Biblical canon

===Samaritan canon===
{{Main|Samaritan Pentateuch}}
Another version of the Torah, in the [[Samaritan alphabet]], also exists. This text is associated with the [[Samaritans]] ({{lang-he|שומרונים}}; {{lang-ar|السامريون}}), a people of whom the ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' states: "Their history as a distinct community begins with the taking of Samaria by the Assyrians in 722&nbsp;BC."<ref name="Samaritans">{{cite book |chapter-url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=110&letter=S&search=Samaritan |chapter=Samaritans |title=Jewish Encyclopedia |year=1906 |publisher=JewishEncyclopedia.com}}</ref>

[[File:Samaritan Pentateuch (detail).jpg|thumb|250px|The Abisha Scroll, the oldest scroll among the Samaritans in Nablus]]
The Samaritan Pentateuch's relationship to the Masoretic Text is still disputed. Some differences are minor, such as the ages of different people mentioned in genealogy, while others are major, such as a commandment to be monogamous, which appears only in the Samaritan version. More importantly, the Samaritan text also diverges from the Masoretic in stating that Moses received the [[Ten Commandments]] on [[Mount Gerizim]]—not [[biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]]—and that it is upon Mount Gerizim that sacrifices to God should be made—not in Jerusalem. Scholars nonetheless consult the Samaritan version when trying to determine the meaning of text of the original Pentateuch, as well as to trace the development of text-families. Some scrolls among the [[Dead Sea scrolls]] have been identified as proto-Samaritan Pentateuch text-type.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=McDonald |editor-first1=L. M. |editor-last2=Sanders |editor-first2=J. A. |year=2002 |author-last=VanderKam |author-first=James C. |title=The Canon Debate |chapter=Questions of Canon through the Dead Sea Scrolls |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |page=94}} Citing private communication with Emanuel Tov on ''biblical manuscripts'': Qumran scribe type c.&nbsp;25%, proto-Masoretic Text c.&nbsp;40%, pre-Samaritan texts c.&nbsp;5%, texts close to the Hebrew model for the Septuagint c. 5% and nonaligned c. 25%.</ref>

Samaritans consider the Torah to be inspired scripture, but do not accept any other parts of the Bible—probably a position also held by the [[Sadducees]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=40&letter=S&search=Sadducees |title=Jewish Encyclopedia |chapter=Sadducees |publisher=JewishEncyclopedia.com |year=1906 |quote=With the destruction of the Temple and the state the Sadducees as a party no longer had an object for which to live. They disappear from history, though their views are partly maintained and echoed by the Samaritans, with whom they are frequently identified (see Hippolytus, "Refutatio Hæresium", ix. 29; Epiphanius, l.c. xiv.; and other Church Fathers, who ascribe to the Sadducees the rejection of the Prophets and the Hagiographa; comp. also Sanh. 90b, where "Ẓadduḳim" stands for "Kutim" [Samaritans]; Sifre, Num.&nbsp;112; Geiger, l.c. pp.&nbsp;128–129), and by the Karaites (see Maimonides, commentary on Ab. i. 3; Geiger, "Gesammelte Schriften", iii. 283–321; also Anan ben David; Karaites).}}</ref> They did not expand their canon by adding any Samaritan compositions. There is a [[Book of Joshua (Samaritan)|Samaritan Book of Joshua]]; however, this is a popular chronicle written in Arabic and is not considered to be scripture. Other non-canonical [[Samaritans#Religious texts|Samaritan religious texts]] include the ''Memar Markah'' ("Teaching of Markah") and the ''Defter'' (Prayerbook)—both from the 4th century or later.<ref>{{cite book |title=Samaritan Documents, Relating To Their History, Religion and Life |editor-last=Bowman |editor-first=John |translator-last=Bowman |translator-first=John |series=Pittsburgh Original Texts & Translations Series No.&nbsp;2 |year=1977}}</ref>

The people of the remnants of the Samaritans in modern-day [[Israel]]/[[State of Palestine|Palestine]] retain their version of the Torah as fully and authoritatively canonical.<ref name=Samaritans/> They regard themselves as the true "guardians of the Law". This assertion is only re-enforced by the claim of the Samaritan community in [[Nablus]] (an area traditionally associated with the ancient city of [[Shechem]]) to possess the oldest existing copy of the Torah—one that they believe to have been penned by Abisha, a grandson of [[Aaron]].<ref>Crown, Alan D. (October 1991). "The Abisha Scroll – 3,000 Years Old?". ''Bible Review''.</ref>