The Keepers: An Introduction to the History and Culture of the Samaritans.

The Keepers: An Introduction to the History and Culture of the Samaritans. By Robert T. Anderson and Terry Giles (Hendrickson, $29.95). The authors present a brief account of the history and religion of the Samaritans, a Jewish sect attested in the New Testament and still existing today with very few members, but growing. The Samaritans call themselves "Shomrim," that is, "keepers" of the Torah. The Samaritans view themselves as preservers of an orthodoxy traceable to Moses, whereas Jewish interpreters describe the Samaritans as the result of syncretistic origins under the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C.E. Just as early Christians attempted to make Jesus a second Moses, the Samaritans sought to make Moses a second Jesus. Samaritans claim that Abel built the first altar at Gerizim, and Abraham brought Isaac there to sacrifice him. The messiah will reign from Gerizim, and it will be the setting for the Last Judgment. The community practices animal sacrifice in its celebration of Passover even today. The book concludes with a description of an extensive collection of Samaritan materials that are housed at Michigan State University. RWK