Samaria, Part I

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Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. “Omri…bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the owner of the hill” (1 Kings 16:24). The city was strategically built on the Samaria hill, overlooking the Jezreel Valley and adjacent to the central Palestinian plateau. It controlled military and trade routes from north to south and west to the Mediterranean coast, making it an excellent location for a capital. Three archaeological excavations have revealed a magnificent ancient city, with foundations including the royal palaces of Omri and Ahab. The city was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC and subsequently changed hands several times, enduring Assyrian, Persian, Babylonian, and Greek empires, serving as their colonial and military-administrative center.

In the New Testament era, the region of Samaria referred to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean coast, south of Galilee and north of Judea. During the Roman Empire, it was a northern district of the province of Judea. The Lord Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well; Christ’s parable features the good Samaritan; and after His ascension, Christ called His disciples to preach to the Gentiles, starting from Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and extending to the ends of the earth. “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ” (Acts 8:5).

After the Assyrian king destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, he exiled almost all the Israelites to Assyria and moved people from Assyria and its other territories into the land. The remaining Israelites soon mixed with these newcomers, which gave rise to the Samaritans. After the Jews returned from Babylonian exile, they considered the Samaritans to be unholy because they had intermarried with foreigners. Furthermore, the Samaritans only followed the Pentateuch and had built their own temple on Mount Gerizim, leading to significant religious differences. Their hatred deepened, particularly because the Samaritans had tried to obstruct the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple, and the two groups refused to associate with each other. Today, about 700 Samaritans remain in Israel, with some still living on Mount Gerizim.