Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
SAMA'RIA, KINGDOM AND COUNTRY OF, a territory which lay north of Judah, and, in N.T. times, between that country and the region known as Galilee. Situation and Extent. - The kingdom of Samaria, as referred to in the O.T., was synonymous with the kingdom of Israel. This varied in extent at different times, at one period embracing all the territory allotted to the ten tribes, at others covering a more limited region. In the days of Jeroboam it
extended on both sides of the Jordan; but this territory was much reduced, first by the invasion of Pul, and later by that of Tiglath-pileser, when the Israelites on the east side were taken captive. The extent of the kingdom was then confined to the region between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, and to that portion north of the kingdom of Judah, it being, in fact, only a subject province of Assyria. See Israel, Kingdom of. In N.T. times
Samaria was the region between Galilee on the north and Judaea on the south. Its boundaries have been traced by the British Ordnance Survey in accordance with the description by Josephus. The northern limit is defined by the towns of Beth-shan (Beisan), En-gannim (Jenin), and Caphar-outheni (Kefr Adhan), being properly commensurate with the northern boundary of Manasseh. Beth-shan and the valley of Jezreel at one time belonged to Samaria, but
were subsequently taken by the Jews. The southern boundary, as noted by Josephus, appears to have been the great valley called Wady Deir Ballut, which rises near the Libben (the ancient Lebonah), and leaves Shiloh in the territory of Judah. Antipatris (Ras el-Ain), Annath (Aina), and Borceas (Brukin) are found on the frontier-line. According to Josephus, Samaria had no sea-coast, since the whole plain of Sharon up to Ptolemais belonged to Judah.
It is doubtful, also, what portion of the west Jordan valley belonged to Samaria, but it probably did not extend south of the Wady Far'ah. The Roman highway from Galilee to Jerusalem ran along the Jordan by way of Jericho, and was the one commonly used by pilgrims. It is important to note this position of Samaria as throwing light upon the route pursued by Jesus and other Galileans in going up to Jerusalem, for they would avoid, as far as
possible, passing through the territory of their neighbors, the Samaritans. History. - The history of the country of Samaria to b.c. 720 belongs to the kingdom of Israel. After Israel was carried into captivity the history of the Samaritans, as such, begins. Who were these Samaritans? The word occurs only once in the O.T., 2 Kgs 17:29, and then it seems to be used rather of the Israelites. But after they were carried away, men from Assyria were
brought as colonists into the cities of Samaria, 2 Kgs 17:24, and these were the ancestors of the Samaritans mentioned in N.T. times. A much-debated question has been whether those Samaritans were of purely foreign extraction or were of mixed Jewish blood. The latter opinion seems most reasonable. It is hardly to be supposed that all the Jews could have been carried away out of the land, and this opinion is supported by the fact that money was
contributed from the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim to repair the temple in Josiah's time, 2 Chr 34:9, and idols were destroyed in the same region. 2 Chr 34:6-7. The Assyrian colonists obtained a priest to teach them "the manner of the God of the land," and combined some forms of Jehovah-worship with their idolatry. 2 Kgs 17:25-41. When the Jews returned from the Captivity with a spirit more exclusive than ever, the contrast between Jew and
Samaritan was very strongly marked. The Samaritans wished to have a share in rebuilding the temple, but the Jews refused to allow them to co-operate. The breach widened, and the Samaritans succeeded in hindering the work at Jerusalem by misrepresentations to the Persian kings. Ezr 4; Neh 4, Neh 6. At length the opposition culminated in the setting up of a rival temple by the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim. The occasion of this seems to have been the
expulsion from Jerusalem by Nehemiah of a son of the high priest, who was a son-in-law of Sanballat. Neh 13:28. According to Josephus, the person expelled was Manasseh, whose father-in-law, Sanballat, obtained from Alexander the Great permission to erect the temple. But the temple was probably erected at an earlier date. After this time the city of Samaria declined, and Shechem increased in importance. This temple was destroyed by John Hyrcanus
after standing for two hundred years. Conflicts between the Jews and the Samaritans were frequent. A party of Samaritans defiled the temple at Jerusalem with bones of the dead. There was a general insurrection among them in the time of Pilate, whose severity resulted in his removal from office. A crowd arrayed themselves against Vespasian, and he slew 11,600 of them. The bitter animosity between the two races must be understood in order to
comprehend many facts in the N.T. history. Thus the Galileans avoided going through Samaria, as far as possible, in their journeys to Jerusalem, since they were exposed to insult, assault, and even danger of death. The Seventy were not to go among the Samaritans, Matt 10:5, and the inhospitality of that people excited the blazing indignation of James and John. Luke 9:52-56. Yet Jesus showed himself to be far superior to the narrow feeling of race
by his parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30, 2 Kgs 18:37; his commendation of the healed Samaritan, Luke 17:11-19; and his conversation with the woman of Samaria. John 4:1-42. This interview throws light upon the Samaritan character and claims. The woman asserts for them Abrahamic descent - "our father Jacob" - but this the Jews would not allow. It was probable that the people had become more and more of a mixed blood, since, according to
Josephus, many renegade, apostate, and law-breaking Jews sought refuge among the Samaritans. The gospel gained some success there. Acts 1:8; Acts 8:5-26. But most of the Samaritans adhered to their old religion, and therefore frequently came into collision with Christianity and with the Roman emperors, particularly in a.d. 529. About this time they martyred Christians and destroyed churches. Justinian subdued them and slew many of the insurgents.
During the Crusades they are not mentioned. In the twelfth century Benjamin of Tudela found about a thousand adherents of the sect of the Samaritans at Nabltis, and a few also at Ascalon, Caesarea, and Damascus. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries various letters passed between the Samaritans and Western scholars in regard to their Pentateuch. Present Condition. - The only representatives of the Samaritans are found in a community
living at Nablus (Shechem). and consisting of some forty to fifty families. They possess the Pentateuch, in the old Hebrew or Samaritan writing, which has attracted great attention from scholars as a very ancient version. Three times a year, at the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles, they make a Cylinder enclosing the Samaritan Pentateuch at Nablus. pilgrimage to the sacred Mount Gerizim. They celebrate
all the Mosaic festivals, and at the Passover they offer sacrifices.