Where did Samaritans come from, and how do their beliefs differ from Jewish ones?

"The paleographic conclusion that arises from the evidence presented is that the Samaritan version developed from earlier versions that were transmitted in Paleo-Hebrew and in square script, or that the Samaritan version was transmitted in its early stages in both of these scripts."

"The SP itself reached us in a still later script, the Samaritan script, which developed from the Paleo-Hebrew script."

"There are some 6,000 differences between the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Masoretic Jewish Pentateuch text; and, according to one estimate, 1,900 points of agreement between it and the Greek LXX version"

"a manuscript of the Pentateuch tradition attributed to Abishua , grandson of Aaron , traditionally compiled during the Bronze Age."

"in other passages of the Samaritan Pentateuch it is also mentioned without ambiguity that Mount Gerizim is "the place that God has chosen" for His Temple"

"the Jewish rabbis made the presentation into a commandment to maintain the name "Ten Commandments""

"Samaritan historian Benyamim Tsedaka traces the indoor-sukkah tradition to persecution of Samaritans during the Byzantine Empire ."

"Like the Samaritan Book of Joshua it blames Eli not only for the schism between Samaritans (who see themselves as the true Israel) and the Jews, but also for bringing the period of Divine Grace and Favor to an end and causing Divine Disfavor which has existed till today."

"The Samaritan Chronicles are naturally coy about the exile of the Israelites towards the last quarter of the eighth century B.C. With them much prominence is given to the Babylonian Exile of the Jews."

"True the Samaritan Book of Joshua too is not part of their Canon of Scripture, but they at least since the later Middle Ages have all set considerable store by it; before that it seems to have been recognised only by sectarians within the Samaritan fold."

"Already in the Pirke de-Rabbi ’Eli’ezer, (8th or 9th century A.D.), reference is made (ch. XXXVIII) to the Samaritan Law being written in Notarikon - i.e. shorthand - an obvious but rather hostile reference to the ketafim; the Samaritans, after all, have the full text of the Law as well."

"The Samaritan Marriage Document in its provisions however does not seem aware of later Jewish modifications not earlier than the 1st century B.C."

"Whereas the Jewish calendar is calculated from the first year of creation, the Samaritan calendar starts from the year the people entered the Promised Land with Joshua bin-Nun."

"Traditionally, the Samaritan calendar was calculated from observations of the birth of the moon, made on Mount Gerizim. In the 20th century the late High Priest Avraham b. Pinchas transferred the responsibility for the calculation to a computer algorithm"

"For Samaritans the day begins and ends with sunset."

"The central distinction: Samaritanism shares the Torah and many ancient Israelite traditions with Judaism, but it recognizes Mount Gerizim—not Jerusalem—as the chosen place for Israel’s sanctuary."

"Religious authority: Samaritanism does not follow the rabbinic Oral Torah, Mishnah, Talmud, or later Jewish legal tradition as its governing authority."

"Passover: Samaritans continue an animal sacrifice on Mount Gerizim, a practice not carried out in contemporary Jewish worship."

"Textual tradition: The Samaritan Pentateuch differs from the Masoretic Hebrew text used in Jewish tradition."

"Priesthood: Samaritan religious leadership retains a prominent hereditary priestly structure and a high priest."