Image: Samaritan High Priest and Old Pentateuch, 1905

Description: Yaakov ben Aharon, Samaritan High Priest (1896-1916) and Old Pentateuch, Nablus, West Bank. Part of a stereograph from Views of Palestine (1905). The text accompanying this image states "We are looking into the eyes of the chief representative of a religious sect, one of the oldest and certainly smallest in the world...They claim that they are the lineal descendants of the Israelites of old, from a remnant that was left when the tribes were carried into Syrian captivity...There is no doubt but that they are the representatives of the Samaritans of the time of Christ, for whom the Jews had such a deadly hatred. Here is kept with jealous care this ancient copy of the Pentateuch which is before us - one of the very oldest copies in existence. We could not have seen it on any account except in the presence of this high priest."
Title: Samaritan High Priest and Old Pentateuch, 1905
Credit: The J. Paul Getty museum
Author: Keystone View Company
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No