The Samaritans were a group of people who lived in Samaria during Biblical times. They emerged after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC when the Assyrians conquered the area. The Assyrians brought in foreigners to resettle the land, and these foreigners intermarried with the remnant of Israelites who were not exiled. The Samaritans were the result of this mixing of peoples.
The Samaritans shared some religious beliefs and practices with the Jews, but the two groups generally viewed each other with hostility and suspicion. The Samaritans accepted only the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as scripture, while the Jews accepted the full Old Testament canon. The Samaritans worshipped on Mount Gerizim while the Jews believed the only place to worship was in Jerusalem. These differences led to animosity between the two groups.
In the New Testament, Jesus interacted with Samaritans on several occasions. In John 4, he spoke with a Samaritan woman at a well and revealed to her that he was the Messiah. This was unusual since most Jews avoided contact with Samaritans. In Luke 9:51-56, Jesus was rejected by a Samaritan village as he traveled to Jerusalem. Yet, in Luke 10:25-37, Jesus made a Samaritan the “good neighbor” in the parable of the good Samaritan. So while tensions existed, Jesus reached out to Samaritans and used them as positive examples.
The history between Jews and Samaritans was marked by hostility and disagreement. But Jesus’ interactions showed that the gospel was for all people – both Jews and Samaritans. Though divided on many issues, Jesus indicated that both groups could be part of God’s plan.
Origins of the Samaritans
As mentioned above, the Samaritans trace their lineage to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom and exiled many of the Israelites from the land (2 Kings 17:6). They then brought in foreigners from other lands to resettle the area (2 Kings 17:24). These foreigners intermarried with the remnant of Israelites who remained in the land. The offspring of these marriages between Israelites and foreigners were the beginning of the Samaritan people.
2 Kings 17:24-41 describes the origins of the Samaritans. It states that the foreigners who were resettled in the land by the Assyrians did not worship the Lord when they first arrived. Therefore, the Lord sent lions among them which killed some of them (2 Kings 17:25). The foreign settlers saw this as a sign that they should worship the God of the land, so they requested that the king of Assyria send back one of the exiled Israelite priests to teach them “the law of the god of the land” (2 Kings 17:26-28). An Israelite priest was sent back, and he resided in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord (2 Kings 17:28). However, the foreigners also continued worshipping their own gods.
Over time, the descendants of these foreigners mixed with the Israelite remnant who was still in the land. Their religious beliefs and practices reflected this fusion of foreign and Israelite culture and tradition. The Samaritans accepted the five books of Moses as scripture but rejected the rest of the Hebrew canon. They argued that only the Pentateuch was given by God at Mount Sinai while the other Israelite prophetic and historical writings were not divinely inspired.
So the origins of the Samaritan people show that they had genetic roots in both the Israelites of the northern kingdom as well as in the foreign nations imported by the Assyrians. They practiced a form of the Israelite religion but with their own variations mixed in.
Where did the Samaritans live?
The Samaritans primarily lived in the region of Samaria. This was the area of central Palestine to the north of Judea. It took its name from the fact that it was first inhabited by the tribe of Ephraim and the city they built there called Samaria, as recorded in 1 Kings 16:24:
And he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
When the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, they took over this territory. They imported foreigners into the cities of Samaria after exiling many of the native Israelites (2 Kings 17:24). These foreigners intermarried with the Israelite remnant, developing into the Samaritan ethnic group in this region.
So the central hill country of Ephraim/Samaria became the homeland of the Samaritans. They had their own form of worship on Mount Gerizim located within this territory. The New Testament confirms this continued habitation of Samaria by the Samaritans in passages such as Luke 17:11:
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
This verse distinguishes “Samaria” as a region distinct from but adjacent to “Galilee,” showing that the Samaritans occupied this central hill country during the time of Jesus.
Distinctive religious beliefs and practices
Though the Samaritans originated from a blending of Israelite and foreign culture, they did retain some distinctive Israelite beliefs and practices:
- They worshipped Yahweh as God, indicating they retained knowledge of the Israelite faith from the remnant among them.
- They accepted the Torah – the first five books of Moses – as divinely inspired scripture.
- They practiced circumcision and followed the dietary laws of the Torah.
- They kept the Sabbath and the Israelite feasts and festivals.
However, the Samaritans also differed from mainstream Judaism in significant ways:
- They rejected the rest of the Hebrew Bible as scripture, accepting only the Torah.
- They denied that Jerusalem was the appointed place of worship, believing instead that Mount Gerizim was the true place God had chosen.
- They rejected the Jewish oral traditions and interpretations of the Torah.
- They denied any resurrection of the dead or afterlife.
So Samaritan theology occupied a middle ground between foreign religion and Israelite faith. They accepted core parts of the Israelite tradition but rejected key tenets of mainstream Judaism as practiced in Judea. These differences fueled animosity between the two groups.
