Modern usage
Samaria
or ''Sumaria'' ( when speaking a language other than
Hebrew. Others prefer to use the collective name "
West_Bank" rather than "
Judea and Samaria". See
Palestinian_territories for further discussion.
Major cities in this region include
Ariel,
Jenin,
Nablus,
Qalqiliya and
Tul-Karem. Samaria was taken by Israeli forces during the
1967 Six-Day_War from
Jordan. Jordan withdrew all claims to the West Bank, and thus Samaria, in
1988; later on, this status was confirmed by the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty of
1993. Jordan instead recognizes the
Palestinian_Authority as sovereign in the territory. In the
Oslo_accords of
1994, responsibility for the administration over some of the territory of Samaria was transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
Israel has sometimes been criticized for the policy of establishing settlements in Samaria. Israel claims the legal status of the land is unclear, while the
United_Nations, the
United_States and the
European_Union disagree. See
Israeli_settlements for a proper discussion.
To the north, Samaria is bounded by the
Esdraelon valley; to the east - by the
Jordan_river; to the west, it is bounded by the
Carmel Ridge (in the north) and the
Sharon_plain (in the south); to the south, it is bounded by
Judea (the
Jerusalem mountains). Samarian hills are not very high, seldom reaching the height of over 800 meters. Samaria's climate is more hospitable than the climate of Judea.
Biblical usage
Shomron (Samaria) is literally a watch-mountain or a watch-tower. In the heart of the mountains of Israel, a few miles north-west of .
Samaria, the city, was frequently besieged. In the days of
Ahab,
Benhadad_II came up against it with thirty-two vassal kings, but was defeated with a great slaughter (1 Kings 20:1-21). A second time, next year, he assailed it; but was again utterly routed, and was compelled to surrender to Ahab (20:28-34), whose army, as compared with that of Benhadad, was no more than "two little flocks of kids."
In the days of
Jehoram this Benhadad again laid siege to Samaria, during which the city was reduced to the direst extremities. But just when success seemed to be within their reach, they suddenly broke off the siege, alarmed by a mysterious noise of chariots and horses and a great army, and fled, leaving their camp with all its contents behind them. The famished inhabitants of the city were soon relieved from the abundance of the spoil of the Syrian camp; and it came to pass, according to the word of Elisha, that "a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barely for a shekel, in the gates of Samaria" (2 Kings 7:1-20).
Shalmaneser_V invaded Israel in the days of
Hoshea, and reduced it to vassalage. He laid siege to Samaria (
723_BC), which held out for three years, and was at length captured by
Sargon_II, who completed the conquest Shalmaneser had begun (2 Kings 18:9-12; 17:3), and removed vast numbers of the tribes into captivity.
This city, after passing through various vicissitudes, was given by the emperor went down to the city of Samaria and preached there.
It is now represented by the hamlet of Sebustieh, containing about three hundred inhabitants. The ruins of the ancient town are all scattered over the hill, down the sides of which they have rolled. The shafts of about one hundred of what must have been grand Corinthian columns are still standing, and attract much attention, although nothing definite is known regarding them. (compare
Micah 1:6.)
In the time of the "land of the Cuthim".
It may be noticed that the distance between Samaria and
Jerusalem, the respective capitals of the two kingdoms, is only 35 miles in a direct line.
----
Initial text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897 -- Please update as needed
Ethnically, the
Samaritans are the inhabitants who came to Samaria after the beginning of the Jewish
Babylonian_Exile. 2 Kings 17 and Josephus (Ant 9.277–91) claim that the Samaritans are descendants of deportees brought into the region of Samaria by the Assyrians from other lands they had conquered, including Cuthah.
Samaritanism is a religion related to
Judaism in that it accepts the Torah as its holy book, though little of latter Jewish theology, leading to a deep antagonism between Samaritans and Jews. Their temple was at Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem.
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