Samaritans

[Metropolitan]

I must confess i dont know much about them to even start a topic on the subject..All I know that there was a "Good Samaritan" in one of Jesus famous parable, and Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan woman...Also about a province called "Samaria"(is the place related to the Samaritans, I have no idea)

Just wanted to know a lil bit more of this tribe from ancient Jewish history..Are they also the children of Israel?..Also where are they now, if they exist anymore!

[Botz]

Hello Metro...

If you have a look in Ezra from chapter 4 onwards, and later in Nehemiah chapter 4 etc, it will give you a clue to the identity of the Samaritans...who were a mishmash of groups from various conquered nations, re-settled by the Assyrians.

For some nations part of their method in establishing their rule, and making sure there was no unified body of people to rise up against them, was strip the land of the proper inhabitants and replace them with other conquered people...you can see the technique to some extent employed in the dispersal of the group constructing Babel.

I will also paste this biblical reference for your consideration...

<< 2 Kings 17 >>

New American Standard Bible

[kross]

In JESUS' time, Samaritans were considered unclean, co mingled, impure, do to the information in the post above. Jews did not have anything to do with Samaritans.

JESUS' statement, "I must needs go through Samaria" was quite a statement in light of the sentiment. His speaking to the Samaritan woman was just not done.

The story of the good Samaritan was a slap because the priests and the others who passed the wounded man by should have been the most likely to stop. The "unclean Samaritan" did what was right and they did what was wrong.

[Tehilah Ba'Aretz]

There are Samaritans living on Mt. Gerazim. They read, write and speak a form of ancient Hebrew and consider themselves to be Hebrews. They use Arabic as their daily language though. They also are the only people who still perform passover sacrifices. There are about 800 of them. The rest of Israel does not accept them as Jewish but does allow them to hold Israeli citizenship.

[Ovedya]

The story of the good Samaritan was a slap because the priests and the others who passed the wounded man by should have been the most likely to stop. The "unclean Samaritan" did what was right and they did what was wrong.

In typology this means that Jesus, who is the good Samaritan, can do that which religion can not do. Take note how in Luke this parable says that the good Samaritan was "moved with compassion." This is Jesus in His perfect humanity.

[nebula]

There are Samaritans living on Mt. Gerazim. They read, write and speak a form of ancient Hebrew and consider themselves to be Hebrews. They use Arabic as their daily language though. They also are the only people who still perform passover sacrifices. There are about 800 of them. The rest of Israel does not accept them as Jewish but does allow them to hold Israeli citizenship.

That's interesting.

Thanks for sharing!

[Botz]

There are Samaritans living on Mt. Gerazim. They read, write and speak a form of ancient Hebrew and consider themselves to be Hebrews. They use Arabic as their daily language though. They also are the only people who still perform passover sacrifices. There are about 800 of them. The rest of Israel does not accept them as Jewish but does allow them to hold Israeli citizenship.

So nothing new there then.

[Metropolitan]

Thanks Botz, for sharing the info...

Its very clear here that the Samaritans were settlers brought in by the Assyrians at the fall of Samaria, who accepted the culture and religion of the land they were brought to..

Theres couple of points that I want to ponder upon

1) There are many instance in the Old Testamant which says that the Israelites inter-married with alien settlers in captivity....and that included even the Persians...So I will not be very surprised if the locals intermarried the settlers as well...In which case there could be direct descedents of the Samaritans having mixed blood with the local Israelites

2) If these Samaritans were known to have co-existed since around 500BC, and following the same customs as the locals,probably intermarrying with the locals(after they returned back from exile), worshipping the same God, why is that they are in a minority today?

Hmm...think theres to more to it, then

[Botz]

Thanks Botz, for sharing the info...

Its very clear here that the Samaritans were settlers brought in by the Assyrians at the fall of Samaria, who accepted the culture and religion of the land they were brought to..

