claeke's travels. 
314 
In the time of Alexander the Great, Sichem was consider¬ 
ed as the capital of Samaria,* Its inhabitants were called Sa¬ 
maritans, not 'merely-as people of Samaria, but as a sect at 
variance with the other Jews.f They consisted principally 
of deserters from Judaea. They have continued to maintain 
their peculiar tenets to the present day4 The inhabitants, 
according to Procopius. § were much favoured by the emperor 
Justinian, who restored their sanctuaries, and added largely to 
the edifices of the city. The principal object of veneration 
among them, is Jacob’s Well, over which a church was former¬ 
ly erected.|| This is situated at a small distance from the 
town,** in the road to Jerusalem, and has been visited by pil¬ 
grims of all ages; but particularly since the Christian sera,as 
the place where our Saviour revealed himself to the woman 
of Samaria. The spot is so distinctly marked by the evan¬ 
gelist,ft and so little liable to uncertainty, from the circum¬ 
stance of the well itself and the features of the country, that, 
if no tradition existed for its identity, the site of it could 
hardly be mistaken. Perhaps no Christian scholar ever at¬ 
tentively read the fourth chapter of St. John, without being 
struck with the numerous internal evidences of truth which 
orowd upon the mind in its perusal. Within so small a com¬ 
pass it is impossible to find, in other writings, so many sources 
of reflection, and of interest. Independently of its import¬ 
ance as a theological document, it concentrates so much in¬ 
formation, that a volume might be filled with the illustration 
It reflects upon the history of the Jews, and upon the geogra¬ 
phy of their country. All that can be gathered on these sub- 
* Josephus, Antiq. lib. xi c. 0. 
t Josephus says of them, that they boasted of their Jewish origin whenever the 
Jews were in prosperity, but disowned any connection with them when in adversity, 
Vid. Antiq. lib , xi. c. 8. 
| The ancient medals of the city bear the name of Flavia ISeopolis. Spanhem 
{De Praest. et Us. JYumism p, 769. Amst. 1761 .) notices a medal of the Emperor Titus, 
in Seguin’s collection, with this inscription, ^AAOTINEAITOAIEAIViAPEIA!. 
Vaiilant mentions colonial coins of Philip the Elder, on which appeared Mount Geri- 
zim, with a temple on its summit. For an account of this temple, named by Antio- 
chus the Temple of Jupiter, see Josephus , Antiq. lib , xi. c. 8. lib. xii. c. 7, 
§See Reland. Palaest. Illust. lib. in. p. 1008. tom. II. Utrecht, 1714. Procopius, 
lib . v. De JEd'fciis Justiniani, cap. 7. 
I) Attributed, as usual, to the Empress Helena. (See Maundrell's Journey, p. 62 ) 
Arculfe as preserved in Adamnaus, gives a plan of it, which proves its form to have 
Ibeen that of a Greek cross: (lib. ii: de Loc. Sanct.) This is also in Pteland’s work, 
(;p • 1008. torn. II. Palaest. Illust. Utrecht, 1714.) It was mentioned by St. Jerom in 
the fourth century. Antoninus, the Martyr, saw it in the sixth : Arculfe, in the se¬ 
venth ; Willibald, in the eighth ; and Phocas, in the twelfth. 
About one third of an hour from Naplosa, w^came to u Jacob's Well.” Jour¬ 
ney from Alep, tq Jerus. p. 62. Orf 1721. 
