Samaritan Error

[Peaceful]

Salam, could you please explain this:
Al-Samiri = The Samritan (inhabitant of Samaria)

"We have tested thy people in thy absence: the Samiri has led them astray." So Moses returned to his people... and that was what the Samiri suggested. "Then he brought out (of the fire) before the (people) the image of a calf."

This seems to be a chronological error because the Samaritans did not exist until the 8th Cen. BCE. The Exodus, which was 500 years prior could not have had a Samaritan.

Is this word, Samiri, mistranslated and if so, what is the correct translation?

[Joseph Islam]

Dear Peaceful,

May peace be with you.

Please see my response in the following link:

http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=531.msg1769#msg1769

I hope that helps, God willing.
Joseph.

[Peaceful]

Salam Joseph. Your post on Samaritan was closed but I thought of offering this explanation as well.

Numbers 25:6-15
6 Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9 but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.

14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.

Based on this, I think the Israelite man who the Quran was referring to as rebelling against God, was Zimri, which seems etymologically related to Samiri. It may not have been referring the a Samaritan at all.

[Joseph Islam]

Dear Peaceful,

May peace be with you.

Thanks for sharing this. I'll take a look at this suggestion for plausibility, God willing.

[Sri]

Yes, this is possible. Often, I suppose, when a Hebrew word is Arabized, the consonants may change, such as Mizmor (Psalm) becoming Zabur.