Samaritan woman at the well

[Sealed]

Was wondering how the Samaritan woman could be from Jacob's lineage and not be a part of the Jewish people?

John 4:6 "So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there....."

John 4:12 "Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us the well......."

Thanks in advance for your help! :)

[Sealed]

Never mind! I just found what I was searching for....should have googled first! :smile

[Hootmon]

Dont stop there. Post a summary of what you found! :)

[Sealed]

Well....there's a lot out there apparently! Hootman, I know you already know the answer to this, so please tell me if what I have found is correct!

Wikipedia says that, according to Samaritan belief, the Samaritans are descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, the Northern Tribes of Israel.
They survived the destruction of N. Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BC. To answer my OP question: They ARE Israelites, which is why the woman claimed Jacob was her 'father'; However, there is a schism b/t them and the Jews with one reason being that the Samaritans set up an illegitimate place of worship on Mt Girizim. (John 4:20-24) There are other reasons for the division of the two, and I am just starting to read a little about them.


This site has a ton of info: http://
www.adath-shalom.ca/samaritan_origin.htm#what%20reall (http://www.adath-shalom.ca/samaritan_origin.htm#what%20reall)

It is really deep and I am going to have to reread it several times!

[Hootmon]

To answer my OP question: They ARE Israelites, which is why the woman claimed Jacob was her 'father'; However, there is a schism b/t them and the Jews with one reason being that the Samaritans set up an illegitimate place of worship on Mt Girizim. (John 4:20-24) There are other reasons for the division of the two, and I am just starting to read a little about them.:nod

The Samaritans were considered as a sort of 'half-breed' Jew, and a step below the Gentiles as a result. The 'dog' reference give a clue to how they were regarded.

That casts the parable of the 'Good Samaritan' in a different light. The Jews hearing it would have been amazed in a way that we dont quite understand.

[Racheal59]

Was wondering how the Samaritan woman could be from Jacob's lineage and not be a part of the Jewish people?

John 4:6 "So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there....."

John 4:12 "Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us the well......."

Thanks in advance for your help! :)

Samaritans are Hebrew people;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan

[Sealed]

:doh Thanks!

[Sealed]

Since you mentioned it, I guess the difference is that a Jew is a ritually observant, religious Hebrew? :idunno

[antsinmypants]

Because of the way the Assyrians operated....

Let's put it this way. They take away half the population, then transplant people from all the other nations they've conqured and leave them there to influence the population they've infiltrated to be loyal to Assyria (among other distasteful things they did prior to this)...

The infiltrators were idolaters, and eventually would mix in trade, belief and marriage with the remaining people. Anyone surely not strong enough in faith and belief that their lineage must remain pure, will mix to maintain relations with the ruling parties.

The people of Samaria did just that. . . so much so, that it made the previous problems with Israel split, even more troublesome (the alternate temple and worship style was instigated long before Assyria came into the picture).

For those who were taken whole into captivity and fought the assimilation, and those within Judaea who did the same... this was a major, MAJOR affront.

It's a lot like folks who assimilate in this day and time just because they have no pride or faith in G-d, among other things. It's kind of hard to explain the aversion without actually being in someone else's shoes.

[Sealed]

Thank you Hootmon and Ants!! I appreciate your replies.

After reading about this, the thought occurs to me that it is interesting that the people who would seem to be the farthest away from God and His people, are the ones who seem to recognize Him and accept Him first. Hmmm.

Well, back to my reading. Thanks again!