Samaritans

Biblical References

• Old Testament: According to 2 Kings 17:24-41, after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, the king of Assyria settled people from Babylon, Cuthah, and other places in the cities of Samaria. These people feared the LORD while also serving their own gods. In the period of the return from exile, opponents who obstructed the rebuilding of the temple appear in Ezra 4, and Sanballat and "the army of Samaria" appear in Nehemiah 4.
• Gospels: When Jesus sent out His disciples, He instructed them not to enter any city of the Samaritans (Matthew 10:5). When a Samaritan village would not receive Jesus, James and John proposed calling down fire from heaven and were rebuked (Luke 9:51-56). Other passages include the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), the Samaritan among the ten lepers who returned to give thanks (Luke 17:11-19), and the account of the Samaritan woman from the town of Sychar (John 4). John 4:9 adds, "for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans."
• Acts: Jesus declared that His disciples would be witnesses "in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). In chapter 8, Philip preaches the gospel in Samaria, after which Peter and John go down and lay hands on the believers.

Background

The name Samaria derives from the capital city that Omri, king of northern Israel, built on a hill he bought from Shemer (1 Kings 16:24). The Samaritans regarded Mount Gerizim as the place of worship chosen by God. They also accepted only the Pentateuch (the Samaritan Pentateuch) as Scripture, and thus parted ways with the Jews, whose worship centered on the temple in Jerusalem. The sanctuary on Mount Gerizim is generally held to have been destroyed in the late second century BC by John Hyrcanus of the Jewish Hasmonean dynasty. This conflict surfaces in the Samaritan woman's words, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain" (John 4:20-23). Communities of a few hundred people are reported to survive today near Mount Gerizim and in Holon, Israel.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the Old Testament, the Samaritans are portrayed as a people who practiced syncretistic worship and as adversaries of the community that returned from exile. In the New Testament, by contrast, these outsiders become examples of gratitude and mercy. In the Gospel of John, the Samaritans confess Jesus as "the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). In Acts, Samaria marks the first stage in the gospel's advance beyond Judea toward the Gentiles.

Interpretations and Debates

• Origins: Jewish tradition and many interpreters, citing 2 Kings 17, regard the Samaritans as a people of mixed descent who intermingled with foreign settlers. The Samaritans themselves, however, claim to be descendants of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and of priestly families who have preserved the ancient faith. Scholars also disagree on when the community was formed. Sermons often claim that the Samaritans were "despised for being of mixed blood," but the biblical texts are chiefly concerned with worship and the temple.
• Interpretation of the parable: Augustine and other Church Fathers offered an allegorical interpretation in which the Good Samaritan represents Christ. Since the Reformation, Protestants have generally read the parable as a teaching on love of neighbor.
• Acts 8: The Samaritan believers, after being baptized, received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the apostles' hands. Pentecostalism takes this event as support for baptism in the Holy Spirit as an experience distinct from and subsequent to conversion. The Reformed tradition regards it as a unique redemptive-historical event marking the moment the gospel crossed into Samaria.
• Details read into the text: The Samaritan woman's coming to draw water at midday is often explained as a result of ostracism by her neighbors. The text, however, does not directly state the reason.

In the Korean Church

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is frequently used in sermons on love of neighbor, relief of the poor, and social service. Acts 1:8 is widely cited as a missions motto, and the account of the Samaritan woman is often presented as a model in sermons on evangelism.