Who Were the Samaritans?
🐾 Zuko here! Today we’re heading north from Jerusalem to meet a group of people who were once family, but became rivals — the Samaritans. They lived in the central highlands of Israel, around Mount Gerizim near Shechem (modern Nablus). Samaria lied right across the middle of the land. Judea (Jerusalem) in the south and Galilee (Nazareth) above it in the north. To the east, running north/south they are all bordered by the Jordan River. Their story is a reminder of how easily faith and pride can divide people who began as one.
The ‘Samaritans’ is a term that actually covers three distinct people groups, all who identified as 'Samaritan', living within the same geographical area. Two small groups are directly related to Abraham and the largest group were foreigners transplanted by an aggressive empire trying to keep their conquered populations off balance.
The two groups that worshipped YHWH.
Alongside the main Gerizim-centred community, ancient sources mention at least one other Samaritan sect active around the turn of the era: the Dositheans. Later writers even speak of two Samaritan streams—the ordinary Samaritans (Kushan/Kuthim) and the Dostan (Dositheans). This reflects internal Samaritan diversity in Late Second Temple and Late Antique times.
The foreigners that came to stay and call Samaria home.
The Assyrians took problem people from places like Babylon, Cuthah (Kutha), Avva, Hamath, Persia/Media and Sepharvaim and transplanted them. (Most were from modern day Iraq and Iran. Some from Afghanistan and Pakistan.)
This mixed race brought with them their gods, foods, languages and customs. Those that integrated with the Abrahamic people either converted them over to their way of life or made a syncretistic faith.
In Jewish and later rabbinic tradition, the Samaritans, as a whole, are often pejoratively labeled Cuthites (or “Cutheans”) — referencing that some came from Kutha (Cuthah).
All three groups were hated by the Jews of the first century. In fact, the Jews only saw them as one homogenous indistinguishable group, not three groups. We will discover why.
The Rift Between Jews and Samaritans
The Samaritans (the groups related to Abraham) split off from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah long before Jesus. They originally split because of differences in belief. The 10 tribes believed that God (YHWH) resided on the mountain where Moses received the 10 Commandments. Therefore, that is where they should build a temple and worship him. The others believed that he would reside with them wherever they went, within the Holy of Holies within the Tabernacle and later in the Temple at Jerusalem and so they should worship him there. The Northern Kingdom was called Israel with Samaria as its capital. The Southern Kingdom was called Judah with its capital Jerusalem. Israel fell into idol worship first. When it had fallen completely away from YHWH they were allowed to be conquered by the Assyrians and most of them were carted away in captivity (722 BCE). Some fled into the mountains and caves and escaped capture (they were called Samaritans). The Assyrians then replaced the majority population with the captured slaves of another country. They did this to everyone to destabilise them and control them. Some of the original tribes kept to themselves and stayed as pure as they could to YHWH. Others intermarried with the new commers and started to worship their gods. While some still worshipped YHWH with their new foreign wives (2 Kings 17).
Because they had originally split so long ago from the southern tribes, they did not have the other books in the Hebrew Bible which came after the split. They only had the first five books (the Pentateuch). They altered their Pentateuch though. They added verses stating the YHWH wanted people to only worship him on the that mountain and it was a sin to worship elsewhere.
Later, Judea eventually fell away from YHWH too and was captured by Babylon. Many years later the southern exiles (the Judeans) returned from their Babylonian Exile and began rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. The ‘Samaritans’ offered to assist them and join them. Their offer, however, was coarsely refused. This rejection deepened the hostility between the two groups so much that it seemed the point of no return (See a fuller description of the split between the Samaritans and the Jews here as well as an article on the last straw, the letter, here).
Centuries later, at the time of Jesus, Jews would not travel through Samaria out of utter disgust. Those that did, risked injury or death, the rift had grown so much. This was a real problem as Judea now had territories north of Samaria in Galilee. Jews were legally required to travel to Jerusalem for festivals to worship at Temple each year. To avoid going directly through Samaria (the shortest route) they would travel east and cross the Jordan River. They then would travel down the other side and cross back over the Jordan again at Jericho. This was known as the Trans-Jordan Route (Perea). You can read in the Gospels about Jesus and his disciples moving from Galilee and Jerusalem and back again in several accounts. There was even an account of the Disciples wanting to hurt the Samarians. Later John recounts an extraordinary encounter where Jesus entered a Samaritan town and stayed there! SOS these verses below. What did you learn about Samaritans? What did you learn about Jesus? When did they go around and when did they go through? What happened to the Gospel? (Luke 2:39–52; John 2:13; 5:1; 7:2, 10; 11:54–55; Luke 9:51–56; 10:25–37; 13:22, 33; 17:11–19; Matt 10:5–6; John 4:1–42; 7:1; 8:48; Acts 1:8; 8:1, 4–25; 9:31; 15:3)
Summary of Similarities vs. Differences
- Shared ancestry & faith: Israelite roots; worship of YHWH; circumcision; Sabbath; Mosaic Law.
- Where they part: Worshiping at Gerizim vs. Jerusalem; Pentateuch-only vs. full Tanakh; distinctive Torah readings emphasizing Gerizim. Mixed blood lines and syncretical practices at the time of Jesus.
- Check this out if you want the full history of the Split.
Samaritans in the New Testament
A part from the scripture already mentioned above there are several Samaritan echoes that are unexpected. For example, Simon the Sorcerer in Acts. There is also a dark horse if you know where to look. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 aligns with Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch, but there are also echoes some Samaritan ‘traditions’ (e.g., burial associations with Shechem). Was he a Samaritan? Many scholars believe it is very possible or at least he spent a lot of time with them.
Many OT prophets foretold that the Messiah would come and reunite the 10 lost tribes of the north with with Judah and Benjamin in the south (Remember that Joseph was aka 'Ephraim' aka founder of the Samaritans). The kingdom of Israel will be made whole again before the end. Jesus himself stated this on several occasions. His final instructions were to make sure the Gospel goes out through Samaria to the ends of the world. SOS these verses and see what you think: Ezekiel 34 & 37 (especially 37:15-28); Jeremiah 31:1-9, 31-34; Isaiah 11:10-13; Hosea 1–2; Matthew 15:24; Luke 22; John 10:16; Acts 1:6-8; Paul (Romans 9:25–26); Hebrews 8; Peter (1 Peter 2:10); James 1:1; just to name a few. Here is a bit of a cheat sheet. Do not look at it until you see what the Holy Spirit gives you. Don’t rob yourself.
Where are they now?
The Samaritans are the only New Testament Sect that still survives today! A small but living community (~≈900 people, 2024) worships in two places: Kiryat Luza/Mount Gerizim (near Nablus) and Holon (near Tel Aviv). They still celebrate Passover on Gerizim and maintain an unbroken High-Priest line by their reckoning. They are proud to be the only Second-Temple-era sect still intact and worshipping at its ancient holy site. The Samaritan tradition themselves, however, maintain that they are direct descendants of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (two of the lost northern tribes) who were not exiled and who preserved the pure Israelite religion, centered on Mount Gerizim rather than Jerusalem. They maintain that the other foreign blood lines no longer exist within their Sect.
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