TOPOGRAPHY, RACES, RELIGIONS, LANGUAGES AND CUSTOMS. 35 



Sbenier.* The origin of this cominuaity, however, is detailed 

 in the 17th chapter of 2nd Kings, when the King of Assyria 

 carried away captives the bulk of the ten tribes, substituting 

 in their place a mixed Gentile race from Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, 

 and Sepharvaim. These mingled with one another, and with 

 those of the Jews who were left in Palestine, so they formed a 

 iniitedcommunity calling themselves Samaritausfroni the name 

 of the principal cicy iShemer, its etymological meaning being 

 " watch mountain." At first they continued to practise their 

 idolatrous worship which they had taken witli them fron/ 

 Southern Mesopotamia, but having been visited with mani- 

 fest tokens of the Divine anger, they were anxiously desirous 

 of being instructed in the knowledge of the true God, and 

 gladly welcomed one of the captive Jewish priests wJio was 

 sent by the King of Assyria to teach them. Unwilling, 

 however, to renounce idolatry altogether, they endeavoured 

 to combine the true and simple worship of God with 

 heathenism. After the Jewish captivity in liabylon had 

 come to an end, the Saniaiit.uis professed wholly to abandon 

 their idolatrous habits and ceremonies and to adhere to the 

 Avorship of the God of Israel. So far did they seek to 

 identify themselves with the Jews who had returned from 

 their Babylonian captivity that they tried to associate them- 

 selves with Nehemiah's people in rebuilding the temple. 

 But this offer having been rejected, the Samaritans were 

 provoked to oppose them by every means in their power, 

 Avith the help of Sanballat, to thwart the holy work carried 

 on by the Jews; but they could not succeed. They managed, 

 however, to obtain permission from the Persian king to erect 

 on Mount Gerizim a rival temple to that of the Jews. Thus 

 commenced in Samaria a national system of worship identical 

 in all respects with that of the people of God. The enmity 

 which existed between the two nations increased every 

 day, until in the time of our Lord it had risen to such 

 an extent that the Jews would have no dealings with the 

 Samaritans ; hence the question which the Samaritan woman 

 addressed to our Saviour, " How is it that thou, being a Jew, 

 askest drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria ? " 



Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews (B. ix, ch. xiv, 

 c. 3), says thus of them : — 



" But now the Cutheans, who removed into Samaria (for 

 that is the name tiiey have been called by to this time. 



* 1 Kings xvi, 23, 24. 



I> 2 



