Samaritan script

Samaritan
Samaritan;
Script type	Abjad
Time period	600 BCE – present
Direction	Right-to-left script, top-to-bottom
Languages	Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan Aramaic
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs Proto-Sinaitic alphabet Phoenician alphabet Paleo-Hebrew alphabet Samaritan; ; ; ;
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Samr (123), Samaritan
Unicode
Unicode alias	Samaritan
Unicode range	U+0800–U+083F
	This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The Samaritan Hebrew script, or simply Samaritan script is used by the Samaritans for religious writings, including the Samaritan Pentateuch, writings in Samaritan Hebrew, and for commentaries and translations in Samaritan Aramaic and occasionally Arabic.

This article contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.

Samaritan is a direct descendant of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, which was a variety of the Phoenician alphabet. Paleo-Hebrew is the alphabet in which large parts of the Hebrew Bible were originally penned according to the consensus of most scholars, who also believe that these scripts are descendants of the Proto-Sinaitic script. Paleo-Hebrew script was used by the ancient Israelites, both Jews and Samaritans.

The better-known "square script" Hebrew alphabet which has been traditionally used by Jews since the Babylonian exile is a stylized version of the Aramaic alphabet called Ashurit (כתב אשורי), though religious literalist interpretations of Exodus 32:16 assume that the text asserts that it was received on Sinai from the Finger of God and that it has been in continuous and unchanged use since then.^{[citation needed]}

Historically, the Aramaic alphabet became distinct from Phoenician/Paleo-Hebrew in the 8th century BCE. After the fall of the Persian Empire, Judaism used both scripts before settling on the Aramaic form, henceforth de facto becoming the "Hebrew alphabet" since it was repurposed to write Hebrew. For a limited time thereafter, the use of paleo-Hebrew (proto-Samaritan) among Jews was retained only to write the Tetragrammaton, but soon that custom was also abandoned.

A cursive style of the alphabet also exists.

The Samaritan alphabet first became known to the Western world with the publication of a manuscript of the Samaritan Pentateuch in 1631 by Jean Morin.^[2] In 1616 the traveler Pietro della Valle had purchased a copy of the text in Damascus, and this manuscript, now known as Codex B, was deposited in a Parisian library.^[3]

Letters

Ancient inscription in Samaritan Hebrew. From a photo c. 1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund.

Consonants


Letter	Name	IPA	Approximate western European pronunciation	Jewish Hebrew equivalent
ࠀ	ʾālāf	∅ ~ [ʔ]	Either silent or like in _uh-_oh. Also used as mater lectionis for certain open vowels.	א
ࠁ	bīt	[b]	Like in bear.	ב
ࠂ	gāʾman	[g]	Like in goat.	ג
ࠃ	dāʾlāt	[d]	Like in dingle.	ד
ࠄ	ʾīy	∅ ~ [ʔ]	Either silent or like in _uh-_oh.	ה
ࠅ	bå̄	[b], [w]	Usually like in bear, but like in water in certain situations. Also used as mater lectionis for certain back vowels.	ו
ࠆ	zēn	[z]	Like in zax.	ז
ࠇ	ʿīt	∅ ~ [ʔ], [ʕ]	No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Like Scottish loch, but voiced, but usually either silent or like in _uh-_oh.	ח
ࠈ	ṭīt	[tˤ]	No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English, like a /t/ sound but emphatic.	ט
ࠉ	yūt	[j]	Like in yolk. Also used as mater lectionis for certain close vowels.	י
ࠊ	kāf	[k]	Like in skirt.	כ
ࠋ	lāʾbāt	[l]	Like in luck.	ל
ࠌ	mīm	[m]	Like in mother.	מ
ࠍ	nūn	[n]	Like in night.	נ
ࠎ	sinʾgå̄t	[s]	Like in sight.	ס
ࠏ	ʿīn	[ʕ], ∅ ~ [ʔ]	No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Like Scottish loch, but voiced, but usually either silent or like in _uh-_oh.	ע
ࠐ	fī	[f], [bː]	No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Usually like in father.	פ
ࠑ	ṣå̄ʾdīy	[sˤ]	No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English, like an /s/ sound but emphatic.	צ
ࠒ	qūf	[q]	No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Like Multicultural London English cut.	ק
ࠓ	rīš	[r]	No equivalent pronunciation in Standard English. Like Scottish right.	ר
ࠔ	šān	[ʃ]	Like in short.	ש
ࠕ	tå̄f	[t]	Like in rat.	ת

