05/03/2015|Storchevoy S.V.
Who are the Samaritans?
Among the Palestinian Jews there was a nation called the Samaritans. They sincerely believed that the Messiah would be the Savior of the world, as can be seen from Christ’s conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4). .....
Among the Palestinian Jews there was a nation called the Samaritans. The Samaritans recognized only the Pentateuch of Moses, and they also had a temple on Mount Gerezim. In anticipation of the Messiah, the Samaritans stood closer than the Jews. They sincerely believed that the Messiah would be the Savior of the world, as can be seen from Christ’s conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4).
Samaritans (Samaritans) - a nationality formed in the Cent. Palestine (western part of modern Jordan) after the capture of Samaria by Sargon II (722 BC), from the mixing of Babylonian and Aramaic colonists with the remainder of the Israeli and Canaanite population. The settlers adopted Judaism and maintained close ties with the Kingdom of Judah until the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the so-called. "Babylonian Captivity" (586 BC). After the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity, a break occurred between the Samaritans and the Jewish theocratic community. The Samaritans founded a special temple on Mount Gerizim (near Shechem, modern Nablus). Early Christianity sought rapprochement with the Samaritans. The autonomy of the Samaritan community was maintained until the 6th century. AD, when it was liquidated by the Byzantine Emperor Justin II.
And herself Samaria is a city founded around 875 BC. Israeli king Omri, settled by Canaanites and turned into an autonomous community, which was located until the 40s. 9th century BC. in alliance with the kingdom of Israel. Under King Jehu (c. 842 BC) it became the capital of the Kingdom of Israel, after the capture by Sargon II (722 BC) it was inhabited by the Samaritans, in 107 BC. destroyed by the Jewish king John Hyrcanus in the 60s. BC. restored by the Romans and renamed Sebaste (now Sebastia) by Herod.
For most people who have superficially studied the Holy Scriptures, the Samaritans are the people from the parable of Jesus. They are kind, sympathetic people, judging by the plot of the short story described in the Bible.
Perhaps the majority believes that these people have remained only in parables. But no. Samaritans exist in modern times - they live among us and in their own separate little world. But what they are, where they live, what values they preach, remains a mystery to the bulk.
Controversial history
From time immemorial, those who are called the lawyers and scribes of Israel promoted the version (and considered it the only correct one) about the Assyrian origin of the Samaritans. Allegedly, in the 700s BC, when King Sargon defeated the then Samaria, he deported the indigenous population deep into his lands - the sons of Israel up to the tenth generation, and instead populated the city and outskirts with pagan tribes, the descendants of which are the modern Samaritans .
The Samaritans fundamentally disagree with this interpretation of history, which is still heard from the mouths of the rabbis. This, as they say, is a complete distortion of historical facts, which they have been arguing with for many centuries.
The Samaritans have always considered themselves real Jews, and the etymology of “shomrim” has been and continues to be deciphered as “guardian” and insist that it is they, a small but very proud people, who are the guardians of the true Jewish traditions and the real, correct, pristine Torah.
Are Samaritans and Jews one people?
This issue has always caused some disagreement between the Samaritans and the Jews. The former considered and continue to consider themselves true Jews, while the latter cannot accept this point of view.
Faith became as always. Not even faith as such, but some differences in the observance of religious rituals. If the Samaritans are supporters of the authentic Jewish heritage, that is, they reject biblical teaching, consider Moses the only prophet, and Mount Gerizim as a sacred place, then even those Jews who are generally considered orthodox are not so categorical in religion.
Throughout their history, the Samaritans live as a rather isolated community, believing that they are the true Jews, but other Jews do not recognize them. These peoples (or people?) share neither more nor less - six thousand discrepancies in the Torah - Samaritan and canonized. And it has been like this for as long as they can remember.
Religion does not interfere with kindness
Almost from childhood, any Christian is familiar with the parable of the Samaritan, who, despite hostility, helped an Israeli in trouble.
It is significant that it sounded from the lips of Jesus, the Messiah, recognized by the entire Christian world and by the Israelis too, but unrecognized by the Samaritans. Why did Jesus make the Samaritan the positive hero of the story? Is it only from the desire to reconcile the eternal religious duelists - the Samaritans and the Jews? Is it only for the edification of all others who must love the enemy, and nothing else?
