Samaritan High Priest

Family of the Samaritan High Priests, 1876. To the left is a scribe named Shalabi, to the right are Isaac the son of the High Priest Amram ben Shalma, then Abisha, the son of Amram's brother Pinehas, and finally Uzzi the son of the High Priest Yaacob ben Aaharon ben Shalma, the son of Amram's brother Aaharon.
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The Samaritan High Priest (in Samaritan Hebrew: haKa’en haGadol; in their native Palestinian Arabic: الكاهن الأكبر, romanized: al-Kāhin al-Akbar) is the High Priest (in Modern Israeli Hebrew: haKohen haGadol) of the Samaritan community in the Holy Land, who call themselves the Israelite Samaritans. According to Samaritan tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and has been held by 133 priests over the last 3400 years. However, the historicity of this claim is disputed. One account by Josephus suggests that its office holders are an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests of Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great.[1][2] As of 2024, the incumbent High Priest is Abdel V.

  1. ^ Josephus (1958). Jewish Antiquities. Loeb Classic Library, Josephus 6: Jewish Antiquities Books 9-11. Translated by Ralph Marcus. Harvard University Press. Book 11, chapter 7.2 – 8, p. 461-483.
  2. ^ Steinberg, David (20 August 2005). "The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects". houseofdavid.ca. Section: "The Origin of the Samaritans: What Really Happened?". Retrieved 22 January 2017.