Easily discernible on the plaque were engraved letters that Kaplan quickly recognized as Samaritan writing. The Samaritans broke off from the Jews hundreds of years before the Common Era, and they have preserved one of the earliest versions of the Pentateuch, which is their sole holy book. The Samaritan Pentateuch, as it is known, differs only in minor details from the version preserved by Jews. In two respects, however, the differences are significant. Where, in repeated passages, the rabbinic Pentateuch speaks of “the place that God will choose,” namely Jerusalem, the Samaritan Pentateuch speaks of “the place that God has chosen,” namely the Samaritan mountain of Mt. Gerizim, in the West Bank. That is God’s holy mountain, the Samaritans believe, and where they built their temple (see Deuteronomy 11-26–29; Joshua 8-30, 33). The other significant difference is that the Samaritan Pentateuch contains an additional commandment—an 11th commandment—namely, to worship on Mt. Gerizim.

Hershel Shanks, “The Eleven Commandments,” BAR 30-06, Nov-Dec 2004.