Or maybe this was the simplest illustration of the simplest truth, which most of us, always at war with someone or something, cannot comprehend: belonging to any religion does not at all prevent us from performing human actions.
Each of us is a Good Samaritan at heart. It is not religion that matters, but she is a soul, if you give her such an opportunity.
Where do Samaritans live and who do they marry?
Now there are very few Samaritans - about 1,500 people, but at the beginning of the last century the number of these people turned out to be so small (only a few dozen) that they had to urgently take measures and slightly open their very closed community to strangers. Or rather, a foreigner.
The first Samaritan wife “from outside” was a Siberian woman named Maria. Now the Samaritan guys have expanded the geography of their search for spouses and are actively exploring the expanses of the CIS. Two Ukrainians, two Russians and four Azerbaijanis have already become wives of the Samaritans.
But since Samaritans are, first of all, about observing traditions, the first requirement for girls is to undergo conversion (conversion ceremony). Only after this can you marry a Samaritan.
Despite all the measures taken, the people remain small in number to this day; they are included by UNESCO in the special Red Book of ethnic groups that are in danger of extinction.
Modern Samaritans live in one of the prestigious quarters of the city of Holon, and several families still live in the village of Kiryat Luza, in close proximity to their sacred Mount of Blessings.
From biblical stories, many people are familiar with the expression “good Samaritan,” which came into our lives from a parable told by Jesus to his disciples. In it, he told about the robbed traveler and the man who saved him. That unknown savior was a Samaritan. Since then, for the Christian world, these people have become the personification of kindness and selflessness.
Conventional wisdom
In dictionaries, a Samaritan is interpreted as a person who selflessly helps others. This expression has been used in the language since the 17th century, the reason for this was biblical parables.
The traveler, traveling from Jerusalem, met with robbers who robbed him, beat him and left him half-dead to die on the road. The clergyman who happened to be nearby walked past him indifferently. A Levite walking by did the same. A third passer-by, seeing a man lying on the ground beaten by robbers, approached him. He was the Good Samaritan. He washed the wounds of the victim with wine and oil and bandaged them. He put him on the donkey, covered him with his cloak, and took him to the hotel. A passer-by left him there in the care of his owner. This man paid for both accommodation and care for the patient.
At the end of the story, Jesus asked: “Which of the three do you think was your neighbor?” The clergyman replied that the neighbor, of course, was the third passerby. Jesus advised him to do as the Samaritan did.
The priest and the Levite looked down on the poor and unfortunate people and did not consider them neighbors. There was no love for people in their hearts. And the biblical commandment says: “Love your neighbor as yourself, and do to him as you would have them do to you.” The described incident shows that the Samaritan is the embodiment of goodness and love for man. He was not afraid that the robbers might return and brutally deal with him. He behaved with dignity.
Who are the Samaritans really?
True, what kind of people this is, how it appeared in Judea, the vast majority of people have a very vague idea.
In fact, the Samaritans (in some sources they are called Samaritans) are an ethno-religious group with a rather long history. According to some theoreticians of Judaism, this nation originates from a man named Samer, a non-Jew who left Egypt with the Jews. They themselves consider themselves descendants of the Jewish tribe of Joseph - one of the first inhabitants of the Kingdom of Israel.
However, for most Jews, the Samaritans are immigrants who arrived in Israel from the Mesopotamian city of Kuta along with people returning from Babylonian captivity. There is even a term for them “partying”, which clearly indicates their belonging to this city. These people appeared in Palestine after 722 BC. e., when the first kingdom of Israel fell under the blows of the Assyrian conquerors. Then a significant part of the indigenous population of Israel was taken into the so-called Babylonian captivity. Foreigners began to populate the empty territories, which eventually gave rise to a new people.
According to Josephus, these settlers were the Khutheians (in the modern interpretation, the Gutians). Moving from Assyria to the territory of conquered Israel, they were compactly located in the territory of Samaria. It was here that the last center of the very first kingdom of Israel was located, which began with King Omri. Having settled in and around Samaria, the settlers gradually adopted the Jewish faith and some local traditions, although in some cases they retained their identity.
