibly as late as the 3rd century CE. Scholars differ on the precise date of the Samaritan script's emergence. Frank Moore Cross, James Purvis, and others argued that it branched from the paleo-Hebrew alphabet during the late Hasmonean or early Roman period, while some have suggested a 1st-century CE origin. More recent research by
Dan Barag, based on epigraphic and archaeological evidence—such as inscribed lamps, mosaic inscriptions, and architectural fragments—indicates that the Samaritan alphabet was created in the 4th century CE. Inscriptions from
Mount Gerizim provide important early evidence for the history of Samaritan writing. Hundreds of texts in Aramaic and
Jewish "square" script, along with a handful in palaeo-Hebrew, have been discovered at the site, all predating the destruction of the
Samaritan temple by
John Hyrcanus in 113/112 BCE. None of these are written in the Samaritan script, a fact that suggests the alphabet was not yet in use during this period. The first clear attestations of the Samaritan script appear only several centuries later. A notable example is the
Emmaus Capital, a limestone capital inscribed with a Samaritan blessing alongside the Greek invocation
Εἷς Θεός ("One God"). Although some scholars once proposed a 1st-century CE date, the use of this Greek formula indicates that the inscription cannot predate the mid-4th century CE. Similarly, the lintel from Beit el-Ma, discovered near
Shechem, bears a Samaritan version of the
Ten Commandments. Scholarly opinion on its dating has ranged from the 3rd to the 12th century, but the prevailing view places it within the late Roman or
Byzantine period, between the 4th and 6th centuries CE. The use of the script by the Samaritans is documented as early as the 4th century CE by the Christian scholar
Jerome, who records having seen authentic examples of Samaritan writing. In one of his works, he remarks:That twenty-two letters are in use among the
Hebraei [Jews] is also confirmed by the language of the
Syri and the
Chaldaei, which is to a large degree closely related. [...] The Samaritans also are accustomed to write the Pentateuch of
Moses in the same number of letters, but differing in their shapes and terminations. And it is certain that
Ezra, the scribe and teacher of the Law, subsequent to the
capture of Jerusalem and the
re-dedication of the Temple under
Zorababel, invented different letters, which we now use, while up to that time the characters used by the Samaritans and the
Hebraei had been the same. synagogue reading "The Lord will reign forever and ever," on display at the
Good Samaritan Museum During the Byzantine period, the Samaritan script appears in mosaic inscriptions discovered in several Samaritan synagogues. At
Sha'alvim, a mosaic dating to the 4th–6th centuries CE preserves the biblical acclamation "The Lord will reign forever and ever" (Exod. 15:18), placed near the site of the
bimah and Ark of the Law. Other mosaic inscriptions in the Samaritan script have been found at
El-Khirbe and
Tzur Natan. At
Beit She'an, a mosaic inscription in Samaritan script was uncovered in a room adjoining a synagogue. Further evidence for the Samaritan script in Late Antiquity comes from inscribed amulets, rings, and bracelets (many from the
coastal plain and the
Samarian hills), most dating between the late Roman and Byzantine periods (4th–6th centuries CE). According to Dan Barag, the development of a distinct Samaritan script should be seen as part of a wider effort to preserve Samaritan religious and cultural identity during a period of
Christian expansion and missionary activity. The adoption of a new alphabet derived from the older Hebrew script may also have reflected a desire to distance Samaritan practice from Jewish traditions considered outdated. Prominent figures such as the high priest
Baba Rabba or the scholar
Marqah might have been connected with this cultural revival, although there is no direct evidence of their involvement. What is clear, however, is that the emergence of the script formed part of a deliberate process of differentiation and self-preservation. == Research history ==