Who were the SAMARITANS Jesus referred to
in his parable of the Good Samaritan?

Q. I would like information on the Samaritans that Jesus referred to in his parable of the good Samaritan found in Luke 10. Who were they? Where did they come from? Why were they disliked by the Jews?

A. Generally, a Samaritan would be an inhabitant of either the city or region of ancient Samaria. The Samaritans occupied the land formerly belonging to the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The city was purchased by Omri, the sixth king of Israel (885 - 874 B.C.) and named Samaria after the name of its owner, Shemer. Over a period of time the entire northern kingdom of Israel was called Samaria (1 Kings 13:32, Jeremiah 31:5).

After a three-year assault by Assyrian kings beginning with Shalmaneser V, the city of Samaria finally fell to his army in 721 B.C. (2 Kings 17:6, 18:9-12).  His successor, Sargon II, was credited with the assault and deported 27, 290  Samaritan inhabitants to Assyria replacing them with citizens of the Assyrian cities of Cuthah, Sepharvaim, Ava and Hamath. From this point onward, the Samaritans became a mixed people.

Later, Ashurbanipal added a large number of colonists  (Ezra 4:9, 10).

Since the poorest Israelites were not deported and were allowed to remain in Samaria, some of the Gentile replacements intermarried with the remaining Israelites and this led to widespread worship of pagan gods.  This was the beginning of the lingering animosity between Jews and Samaritans that to this day has never died.

A historical gap exists in Samaritan history until the time of Ezra and Nehemiah who returned to Jerusalem from the Captivity in the mid-fifth century to rebuild the temple wall when the Samaritans were flatly refused their request to help in the repairs (Ezra 4:7, Nehemiah 4:7).  This refusal enraged the Samaritans,  who then hindered Jewish operations during the reign of two Persian kings until Darius Hystaspes (425-419 B.C.) interceded and allowed the repairs to be completed.

Manasseh, a man of priestly lineage, whom Nehemiah had expelled from Jerusalem for unlawful marriage, had obtained permission in about 409  B.C. from Persian King Darius Nothus to build a temple on Mount Gerazim for the Samaritans because they had given him refuge. This enraged the Jews of Samaria who considered their own temple on the same mount to be superior to the one in Jerusalem. Even after John Hyrcanus destroyed their temple on Mount Gerazim in 130 B.C., Samaritan Jews worshipped toward this mountain. 

Another cause for abject hatred toward the Samaritans was their staunch adoption of the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses (Genesis - Deuteronomy) which they considered their sole source of scripture.  They considered Moses to be the only prophet and the one who would intercede for them in the day of final judgment.  Six thousand years after creation they believed that a Restorer would come and reign on the earth for 110 years and that the righteous would be resurrected to live forever in paradise and the wicked would burn for eternity.

The animosity felt toward the Samaritans continued during the time of Christ (Luke 9:53-54; 10:25-37; 17:11-19; John 8:48). Hatred was so great that the Jews who traveled from Galilee to Judea would bypass Samaria through the barrenness of Petra just to avoid contact. However, Jesus rebuked His disciples for being hostile toward the Samaritans (Luke 9:54-56). 

Jesus, in the parable of the Good Samaritan (as it is commonly referred to), used the hated Samaritans to illustrate that love and mercy triumphs over biases, hatred and alike:

"He (Jesus) said to him (a certain lawyer), "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' (Deuteronomy 6:5) and 'your neighbor as yourself' (Leviticus 19:18)."  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."

"But he (the lawyer), wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'AND WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?'

"Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.

"But a certain SAMARITAN, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  SO WHICH OF THESE THREE DO YOU THINK WAS NEIGHBOR TO HIM WHO FELL AMONG THE THIEVES?"

"And he (the lawyer) said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "GO AND DO LIKEWISE." (Luke 10:26-37, NKJV, emphasis added)

Samaritans are also mentioned in Luke 17:11-19 which gives the account of Jesus healing a Samaritan leper and praising him for being grateful.  Jesus also honored a Samaritan for being neighborly (Luke 10:30-37), asked a drink of a Samaritan woman (John 4:7),  and preached to the Samaritans (John 4:40-42).  Later, in Acts 1:8, Christ challenged His disciples to preach in Samaria.  Acts 8:5 relates that Philip the deacon opened a mission in Samaria.

During his war with Judea Roman military leader (and later Emperor) Vespasian massacred 11,600 Samaritans on Mount Gerazim (around 68 A.D.)  Later sufferings from Emperors Zeno (474-491 A.D.)  and Justinian (483-562 A.D.) inflicted blows to the Samaritans from which they have never recovered. A very small remnant remains near present day Nablus and Shechem where the Samaritans still tenaciously cling to their cherished beliefs.

1. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible: Topic Samaritans, p. 821
2. Smith's Bible Dictionary: Topic Samaritans, pp.583-4
3. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary: Topic Samaria, Samaritans pp. 1224-5