A Counter-Cultural Detour Through Samaria

January 11, 2021 by Leave a Comment

The fall of Samaria, which resulted in the deportation of thousands from the northern kingdom to Assyria, raises another question: Was the subsequent Assyrian importation and settlement of people from “Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim” (2 Kings 17:24) into the towns of Samaria the beginning of the people known in the New Testament as the Samaritans?

While the traditional assumption is that the Samaritans of the New Testament are the descendants of those imported peoples mentioned in 2 Kings 17, a comparison of the two groups does raise reason for doubt. For example, the imported peoples were syncretists – i.e. “They worshipped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought (2 Kg 17:33).”

Because clear evidence of such syncretism doesn’t exist among those later identified as Samaritans, scholars like Everett Ferguson suggest that a connection between the two peoples isn’t so clear, and may be nothing more than a later attempt of Jews to slander the Samaritans (Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 3rd Edition, p. 534). But what would be the motivation for such slander? The Samaritans created a rival religious institution that preferred Shechem and Mt. Gerizim over Jerusalem and Mt. Zion as the location of the Holy Place (p. 534).

In contrast to Ferguson, the Archaeological Study Bible (Zondervan 2005), says the Samaritans are “a mixed race made up of a combination of Israelites who remained in the land and these non-Israelite settlers (note 17:24-41, p. 557).” And in spite of their syncretistic origins, they eventually “came to follow the teachings of Moses, including monotheism (note 17:24-41, p. 557).” I might add that their (ASB-Zondervan) conclusion of an evolution from syncretism to monotheism may be correct, but I have not been able to find a justification for that conclusion in any of their many notes on the Samaritans.

While the origins of the New Testament Samaritans may not be as clear as we might wish, we can see – and I think some may be surprised – how this “slandered, mixed race” people are referenced in the New Testament.

The references to the Samaritans fall clearly into three groups: First we see Samaritan used as a pejorative as in John 8:48 when Jesus was asked, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” We can see this negative sense also in the story of the (Samaritan) woman at the well in John 4. Her initial words to Jesus illustrate the inferior position of the Samaritans among Jews: “‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)”

The second type of reference to Samaritans is simply geographical. For example, when Jesus sent his disciples out (Matthew 10), he specifically told them not to go among the Gentiles or any town of the Samaritans. Rather, he charged them, “Go to the lost sheep of Israel.” Luke mentions an occassion when Jesus sent his disciples into a Samaritan village to prepare things for his arrival (9:52). None of these types of references should be deemed positive or negative.

The third category includes those times Jesus mentions or interacts with Samaritan people, and is clearly the most positive portrayal of the Samaritans in the Bible. I’ve already mentioned the John 4 story of the (Samaritan) woman at the well. In this story, we don’t see Jesus distancing himself from her because he is a Jew and she a Samaritan. We don’t see him reference her pejoratively. What we see is Jesus offering her “living water” and engaging her in a meaningful conversation about the messiah. John concludes this story with a very positive view of the Samaritan woman: “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony (John 4:39).”

Another illustration of how Jesus views the Samaritans differently than the surrounding culture does is how he juxtaposes the Samaritan with religious Jews in the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Since Jesus was crafting that story himself, he could have painted any picture he wanted, yet he chose to cast the Samaritan as the good neighbor and the religious Jews as the bad neighbors.

Finally, in Luke 17 we see the story of Jesus healing ten lepers. While on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled between Galilee and Samaria and was approached from a distance by ten lepers. They called out to him and he healed them. One of them, realizing that he was healed, came back to thank Jesus. Then, as if in a parenthetical note, Luke adds, “He was a Samaritan” (LK 17:16). Notice Jesus’ response: “Weren’t all ten healed? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Once again, Jesus juxtaposes the outsider against those representing the majority culture.

In all three cases – the woman at the well, the good Samaritan, and the leper who was healed – the Samaritans were cast in a much more positive light than some might expect considering the hostility of the surrounding culture toward them.

Is there an application for us in how we should treat/view those who might be considered negatively by the surrounding culture?

Filed Under: 2 Kings, cross-cultural, Culture, Intercultural Studies, Jesus Said, Ministry, missionaries, Old Testament, Racism, Samaritans, Surprises

Gone for a Moment, Gone Forever

June 11, 2007 by 1 Comment

This morning, I needed to move Grace’s car seat from my truck to Colleen’s car, but realized I didn’t have Colleen’s key only after I had the seat out of my truck. So, I sat the seat down on the driveway beside the car door and ran inside to get the key. On my way back out the door, the phone rang and I was detained about 5 minutes, which was plenty of time for someone to come by and take Grace’s car seat. I was gone for only a moment and Grace’s car seat is gone forever.

I’ve already had to wrestle with a lot of emotions. I felt violated on behalf of my daughter. I honestly think it would have been a softer blow had the thief taken something of mine and not Grace’s. Particularly, a safety device like her car seat.

It’s hard to estimate what a 3 year-old will perceive in situations like these. In this case, Grace thought she was somehow at fault and said, “Sorry, Papa, it’s my fault he took my seat.” I was really angry that he stole our stuff and forced us to change the plans of our day, but I was more angry that his actions gave Grace cause to feel guilty, in spite of the fact that she was the victim. I searched the neighborhood for a short while, but never saw any trace of the thief or the seat. In the big picture, it is probably better that I didn’t find him. Replacing the car seat was not cheap, but I have no doubt it was much cheaper in every way than a physical altercation with the thief would have been.

The response that worries me the most is the result of my neighbor identifying the thief as an Arab: racism. I use that word cautiously and in a very nuanced way. After all, I have some very good friends who are Arabs whom I trust without reservation. I don’t think all Arabs are thieves, but have struggled today, with thoughts of keeping an eye out for any Arabs in our neighborhood. Few areas in Jerusalem are integrated, and we live in a Jewish area. So, the default attitude in our neighborhood is that any Arabs in the area are suspect. Even though Arabs regularly work in the neighborhood, because they don’t live here, they are suspect? They are assumed either to be stealing stuff themselves, or casing the area for the benefit of their friends. My experience today, encouraged me to embrace such assumptions wholesale. That bothers me.

I’ve struggled with thoughts about an elderly Arab man, a day laborer that comes by every few weeks asking to work in the garden. His “sales pitch” is the same every time: “I need some work. I have 10 kids and no food in the house.” It’s a compelling story, particularly to those who really want helping others to be one of their core values. However, the first time he came by, I didn’t have any work for him, but I did give him some money for food. Enough money, in fact, to feed his family of “10 kids” for a couple of days. I explained to him that I was giving this to him because I love Jesus and I wanted to bless him. His response was stunning: He started cursing me, saying that what I gave him wasn’t enough. And this, in spite of the fact that it was more than he could earn in a day AND he was getting it without lifting a finger.

He has come to mind many times today, and I’ve wondered if he really is in need of work, or that’s just his “pass” to move through the neighborhood looking for things that can be lifted by his friends. There’s no direct connection between this man and what happened today. At least, not that I’m aware of. It’s not like I leave Grace’s car seat on the driveway next to the car on a regular basis, so he couldn’t report that to his friends. But still he has come to mind many times. That bothers me.

Finally, I’ve wrestled with the meaning of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-20: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (NKJV).” Do my reactions to this event indicate that Grace’s car seat was a treasure laid up here on earth? Obviously, I want to say “no.” But, I wonder. There seems to be a fine line between “laying up treasure here on earth” and being careful about the resources the Lord has given into our care. And I want to better understand the difference between the two.

Filed Under: Family Life, Gospels, Life in Israel, Racism