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and of the pestilence existing in that land. But they showed him the lawgiving of God and with understanding they revealed to him in order the things of the reasonable opinion, 1.196 saying that a nation could not settle there, unless it would fulfill the law of the God of heaven given through Moses; for God was the defender of the land, and he did not wish transgressions of idolatry and other things to occur in it by foreign nations. But he, taking care and being persuaded by the most true interpretation of those who had instructed him, asked for a copy of the law. And they, having given it generously, also send with the law a certain priest, Esdras, a teacher of the law from Babylonia, to teach the Assyrians settled in Samaria, the aforementioned Cuthaeans and the others, the law of Moses. And this happens in the thirtieth year, more or less, of the captivity of Israel and Jerusalem. Therefore Esdras and those with him educated the people in Samaria, and those who received the law through Esdras, who came from Babylon, were called Samaritans. And a period of another forty years passed, and the captivity was relaxed, and Israel went up from Babylon. 9. It is surprising how it happened that four nations and four heresies arose within this nation, I mean first of the Essenes, second of the Gorothenes, third of the Sebuæans, fourth of the Dositheans. From this point begins my treatise on the profession against heresies, and I will state briefly the cause, how * I shall clarify. What else is it but that just as tribes came to be from the prolific diversity of tongues, and according to each tribe and patriarchy different nations were established, and every nation appointed for itself 1.197 a king as head, and from this it happened that there was an outbreak of wars and clashes of nations crashing against nations, each one striving for its own will to be preferred, and to carry away for itself the things of its neighbors on account of the insatiable greed in life within us all, —so also at this aforementioned time, when the one religion of Israel and the scripture according to the law had passed over to other peoples *, I mean to the Assyrians from whom are the Samaritans, the settlers, it happened that opinion was also divided. And henceforth error and discord set out to sow seeds from the one piety into many falsified opinions, as it seemed good to each and as each thought to practice the letter and to speak according to his own will. Against the Samaritans, the 7th heresy from Hellenism, but the 9th in the series. 1. The Samaritans, then, are the beginning of the heresies originating from divine scripture after the aforementioned Hellenic heresies without divine scripture thunderstruck upon men from their own reasonings, † from the mind. Therefore, the whole people were called Samaritans. And Samaritans are interpreted as guardians, because of being placed in the land in the rank of guardians, or from their being guardians of the ordinance according to the law of Moses. And the mountain where they were settled was also called Somoron, and also Somer, from a certain ancient Somoron son of Somer, the man being so called. And this Somoron was the son of a man 1.198 from the race of the Perizzites and Girgashites, who at that time inhabited the land, being by succession children of Canaan who seized this land now called Judea or Samaria, which belonged to the sons of Shem, but not being their own because this same Canaan was the son of Ham, the paternal uncle of Shem. And it happened that the name Samaritans was called from various reasons, both from Somer and from Somoron, and from guarding the land, and from guarding the teachings of the law.

