Stories of Samaria

The city of Samaria,prior to 884 BC, was a wine and oil manufacturing area. In 884 BC, this city, situated on the summit of a rocky hill, was chosen as Israel's capital.

The Samaritans were descended from both the house of Israel and Assyrians after the beginning of the Assyrian captivity of Israel. At the end of the Babylonian captivity in 538 BC, the Jews returned to Israel and tension between the two groups mounted. What possibly began was a quarrel between the sons of Israel led to two peoples who completely rejected one another. Jews considered Samaritans to be half-breeds and traitors to the covenant of Moses. Both Jewish and Samaritan leaders taught that it was wrong to have contact with the other group, including speaking to each other or entering each others' territories. Understanding this antagonism is important in understanding the stories of Christ that take place in or near Samaria.

I couldn't find any stories or songs from Samaria yet, so today I'm going to focus on stories and parables of Samaria (look for a follow-up post of Samaritan songs and stories soon). There are three stories in the New Testament that I'm going to focus on that are related to Samaria:

1. The Samaritan Woman at the Well
2. The Ten Lepers (took place on the border of Samaria and Galilee)
3. The Parable of the Good Samaritan

In each of these accounts, someone had to break the law of the land in order to live the higher law. It was basically forbidden for Jews and Samaritans to interact, but Christ loves everyone equally and ministers unto all nations. He is willing to give any who come unto him the "everlasting water", or eternal life. He tells the woman at the well and many more (see John 4: 39-42) how to obtain this.

In the story of the ten lepers, only one returns to give thanks to Christ for his miraculous restoration to health. I'm interested to know the nationalities of these lepers. It's not doctrine, but it's an interesting speculation that perhaps the nine were Jews and the one was a Samaritan. If so, this would further prove that though they married outside of the religion (to the Assyrians), Samaritans are just as righteous, if not more so, as the Jews.

The parable of the Good Samaritan both teaches that Christ will always help the downtrodden and the weak, and that ever person, whether man, woman, child, friend, or enemy, is our neighbor and we need to love and care for them.

As the Samaritans were considered "lower-class" by most other nationalities, I believe that the parables of Christ would give those who heard them comfort and assurance of their divine nature. they would know that they, too are important. The stories would also give them comfort that they were not doomed because they were "half-breeds". The stories about Samaria in the Bible teach me that just because someone is different, it doesn't make them evil. It makes it easier for me to be accepting and loving to all people despite any differences we may have. Because of these stories, I have learned to have greater charity and tolerance towards all.