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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
Inhabitants of
Samaria
(
2 Kings 17:29
29
Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. (2 Kings 17:29)
). The planting of
Assyrian
colonists in Samaria (
2 Kings 17:24-34
24
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
25
And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
26
Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
27
Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
28
Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.
29
Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
30
And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
31
And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32
So they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
33
They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
34
Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; (2 Kings 17:24‑34)
), led to a strange admixture of people, language, laws, religions, and customs, and brought the name Samaritan into reproach with Jews (
Matt. 10:5
5
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: (Matthew 10:5)
;
John 4:9-26; 8:48
9
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4:9‑26)
48
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? (John 8:48)
;
Acts 8:1; 9:31
1
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1)
31
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. (Acts 9:31)
).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
The only place in the
Old
Testament
where these are mentioned gives their origin, and the mixed character of their
worship
. The king of
Assyria
had peopled the cities by colonists from the
East
, they were then in
Jehovah
’s land, but they did not fear Him, therefore He sent lions among them. On the king of Assyria being informed of this, a
priest
who had been carried away from
Samaria
was sent thither, to teach them how they should fear the
God
of that land. The result was that they feared Jehovah, and served their own
gods
! (
2 Kings 17:24-41
24
And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
25
And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
26
Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
27
Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
28
Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.
29
Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
30
And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
31
And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32
So they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
33
They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
34
Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
35
With whom the Lord had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
36
But the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
37
And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.
38
And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
39
But the Lord your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
40
Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
41
So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day. (2 Kings 17:24‑41)
).
When
Ezra
returned from exile to build
the temple
, some of these people came and said, “Let us build with you: for we seek your God as ye do; and we do
sacrifice
unto him, since the days of
Esar-haddon
king of
Assur
, which brought us up hither.” Ezra refused to let them have anything to do with building the temple, and this aroused their hatred and opposition (
Ezra 4:1-4
1
Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel;
2
Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.
3
But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
4
Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, (Ezra 4:1‑4)
). We further read that
Nehemiah
ejected one of the priests who had defiled the
priesthood
by marrying the
daughter
of
Sanballat
the
Horonite
(
Neh. 13:28
28
And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. (Nehemiah 13:28)
). Josephus speaks of him as
Manasseh
, and relates that Sanballat built a temple for him at Gerizim, which became a refuge for apostate Jews. This naturally increased the hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans.
This temple was destroyed by
John
Hyrcanus,
son
of
Simon
Maccabaeus, about B.C. 109. The animosity, however, was not removed. The
woman
of Samaria in John 4 alluded to the differences between Jews and Samaritans, and in
Luke 9:52-53
52
And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:52‑53)
it is said of a
village
of the Samaritans that the inhabitants would not receive the
Lord
because His face was turned towards
Jerusalem
. A
Jew
regarded it as the extreme of opprobrium to be called a Samaritan, and those of
Judaea
added this to the other insults they heaped on the blessed Lord (
John 8:48
48
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? (John 8:48)
).
The Samaritans claimed to be true Israelites. The woman of Samaria said to the Lord, “Art thou greater than
our
father
Jacob
, who gave us the well?” As to their
religion
, she spoke of “this mountain” as the proper place to worship; but the Lord said, “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for
salvation
is of the Jews.” The
hour
had however arrived when they that worship God must worship Him in
Spirit
and in
truth
. Many of the Samaritans believed and received
the
Holy Spirit
(
John 4:9-42
9
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25
The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26
Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27
And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28
The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29
Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30
Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31
In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32
But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33
Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36
And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37
And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38
I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors.
39
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40
So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
41
And many more believed because of his own word;
42
And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. (John 4:9‑42)
;
Acts 8:5-17
5
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6
And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
7
For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8
And there was great joy in that city.
9
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10
To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11
And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
12
But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13
Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
14
Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16
(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. (Acts 8:5‑17)
).
It is remarkable that while the Jews have lost all means of keeping their
feasts
at Jerusalem, a few, still
calling
themselves Samaritans, at
Nablus
, in a humble
synagogue
at the foot of the mountain, continue their worship, and annually ascend the mountain and keep the feast of
the Passover
with a roasted
lamb
: a marked instance of
imitation
, now so common in Christendom. They have an ancient MS called the
SAMARITAN
PENTATEUCH
, for which they claim great antiquity.
Jackson’s
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names
:
of Samaria
From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
John 8:48
48
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? (John 8:48)
. Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
The contempt and hatred which the Jews entertained toward the
Samaritans
was manifested, not only in their refusal to have any dealings with them beyond what was demanded by necessity (see chap. 4:9) but also in the fact that the Jews made the name of Samaritan a synonym for everything that was vile and contemptible. As Lightfoot remarks, they could not in this instance have mistaken
Jesus
for a Samaritan literally, because, according to verse 20, he was in the
treasury
of
the temple
, a place where no Samaritan was permitted to come. They used the term figuratively as a reproach. Rosenmüller says: “There was a notorious and deadly hatred between the Jews and Samaritans on account of
religion
. For this reason the Jews, in the language of common
life
, applied the epithet Samaritan, not only to one who belonged to
Samaria
, but to everyone whom they supposed had the mode of thinking and the principles of a Samaritan; and they, therefore, often designated by this name a sworn enemy of the Jewish people and the Jewish religion, and a morally bad
man
. So, in our own language, a man who has a propensity to cruelty and despotism we call a Turk, and a covetous rich man a
Jew
” (Morgenland, vol. 5, p. 241).
Related Books and Articles:
800. Jewish Hatred of Samaritans
From:
Manners and Customs of the Bible
By:
James M. Freeman
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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