Samaritan

A descendant of the ancient Hebrew script used by the Samaritan people — one of the world's smallest religious communities (~800 people) living in Nablus and Holon, Israel, who still read the Torah in this script. Unlike Jewish Hebrew, which was transformed under Aramaic influence, the Samaritans preserved the pre-6th century BC form of ancient Hebrew writing. The Samaritan Pentateuch contains subtle differences from the Jewish Bible, making it an important comparative source for biblical scholarship.