Theres couple of points that I want to ponder upon

1) There are many instance in the Old Testamant which says that the Israelites inter-married with alien settlers in captivity....and that included even the Persians...So I will not be very surprised if the locals intermarried the settlers as well...In which case there could be direct descedents of the Samaritans having mixed blood with the local Israelites

2) If these Samaritans were known to have co-existed since around 500BC, and following the same customs as the locals,probably intermarrying with the locals(after they returned back from exile), worshipping the same God, why is that they are in a minority today?

Hmm...think theres to more to it, then

1. In part the Samaritans have a smattering of the 10 lost tribes amongst them. Not all the occupants of the region of Samaria were necessarily deported...(and the deportion took place over a number of years)...but they obviously did interbreed, and did not separate themselves as Judah did in Neh 13:23 from the foreign women/wives and even children.

The Samaritans actually started around 722 B.C.E when the Assyrians defeated Israel and redistributed the population....it probably took a number of years to become a community of sorts...don't forget that what destroyed their identity was destruction of the priesthood, royal lineage, and no Temple or focal point, until the Temple was built on Mt Gerazim.

2. They suffered some heavy casulties first from Alexander the Great who was affronted that they should attempt to passs themselves off as Jews, and then ask to be exempt from certain tribute...he promptly laid seige to them and destroyed Shechem. Later in 128 BC John Hyrcanus catured the city and destroyed the Temple, and was not rebuilt till the second century. From what I understand they did revive in numbers, and become a fairly large group again in the 2nd and 3rd centuries...

Nowadays they live in two areas...one around Shechem/Nablus in Judea/Samaria misnamed the West Bank, and the other on the outskirts of Tel-Aviv in the district of Holon.

I can only think they underwent persecution in Byzantine times to diminish once more...but it is beyond what I have studied.

[Tehilah Ba'Aretz]

Thanks Botz, for sharing the info...

Its very clear here that the Samaritans were settlers brought in by the Assyrians at the fall of Samaria, who accepted the culture and religion of the land they were brought to..

Theres couple of points that I want to ponder upon

1) There are many instance in the Old Testamant which says that the Israelites inter-married with alien settlers in captivity....and that included even the Persians...So I will not be very surprised if the locals intermarried the settlers as well...In which case there could be direct descedents of the Samaritans having mixed blood with the local Israelites

2) If these Samaritans were known to have co-existed since around 500BC, and following the same customs as the locals,probably intermarrying with the locals(after they returned back from exile), worshipping the same God, why is that they are in a minority today?

Hmm...think theres to more to it, then

1. In part the Samaritans have a smattering of the 10 lost tribes amongst them. Not all the occupants of the region of Samaria were necessarily deported...(and the deportion took place over a number of years)...but they obviously did interbreed, and did not separate themselves as Judah did in Neh 13:23 from the foreign women/wives and even children.

The Samaritans actually started around 722 B.C.E when the Assyrians defeated Israel and redistributed the population....it probably took a number of years to become a community of sorts...don't forget that what destroyed their identity was destruction of the priesthood, royal lineage, and no Temple or focal point, until the Temple was built on Mt Gerazim.

2. They suffered some heavy casulties first from Alexander the Great who was affronted that they should attempt to passs themselves off as Jews, and then ask to be exempt from certain tribute...he promptly laid seige to them and destroyed Shechem. Later in 128 BC John Hyrcanus catured the city and destroyed the Temple, and was not rebuilt till the second century. From what I understand they did revive in numbers, and become a fairly large group again in the 2nd and 3rd centuries...

Nowadays they live in two areas...one around Shechem/Nablus in Judea/Samaria misnamed the West Bank, and the other on the outskirts of Tel-Aviv in the district of Holon.

I can only think they underwent persecution in Byzantine times to diminish once more...but it is beyond what I have studied.

That matches what I learned at the Hebrew University fairly well. There is intermarriage in recent times with the local Arab populations. While there are outsiders that are being added into the community, there are also young folks who leave after they reach an appropriate age.