Did Jesus Really Say That? Teachings of Jesus [Part 2]

Introduction

Samaritans: A group of people who believed they were the true descendants of Israel and keepers of the Torah. During the time of the New Testament, their chief religious site was Mount Gerizim. The Samaritans believed that the Jerusalem temple and priesthood were illegitimate. (Maiers, B. (2016). Samaritans. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.)

Much of what is written about the broken relationship of Israel and Samaria is found in the extrabiblical documents such as Sirach 50:25-26

Sirach 50:25–26 NRSV

25 Two nations my soul detests, and the third is not even a people: 26 Those who live in Seir, and the Philistines, and the foolish people that live in Shechem.

Here Shechem is considered a reference to Samaria since this is where the Samaritans fled during their revolt against Alexander the Great. This made Schechem a sort of holy city. However, there are instance where Samaritans were thought to denounce their ethnic affiliation with the Jews in an effort to avoid persecution. The Maccabean revolt divided Israel and Samaria even more and led to the destruction of Shechem by John Hyrcanus.

Distinguishing Factors of Samaritans

Mount Gerizim is the place for worship and not Jerusalem. This is the place individuals believed God would build a temple rather than in Jerusalem.

Accepted only the Samaritan Pentateuch and denounced the authority of the prophets and writings.

Since the temple in Jerusalem was illegitimate, then the worship that was conducted there was also illegitimate.

Key Takeaways from the Text