I got curious and found a manuscript of SamP here: cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-ADD-... On image 287 (folio 140r), line 9 from the bottom, I read the father's name as דעואל in Num 2:14 as well, which would make SamP = D always. Since d/r is less confusable in Samaritan script, probably D is original.
The Samaritan Pentateuch contains the text of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, written in the consonantal
Ah very helpful. I’ve never ventured into Sam Hebrew myself, but now I see I should. Your thought does assume that SamP preserves an older tradition. Is that something you’re generally comfortable with? (Genuine question btw: I’m still learning much about SamP and textual traditions)
It seems that I made this more difficult than necessary, however, since Kennicott in 1780 and Gall in 1918 had both noted that SamP Num 2:14 reads דעואל where MT reads רעואל. The source that I had copied and pasted from has the error. archive.org/details/vetu...macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375...