Samaria

Location

Samaria is the central hill country between Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. Its capital, also called Samaria (modern Sebastia), was founded by Omri king of Israel (1 Kings 16:24). In Jesus's day the region was inhabited by the Samaritans, who worshipped on Mount Gerizim.

Biblical importance

Samaria is the ground where Jesus stopped for a drink and gave the woman at the well the living water (John 4). It is where Philip preached Christ and the Holy Ghost came upon believers (Acts 8). It is the second stop on the apostolic missions in Acts 1:8 — 'Jerusalem, and… all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.'

Important biblical events

• 1 Kings 16:24 (KJV) Omri buys the hill of Samaria and builds the city.
• 2 Kings 17:6 (KJV) Samaria falls to Assyria; the northern tribes are carried away.
• John 4:4 (KJV) 'And he must needs go through Samaria.'
• John 4:7-26 (KJV) The Samaritan woman at Jacob's well; Jesus reveals himself as the Christ.
• Luke 10:30-37 (KJV) The Good Samaritan — 'Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?'
• Luke 17:11-19 (KJV) The one leper who returned to give thanks was a Samaritan.
• Acts 8:5-25 (KJV) Philip preaches in Samaria; the Holy Ghost falls on the believers.

Related People

• The woman at the well — the first missionary of Samaria (John 4:39).
• Omri and Ahab — kings of the northern kingdom whose capital was Samaria.
• The Good Samaritan — the parable's neighbour.
• Philip the evangelist — who preached Christ in Samaria (Acts 8).
• Simon Magus — the sorcerer of Samaria who tried to buy the Spirit (Acts 8:18-24).
• Christ Jesus — the traveller who sat weary at the well.

Connected Places

• Jerusalem — the temple centre the Samaritans rejected.
• Sea of Galilee — the Galilee to the north.
• Sychar / Shechem — where Jacob's well is.
• Mount Gerizim — the Samaritan holy mountain.

Christian tradition

• Bordeaux Pilgrim (AD 333) records the church at Jacob's well; the well is still there and the water is still fresh.
• The Samaritans as a people survive to this day in Israel-Palestine, still celebrating Passover on Mount Gerizim.
• Byzantine and Crusader churches marked the well and the sites of Philip's preaching.

Household reflection

Samaria teaches the household that Christ does not walk around the awkward encounter. He must needs go through it. Where the household would take the road that avoids a stranger, an enemy, a rival, Christ sits down at the well and waits. Every household has its Samaria — a room the family agrees not to enter. Christ goes in.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read John 4 slowly, in one sitting. Notice how many times the woman changes what she says.
• Pray (Chapel) — Pray for one household you would rather avoid; name them in the prayer, quietly, one week.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — At one meal, tell the parable of the Good Samaritan without saying the word 'Samaritan' — see who is missed, and who is loved.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say' (Horatius Bonar, 1846) — 'I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream.'
• Learn (Workshop) — Compare John 4:22 with Acts 1:8 — where salvation is *of*, and where salvation goes *unto*.

Further reading

John 4 in the KJV.

Luke 10:25-37; 17:11-19.

Acts 8:1-25.

2 Kings 17.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Jerusalem
• Christ Jesus
• Peter
• John the Baptist
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.