The Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures in Five Minutes - Philippe Guillaume
38. Who Were and Are the Samaritans?
The Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures in Five Minutes - Philippe Guillaume
Benedikt Hensel [+]
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
Benedikt Hensel is Full-Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (Germany). 2019-2021 positions as Interim Professor of Hebrew Bible and Biblical Archaeology at the universities of Mainz (Germany) and Zurich (Switzerland). He holds a PhD (2011) and Habilitation (2016) in Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. He is specialized in the religious history, archaeology and literary history of Israel, Judah, and Transjordan. His main fields of work are related to the Persian and early Hellenistic periods as well as to the Neo-Assyrian period. He conducted research on the Ancient Samaritans (as Principal Investigator 2013-2016; Mainz) and on the Pentateuchal traditions and their historical backgrounds (2017-2020, Zurich). Visiting scholar at the Universities of Haifa (2015), Tel Aviv (2018) and Montpelier (2018).
Description
Today one of the smallest religious minorities in the world, the Samaritans were once a thriving branch of Judaism centered on Mount Gerizim rather than Jerusalem. As such, the Samaritans are not a sectarian split-off but a genuine denomination of Israel.