So, in particular, the Samaritans called themselves the only true custodians of the Old Testament, of which they recognize only the book of Joshua and the Samaritan Pentateuch as sacred. But they completely reject the Talmud and the books of the Prophets. Such subtleties are due to the fact that the Samaritans profess one of the versions of pre-prophetic Judaism, which is only a distant branch of classical Judaism.
However, this is not the main disagreement between the Jews and Samaritans. A dispute between these nations arose over the explanation of the words of Moses about the choice of place for the construction of the Temple. According to the Jews, Moses spoke about Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, but the Samaritans are of the opinion that he called Mount Gerizim, located west of the Jordan River near Nablus (another name for the city of Nablus). These discrepancies in the words of Moses led to long-term enmity between these peoples.
Having their own calendar, the Samaritans nevertheless recognize the Sabbath, as well as the traditional eating customs of true Jews. Their ritual of killing animals for food is identical to the Jewish one. However, the Samaritans celebrate Passover on Mount Gerizim. According to a long-standing tradition, seven lambs are sacrificed there.
History shows that the Jewish people were far from unified. Since ancient times, there have been cultural differences between north and south Canaan. When people enriched by a different culture began to come from Babylon and settle in Samaria, the division between the native Jews and Samaritans reached its culmination. This resulted in long-term mutual hostility, as well as different attitudes towards the events taking place around them.
Taking advantage of the conquest of Judea by Alexander the Great, the Samaritans erected their temple on Mount Gerizim. However, 2 centuries later the Hasmonean king destroyed it. With the arrival of the Romans in Judea, the Samaritans were granted autonomy. But for this they had to honor the pagan gods, which true Jews categorically rejected. The Jewish wars against Rome led to a sharp decrease in people of Jewish nationality in Judea. This resulted in an increase in the percentage of the Samaritan population, which suffered less from these wars. Significant communities began to appear in areas that did not belong to them: Caesarea, Emmaus, Beth Sheana, etc. After the collapse of the Roman Empire and the subjugation of the Israeli lands to Byzantium, the Samaritans carried out several uprisings, and even declared their independence twice, enthroning their own kings. However, these protests were suppressed.
Modern Samaritans
After unsuccessful uprisings, the number of Samaritans began to steadily decrease. By the beginning of the twentieth century, their number had dropped to a critical figure of 146 people. But still this ethnic group managed to survive. To prevent this nation from completely dissolving among the Jews, in 1954 in Israel it was decided to gather the Samaritans together. Now their number is more than 700 people who live compactly in the village of Kiryat Luza near Nablus and in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, in the Neve Pinhas quarter of Holon. The writing of the Samaritans has also been preserved. It has a Hebrew alphabet close to the Phoenician. Communication between people is carried out in two languages: the ancient Aramaic dialect and Arabic.
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Sometimes, while reading forums and communicating on the Internet, you can come across some words and expressions whose meaning is not entirely clear. Today we will talk about one of these phrases, the Good Samaritan.
However, before continuing, I would like to recommend you some more sensible news on random topics. For example, what is Pathetique, how to understand the word Kaput, what Sur means, who are the Eshangists, etc.
So let's continue What does Good Samaritan mean?? This expression has its roots in history and is mentioned in the Bible. In those distant times, anyone who was ready to help their neighbor was called a “good Samaritan.” However, today it is almost impossible to believe in goodness, money decides everything, and the expression “Good Samaritan” is now pronounced with sarcasm.
Good Samaritan- this is a person who is ostensibly sympathetic, caring and kind, who will always help his friends or neighbor in difficult times
What does Samaritan mean?
The Samaritans arose as ethnic-religious group around 348 BC. This community got its name from the name of the area where these people lived - Samaria(today this is the territory of Israel).Although the Samaritans are classified as Jews, other Jews do not accept them as equals, since apart from the Torah, they do not recognize any other books TANAKHA, and refuse to celebrate Jewish holidays.
This community has survived to this day, and now they are located in a small settlement Kiryat Luza near Nablus. Their number, according to the latest data, does not exceed one thousand people.
Since in those centuries the Samaritans and Jews experienced strong hostility towards each other, everyone considered the act of the “good Samaritan” to be very brave and positive.