Antagonism between Jews and Samaritans
The split between the Jews and Samaritans dates back to the Assyrian conquest of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Jews in the southern kingdom of Judah viewed the Samaritan religion as illegitimate – a hybrid mixing of foreign religion and Israelite faith. Meanwhile, the Samaritans claimed that they were the true heirs of the Israelite tradition, accusing the Jews of having strayed from the Torah. This mutual hostility characterized relations between the two groups for centuries.
When the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile, the Samaritans offered to help rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. But the Jews refused their assistance due to animosity between the groups (Ezra 4:1-3). Later, when Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, the Samaritans rebelled against his rule while the Jews remained loyal. This contributed to continued bad blood between the groups. Eventually, the Samaritans even built their own temple on Mount Gerizim to rival the one in Jerusalem.
In the second century BC, the Maccabees destroyed the Samaritan temple during the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty. Tensions continued to rise, occasionally breaking out into open conflict. By New Testament times, most Jews avoided passing through Samaritan territory on their way to Jerusalem. The hostility deeply ingrained over centuries meant conflict was never far below the surface.
Jesus’ encounters with Samaritans in the Gospels
Given this centuries-old animosity, Jesus’ encounters with Samaritans were remarkable and unconventional. Jewish rabbis and teachers at the time taught that Samaritans were unclean foreigners with whom interaction should be avoided. But Jesus disregarded these social conventions and divisive attitudes when relating to Samaritans, treating them with compassion.
Several prominent Samaritan encounters stand out in the Gospels:
Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4:1-42)
In John 4, Jesus was traveling through Samaria on his way to Galilee and stopped in the town of Sychar. While his disciples went into town to buy food, Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman who had come to draw water from a well called Jacob’s Well (John 4:5-7). This was shocking since most Jews would never speak to a Samaritan, let alone a Samaritan woman.
Jesus proceeded to reveal his identity as the Messiah to her, and she believed in him, going and telling others from her town about Jesus. Many other Samaritans from Sychar also believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony (John 4:39-42). This shows that Jesus disregarded ethnic divisions, sharing the gospel with Samaritans and accepting them as kingdom citizens.
Jesus rejected by a Samaritan village (Luke 9:51-56)
In Luke 9:51-56, Jesus sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. But the people there rejected him, refusing to welcome him because he was heading toward Jerusalem. This reflects the historical tensions between Jews and Samaritans regarding places of worship. The disciples James and John asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to consume the village, but Jesus rebuked them for their hostile attitude (Luke 9:55). Though rejected by these Samaritans, Jesus taught his disciples to respond with grace rather than violence.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
One of Jesus’ best known parables featured a Samaritan as the hero. In Luke 10:25-27, Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan to illustrate what it means to love one’s neighbor. In the story, a Samaritan helps a robbed and wounded man after a priest and Levite fail to help him. Jesus specifically made the hero of the story someone despised by Jews – a Samaritan – to emphasize loving even those considered outsiders.
Through these strategic encounters with Samaritans, Jesus showed that the gospel transcends ethnic divisions. Samaritans who believed in Jesus were just as accepted into God’s kingdom as Jewish followers. Though centuries of hostility existed between the groups, Jesus’ teaching and example showed that in him both Samaritans and Jews could find unity.
The spread of Christianity in Samaria
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the early church experienced significant growth in Samaria:
- In Acts 1:8, Jesus told his disciples they would be his witnesses in “Judea and Samaria,” signaling the gospel would spread beyond Jews to Samaritans.
- In Acts 8:4-25, Philip preached the gospel in Samaria with great success. Many Samaritans believed and were baptized, including Simon the magician.
- The Jerusalem church sent Peter and John to check on the new Samaritan believers and lay hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-17).
- Though Simon’s motives were corrupt, he too expressed awe and amazement at the signs and miracles performed by Philip (Acts 8:9-13).
This expansion of the early church into Samaria fulfilled Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8. The Samaritans responded positively to the gospel, just as they had to Jesus’ outreach in the gospels. As bitterness gave way to grace, Samaria became fertile ground for the growth of Christianity.
Modern-day Samaritans
While the Samaritan population was once significant during New Testament times, today only a small remnant survives. There are just over 800 Samaritans left, half living on Mount Gerizim near Nablus in the West Bank and the other half in Holon, Israel.
This tiny Samaritan community still practices the same Israelite faith as their ancestors, recognizing only the Torah as scripture. They still perform animal sacrifices and Passover rituals on Mount Gerizim. They hold to their ancient traditions even as their numbers continue to dwindle through assimilation and intermarriage with wider society.
The antagonistic history between Jews and Samaritans also persists to some degree. Many Jews still avoid intermarriage and interactions with Samaritans. Yet others have called for reconciliation, highlighting the groups’ common roots and suggesting old grudges should be let go.
Ultimately, Jesus’ example and teaching transcended the ethnic divisions that characterized Jews and Samaritans. The gospel spread among both groups despite their hostility. And Jesus indicated that faith, not pedigree, is what counts, telling the woman at the well that true worshippers worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). His ministry provides a model for all who seek to overcome prejudice and division.