ABSTRACT
Concepts of Exile, displacement, replacement and return play considerable roles in ancient Samaritan and Jewish biblical and non-biblical literature. Shared stories of migration appear in both the Samaritan and Masoretic Pentateuch, in which uprooting and creation of identities lie at the core of humanity's first entry on history's scene. As readers, we ask for a continuation that takes the travellers into the land. Such is offered in the canonical Masoretic tradition's Deuteronomistic narratives and our attention easily moves away from being on the road to becoming settlers. The canonical Samaritan tradition does not offer such an assurance of fulfilment, although non-canonical Samaritan parallels to the Masoretic Joshua traditions offer a harmonious continuation. This chapter discusses a few remarks on sources of inspiration for the development of themes of travel and exile in biblical tradition. Then it examines the journey in Pentateuchal literature. Finally the chapter discusses differences between the closure of the Pentateuchal journey in Samaritan and Jewish traditions.
