Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew Masoretic text of Genesis 3:19 states that humans return to dust, referring only to death. The Samaritan Pentateuch changes this to “your dust,” a subtle change that later supported Samaritan belief in resurrection without having to appeal to any other Hebrew texts the Samaritans rejected as authoritative.
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Genesis 3:19
Hebrew Bible
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grass of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.” 20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Samaritan Genesis 3:19
Samaritan Penteteuch
Samaritan
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto your dust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Date: 130-120 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... For our purposes, it is important to observe that the tradition of this verse in the oldest textual witnesses is not uniform ... Instead of 'and to dust you will return', the Samaritan Pentateuch has 'and to your dust you will return' a variant reading which was to play an important part in the Samaritan doctrine about the resurrection of the dead. Whether this variant reading was also known to the author (or authors) of the Qumran Hodayot is unclear. The adapted form in 1QH 10:12 and 12:31, which may suggest a Vorlage could be adduced as an argument in support of such familiarity. On the other hand, the author(s) used 'our' from the Masoretic Text (in its non-standardized form) in 1QH 10:3, 4 (compare 1QS 11:22). The LXX translators read 'you will return to the earth' ... Furthermore, it should be noted that they do not distinguish between 'ground' and 'dust', rendering both terms as 'earth' ..."
Sysling, Harry
Teḥiyyat Ha-Metim: The Resurrection of the Dead in the Palestinian Targums of the Pentateuch and Parallel Traditions in Classical Rabbinic Literature
(p. 68) Mohr Siebeck, 1996
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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