Samaritans, good and bad

[kudos]

I read recently that the Jews dislike of the Samaritans went back to the return from exile and the rebuilding of the temple and walls of Jerusalem, and the Samaritans wanting to help. Can anyone explain why there were such ill feelings and why they continued for centuries up to the time of Jesus?

[The Curtmudgeon]

Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews is probably the best original source for understanding the division, but important points in a nutshell:

• The Samaritans were the offspring of Northern Kingdom Israelites left behind by the Assyrians when they destroyed the NK, and foreigners whom the Assyrians brought into the land (a standard practice of theirs, to uproot conquered peoples and transplant them to a different part of the Empire). These Gentiles brought a lot of their original beliefs with them, and therefore the religion of the Samaritans became a diluted version of historic Judaism.
• But even before that, the NK had virtually completely abandoned adherance to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Following the first king, Jereboam I's, lead with his two golden calf idols in Bethel and Dan, and then heavily influenced by Phoenician Baal-worship brought in by Ahab's queen Jezebel, the religion of the NK could only barely be judged to be Yahweh-worship. (The Assyrian destruction of the NK was a direct judgment by God on their unfaithfulness.)
• As a result of their distancing themselves from pure Yahweh-worship, the Samaritans rejected all the Hebrew Scriptures except the Torah alone, and claimed that Deuteronomy showed that the proper place to worship God was on Mt. Gerizim, not Jerusalem.
• So the Jews who had kept themselves pure -- ethnically, culturally, religiously -- looked on the Samaritans as traitors both to their once-common culture and history, and to God Himself. And for people in general throughout history, once you've turned your back on "God" (however defined in that culture), there's no hope for you, and continuing any relationship would endanger those still true to God. Ergo, cut off all contact, as much as is possible.

The (hope that clarifies things for you) Curtmudgeon

[OneSizeFit]

Was Jesus a Samaritan? He didn't refute the accusation in John.

[The Curtmudgeon]

Was Jesus a Samaritan? He didn't refute the accusation in John.

He wasn't called "Jesus of Nazareth" and "the Galilean" for nothing, OSF. You don't have to refute ridiculous charges that are obviously false.

The (the Jews were simply insulting Him by calling him a demon-possessed Samaritan) Curtmudgeon

[OneSizeFit]

I know, but it always strikes me as odd when I come across that verse. Samaritans get a bad rap after all (Good Samaritan, Samaritan women at Jacob's Well, etc).

[The Curtmudgeon]

Part of Jesus' reaching out to the Samaritan woman at the well, and a lot of His using a Samaritan in his parable of the Good Sam., is specifically to counter the stereotypical Jewish treatment of Samaritans. He uses those opportunities to discredit the racial/cultural prejudice common in His time.

If His ministry on Earth had been in pre-1960s USA, the parable would have been the Good Negro (or the Good Indian, if in the 18th-century Wild, Wild West). If He had walked among the 18th-century Irish, I'm sure He would have made a point of speaking to a Englishwoman in Ireland; today, He might have made it an Irishwoman in the UK. In Saudi Arabia, it might be the Good Jew or the Jewish Woman at the Well.

The (He never comes right out and says, "Don't be prejudiced"; rather, He demonstrates not being prejudiced) Curtmudgeon

[OneSizeFit]

I totally agree, and understand/stood that point and admire Jesus style in teaching.

[kudos]

Thank you all for your posts; Curt, particularly enlightening. Is there a modern sect of Judaism that corresponds to Samaritan beliefs? You mention Baal worship--did Samaritans claim to worship Yahweh? Any good reference materials you know of on the subject?

[OneSizeFit]

Dude, Samaritans still exist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan

[kudos]

Whoa, had no idea. You guys are too smart. Thanks.

[kudos]

So, this mountain Gerazim, is it a "high place" talked about in 2 Chronicles, where the priests sacrificed other than at Jerusalem--on a modern map it looks to have been in the Northern Kingdom. I know I'm treading water here, trying to get a historical perspective on a period of time that is somewhat confusing, at least to me. It seems that it wasn't only Baal worship that was the problem here, but that not everyone considered Jerusalem the one and only "holy place", especially following Solomon's building of the temple. Any connection or am I completely off track.

[The Curtmudgeon]

So, this mountain Gerazim, is it a "high place" talked about in 2 Chronicles, where the priests sacrificed other than at Jerusalem--on a modern map it looks to have been in the Northern Kingdom. I know I'm treading water here, trying to get a historical perspective on a period of time that is somewhat confusing, at least to me. It seems that it wasn't only Baal worship that was the problem here, but that not everyone considered Jerusalem the one and only "holy place", especially following Solomon's building of the temple. Any connection or am I completely off track.

Sorry, I haven't been back to this thread recently (I do that, sometimes); I see OSF answered your first question about existing Samaritans and their worship.

As for Mt. Gerizim, it's not a particularly high mountain, but then neither is Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. The original rationale for worshipping there comes from Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 11:26-32

²⁶ Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; ²⁷ A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: ²⁸ And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. ²⁹ And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. ³⁰ [Are] they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? ³¹ For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. ³² And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.

Deuteronomy 27:11-13

¹¹ And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, ¹² These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: ¹³ And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

Moses' speeches in Deuteronomy occured, of course, while the Israelites were still wandering in the Wilderness, but memories of the topography of the Promised Land remained from the days when Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had lived there. Also, since the Samaritans accepted only the Pentateuch, there was no mention of Jerusalem as a place of worship -- Jerusalem wasn't conquered (well, possibly for a short time, but certainly wasn't held) during the Conquest. Passages in Deuteronomy speak about "the place where the Lord will set His name" as the only site for worship, but this was never formally identified as Jerusalem, until He revealed it to David as the site He (not David) had chosen for the Temple which Solomon would build.

One interesting aspect of this is that in Deut. 27:4, just before the section I quoted above, Moses instructed the people to build an altar on Mt. Ebal, rather than Gerizim on the opposite side of the valley. But, I guess, because Ebal was the "mount of cursings" and Gerizim the "mount of blessings," the Samaritans chose the latter for their worship centre.

Other than these instructions in Deuteronomy, a passage in Joshua where these instructions are carried out, and a passage in Judges where Gerizim is used because it's convenient to Shechem, Mt. Gerizim isn't mentioned in the Bible. Whether or not it played a part in Ba'al worship isn't clear, but it would most likely be included in "the high places" where various worship, both Yahwist and Ba'alist, took place, and which (although early Bible references are fairly neutral) eventually the prophets of God would decry as centres for pagan worship.

The (hope that helps) Curtmudgeon

[kudos]

It did indeed help. Thanks to both of you; I feel like I learned something today--which makes it a good day.