Mark Twain's Samaritan legacy?

SAMARITAN WATCH: Samaritans on the American Protestant Mind. In the early 20th century, interest in the ancient community—and its religious artifacts—caught the attention of everyone from tourists to researchers to Mark Twain (Yitzchak Schwartz, Tablet Magazine).

The story [Reverend William Eleazer] Barton told, which was often somewhat embellished in newspapers, was as follows: On his visit to the Holy Land, he had sought out the Samaritans of Nablus and made the acquaintance with a leading priest, perhaps the high priest Jacob son of Aaron. Impressed by Barton’s letter of introduction, the priest gave Barton the rare honor of a chance to see the Abisha scroll, ascribed to Abisha the grandson of Aaron the high priest. The scroll is believed by Samaritans to be the most ancient copy of their Torah in the world and it has historically been inaccessible to foreigners. ...

For more on the Abisha scroll, see here.

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