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καὶ λύμης κατὰ τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην ὑπαρχούσης. οἱ δὲ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ νομοθεσίαν αὐτῷ ἐδείκνυον καὶ μετὰ συνέσεως αὐτῷ ἀπεκάλυπτον τῆς εὐλόγου γνώμης 1.196 τὰ καθεξῆς, φήσαντες μὴ δύνασθαι ἐκεῖσε ἔθνος καθέζεσθαι, εἰ μή τι ἂν τὸν νόμον τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸν διὰ Μωυσέως δοθέντα ἐπιτελέσειεν· εἶναι γὰρ τὸν θεὸν ὑπερασπιστὴν τῆς γῆς, μὴ βούλεσθαι δὲ παραβάσεις ἐν αὐτῇ παρὰ ἐθνῶν ἀλλοφύλων γίνεσθαι εἰδωλολατρείας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων. ὁ δὲ ἐπιμελόμενος καὶ πειθόμενος τῇ τῶν ἀναδιδαξάντων ἀληθεστάτῃ ἑρμηνείᾳ ἀντίγραφον τοῦ νόμου ᾔτησεν. οἱ δὲ ἀφθόνως δεδωκότες μετὰ καὶ τοῦ νόμου Ἔσδραν τινὰ ἱερέα ἀποστέλλουσιν παιδευτὴν τοῦ νόμου ἀπὸ Βαβυλωνίας πρὸς τὸ παιδεῦσαι τοὺς ἐν τῇ Σαμαρείᾳ καθεσθέντας Ἀσσυρίους τοὺς προδεδηλωμένους Κουθαίους καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τὸν νόμον τὸν Μωυσέως. γίνεται δὲ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ τριακοστῷ ἔτει πλείω ἐλάσσω τῆς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ Ἱερουσαλὴμ αἰχμαλωσίας. ἐπαίδευε τοίνυν Ἔσδρας καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν τὸ γένος τὸ ἐν τῇ Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ ἐκλήθησαν Σαμαρεῖται οἱ τὸν νόμον διὰ τοῦ Ἔσδρα τοῦ ἀπὸ Βαβυλῶνος ἥκοντος ὑποδεξάμενοι. διῆλθεν δὲ χρόνος ἐτῶν τεσσαράκοντα ἄλλων καὶ ἡ αἰχμαλωσία ἀνέθη καὶ ἀνῆλθεν Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος. 9. Ἔπεισι δὲ θαυμάζειν πῶς συμβέβηκε κατὰ τὰ τέσσαρα ἔθνη καὶ τέσσαρας αἱρέσεις ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ἔθνει γενέσθαι, φημὶ δὲ πρῶτον Ἐσσηνῶν δεύτερον Γοροθηνῶν τρίτον Σεβουαίων τέταρτον ∆οσιθέων. ἐντεῦθεν ἀρχή μοι γίνεται τῆς τοῦ ἐπαγγέλματος κατὰ αἱρέσεων πραγματείας καὶ τὸ αἴτιον ὅπως * διασαφήσω ἐν βραχεῖ ἐρῶ. τί δέ ἐστιν ἄλλο ἢ ὅτι ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν γλωττῶν πολυφόρου ἀλλοιοφωνίας φυλαὶ γεγόνασι, κατὰ δὲ ἑκάστην φυλήν τε καὶ πατριαρχίαν ἔθνη διάφορα προέστη, πᾶν δὲ ἔθνος ἑαυτῷ προεστήσατο 1.197 βασιλέα εἰς κεφαλήν, συμβέβηκε δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου πολέμων εἶναι ἔνστασιν καὶ συμπληγάδας ἐθνῶν ἔθνεσι συρρηγνυμένων, ἑκάστου βιαζομένου τὸ ἴδιον θέλημα προτιμᾶσθαι, εἰς ἑαυτὸν δὲ τὰ τῶν πέλας ἀποφέρεσθαι διὰ τὴν ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἐν ἡμῖν πᾶσιν ἀκόρεστον πλεονεξίαν, -οὕτω καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ καιρῷ τῷ προδεδηλωμένῳ μεταπεσούσης τῆς μιᾶς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ θρῃσκείας καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν νόμον γραφῆς εἰς ἕτερα γένη *, φημὶ δὲ εἰς Ἀσσυρίους ἐξ ὧν Σαμαρεῖται οἱ ἐγκάθετοι, συμβέβηκε καὶ τὴν γνώμην διχονοηθῆναι. καὶ λοιπὸν ὥρμησεν ἡ πλάνη καὶ ἡ διχόνοια ὑποσπείρειν ἀπὸ τῆς μιᾶς θεοσεβείας εἰς πολλὰς παραπεποιημένας γνώμας, καθὼς ἑκάστῳ ἔδοξε καὶ ᾠήθη τῷ γράμματι ἐνασκεῖσθαι καὶ φράζειν ἕκαστος κατὰ τὸ ἴδιον θέλημα. Κατὰ Σαμαρειτῶν, ἀπὸ Ἑλληνισμοῦ αἱρέσεως ˉζ, τῆς δὲ ἀκολουθίας ˉθ. 1. Σαμαρεῖται μὲν οὖν ἀρχὴ τῶν αἱρέσεων ἀπὸ γραφῆς θεϊκῆς ὁρμωμένων μετὰ τὰς προειρημένας ἄνευ γραφῆς θεϊκῆς Ἑλληνικὰς αἱρέσεις ἀπ' ἰδίων λογισμῶν ἀνθρώποις † ἐμβροντηθείσας ἀπὸ διανοίας. πᾶν τοίνυν τὸ γένος Σαμαρειτῶν ἐκαλοῦντο. ἑρμηνεύονται δὲ Σαμαρεῖται φύλακες διὰ τὸ ἐν τάξει φυλάκων τετάχθαι ἐν τῇ γῇ ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ φύλακας αὐτοὺς εἶναι τῆς κατὰ τὸν νόμον Μωυσέως διατάξεως. ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ καὶ τὸ ὄρος ἔνθα ἐκαθέσθησαν Σομόρων, ἅμα δὲ καὶ Σωμήρ, ἀπὸ ἀρχαίου τινὸς Σομόρων υἱοῦ Σωμήρ, οὕτω τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καλουμένου. ἦν δὲ οὗτος ὁ Σομόρων υἱὸς ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς 1.198 τῶν ἀπὸ γένους τῶν Φερεζαίων καὶ Γεργεσαίων, οἳ κατῴκουν τὸ τηνικαῦτα τὴν γῆν, ἐκ διαδοχῆς ὄντες παῖδες τοῦ Χαναὰν τοῦ τὴν γῆν ταύτην ἁρπάξαντος τὴν νῦν Ἰουδαίαν ἢ Σαμάρειαν καλουμένην, οὖσαν τῶν υἱῶν Σήμ, μὴ οὖσαν δὲ αὐτῶν ἰδίαν διὰ τὸ αὐτὸν τὸν Χαναὰν εἶναι υἱὸν τοῦ Χὰμ πατραδέλφου τοῦ Σήμ. καὶ συμβέβηκε τὸ ὄνομα ἐκ διαφόρων προφάσεων καλεῖσθαι Σαμαρείτας ἔκ τε τοῦ Σωμὴρ ἔκ τε τοῦ Σομόρων ἔκ τε τοῦ φυλάττειν τὴν γῆν ἔκ τε τοῦ φυλάττειν τὰ παιδεύματα τοῦ νόμου.