What is the whole point? parables of the good samaritan? A city dweller from Samaria did not abandon the beaten Jew lying on the road in trouble, but provided him with first aid, fed him and took him to the nearest inn, and asked him to put the maintenance and service of this inn at his own expense.
By the way, two people followed the same road in front of the Samaritan, priest and Levite, but they were so busy with their godly deeds that they simply stepped over the lying man without offering him help.
Today, this name is very actively used by various charitable organizations to appear in the eyes of the public as more significant than they actually are.
A “Good Samaritan” is a person who is ready, without hesitation, to rush to the aid of anyone - even a stranger... who are the Samaritans and why is a Samaritan a “good”?
First of all, the Samaritans - more precisely, the Shomorinim - are a very real people that exist to this day. True, there are few of them - less than a thousand people, and they live in only two places - in one of the quarters of the city of Holon in the suburbs of Tel Aviv and the village of Kiryat Luza on the West Bank.
This people got its name from Samaria, a historical region in Israel. This is a hilly area with an excellent climate favorable to viticulture and the cultivation of olive trees, which is what local residents have been doing since ancient times, and the central city of Samaria (with the same name) at the turn of the 9th-8th centuries BC. was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel.
Yes, Jews and Samaritans are related peoples, the Samaritans trace the history of their people to the sons of Joseph - Ephraim and Manasseh. True, the Jews denied this in ancient times - the cultural, and later also religious, differences were too great. This may be due to the fact that after the conquest of Samaria by the Assyrian king in 722 BC. The Samaritans often became related to other peoples who inhabited Mesopotamia. This version of the history of the Samaritans seems more convincing than the one held by the Jews: supposedly the Samaritans are the descendants of the Gutians, a warlike people resettled by the Assyrian king to the territory of the captured Kingdom of Israel and adopted the religion of the Jews... however, there may be some truth in this version.
The Samaritans professed Judaism, but their main temple was not Jerusalem, but built on Mount Gerizim. As sacred books, they revered the Torah and the Book of Joshua - but in versions that differed from the canonical Jewish ones. This is how a powerful “watershed” arose between peoples with a common origin - this was not the first or last time in the history of mankind, and - as usually happens - the closer the people are initially, the stronger the mutual hostility between them can turn out to be. By the time of the New Testament events, everything was clear - the Gospel of John testifies that the Israelites had no dealings with the Samaritans (to such an extent that the Samaritan woman, who met the Savior at the well, did not even want to give Him water).
Considering the situation, it becomes clear why the Savior made the Samaritan the hero of the parable about the merciful man who took care of the injured stranger - after all, He was asked the question of who should be considered a neighbor. The fact that you need to treat your fellow tribesmen well was obvious to the people of the Old Testament era, but the requirement to transfer such an attitude to all people was truly a “spiritual revolution”, which even we now cannot fully accept. The image of a Samaritan saving a Jew was perhaps as vivid for that era as the image of a Soviet soldier saving a German girl is for us.
But if the Good Samaritan is still a generalized image from a parable, the Samaritan wife mentioned in the New Testament is a very real, specific person. It was the Savior who met her at the well, it was he who promised her an eternal source of living water. At the time of her meeting with the Savior, this lady did not even remotely resemble a saint - she not only shared the national prejudices of her people, but also had five cohabitants... even among modern people, not everyone would agree to deal with such a woman - and the Savior addresses her with the words about the "Spirit of Truth". And this woman - seemingly so far from piety - recognizes Christ, the Messiah in Him (not all educated men of that time had enough spiritual strength for this).
Sacred tradition has preserved the name of this woman - her name was Photinia. Many years later - in 66 - she, along with two sons and four sisters, were put to a terrible death for the Christian faith. Photinia of Samaria patronizes women named Svetlana.
Today, Samaritans live rather secluded lives - for a long time they did not marry anyone other than their fellow tribesmen, but given their small numbers, this eventually began to create the danger of consanguineous marriages, and now Samaritan men are allowed to marry Jewish and even Christian women.
Perhaps the most famous representative of this people in the modern world is Sophie Tzdaka, who for some time bore the title of Beauty Queen of Israel. This actress is little known in our country, but the Israeli public knows her well from films and performances for children.