Niqqud

Niqqud	Name	IPA	Approximate western European pronunciation
ࠫ	o	[o]	Like in home but as a monophthong.
ࠪ	i	[i]	Like in General American fleece.
ࠩ	ī	[iː]	Like in Received Pronunciation fleece.
ࠨ	î
ࠧ	u	[u]	Like in General American goose.
ࠦ	ū	[uː]	Like in Received Pronunciation goose.
ࠥ	ă
ࠤ	ă
ࠣ	a
ࠢ	ā
ࠡ	āː
ࠠ	å
ࠠ	å̄
ࠞ	å̄ː
ࠝ	e
ࠜ	ē
ࠛ			Marks epethentic yūt.
ࠚ			Marks an epethentic yût.
ࠬ		∅	Marks the absence of a vowel.
࠙			Marks gemination.
࠘			Marks occlusion.
ࠗ
ࠖ

Punctuation

Punctuation mark	Name	Function
࠭‎	nequdaa	Variant reading sign.
࠰	nequdaa	Word separator.
࠱	afsaaq	Interruption.
࠲‎	afsed	Restraint.
࠳	bau	Prayer.
࠴	atmau	Surprise.
࠵	shiyyaalaa	Question.
࠶		Abbreviation mark.
࠷		Melodic qitsa.
࠸	ziqaa	Shouting.
࠹	qitsa	End of section.
࠺	zef	Outburst.
࠻	turu	Teaching.
࠼	arkaanu	Submissiveness.
࠽‎	sof mashfaat	Full stop.
࠾‎	annaau	Rest.

Unicode

Samaritan script was added to the Unicode Standard in October 2009 with the release of version 5.2.

The Unicode block for Samaritan is U+0800–U+083F:

Samaritan^[1]^[2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	A	B	C	D	E	F
U+080x	ࠀ‎	ࠁ‎	ࠂ‎	ࠃ‎	ࠄ‎	ࠅ‎	ࠆ‎	ࠇ‎	ࠈ‎	ࠉ‎	ࠊ‎	ࠋ‎	ࠌ‎	ࠍ‎	ࠎ‎	ࠏ‎
U+081x	ࠐ‎	ࠑ‎	ࠒ‎	ࠓ‎	ࠔ‎	ࠕ‎	ࠖ‎	ࠗ‎	࠘‎	࠙‎	ࠚ‎	ࠛ‎	ࠜ‎	ࠝ‎	ࠞ‎	ࠟ‎
U+082x	ࠠ‎	ࠡ‎	ࠢ‎	ࠣ‎	ࠤ‎	ࠥ‎	ࠦ‎	ࠧ‎	ࠨ‎	ࠩ‎	ࠪ‎	ࠫ‎	ࠬ‎	࠭‎
U+083x	࠰‎	࠱‎	࠲‎	࠳‎	࠴‎	࠵‎	࠶‎	࠷‎	࠸‎	࠹‎	࠺‎	࠻‎	࠼‎	࠽‎	࠾‎
Notes 1.^ As of Unicode version 16.0 2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

References

^ Himelfarb, Elizabeth J. "First Alphabet Found in Egypt", Archaeology 53, Issue 1 (Jan./Feb. 2000): 21.
^ Exercitationes ecclesiasticae in utrumque Samaritanorum Pentateuchum, 1631
^ Flôrenṭîn 2005, p. 1: "When the Samaritan version of the Pentateuch was revealed to the Western world early in the 17th century... [footnote: 'In 1632 the Frenchman Jean Morin published the Samaritan Pentateuch in the Parisian Biblia Polyglotta based on a manuscript that the traveler Pietro Della Valle had bought from Damascus sixteen years previously.]"

Bibliography

Flôrenṭîn, Moše (2005). Late Samaritan Hebrew: A Linguistic Analysis of Its Different Types. Brill. ISBN 978-900413841-4.

External links

A Samaritan Bible, at the British library Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
Omniglot.com - Samaritan alphabet
Link to free Samaritan font (consonants only as of 2010)
Online keyboard for Samaritan script

[1] Himelfarb, Elizabeth J. "First Alphabet Found in Egypt", Archaeology 53, Issue 1 (Jan./Feb. 2000): 21.

[2] Exercitationes ecclesiasticae in utrumque Samaritanorum Pentateuchum, 1631

[FOOTNOTEFlôrenṭîn20051-3] Flôrenṭîn 2005, p. 1: "When the Samaritan version of the Pentateuch was revealed to the Western world early in the 17th century... [footnote: 'In 1632 the Frenchman Jean Morin published the Samaritan Pentateuch in the Parisian Biblia Polyglotta based on a manuscript that the traveler Pietro Della Valle had bought from Damascus sixteen years previously.]"

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