Σαμαρείτης

From the study of John 8:48

Range of meaning

A member of the Samaritan community centred on Mount Gerizim near Shechem. They worshipped Israel's God, kept their own form of the Torah (the five books of Moses), and claimed descent from the northern tribes (Joseph). Judeans regarded them as mixed-race descendants of foreign colonists (2 Kings 17:24–41, hence the rabbinic name 'Cutheans') and as heretics with an illegitimate temple.

Against the English

Because of the parable in Luke 10, 'Samaritan' in modern English means 'a kind person who helps' (Good Samaritan laws, the Samaritans helpline). In first-century Jerusalem it was an insult: heretic, half-breed, impostor.

How it drifted

The parable of the Good Samaritan made the word positive in Christian English. The parable only shocks because the original word was negative.

Used elsewhere in the period

Sirach 50:25–26 calls the people living at Shechem 'not a nation' and 'foolish.' Josephus records that John Hyrcanus destroyed the Gerizim temple in the late 2nd century BC (Ant. 13.254–256), that Samaritans defiled the Jerusalem temple with human bones (Ant. 18.29–30), and that Galilean pilgrims were killed in Samaria (Ant. 20.118–136). m. Shevi'it 8:10 compares eating Samaritan bread to eating pork. John 4:9 says 'Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.' Acts 8:9–11 and Justin (1 Apology 26) link Samaria with the magician Simon.

From the study of Matthew 10:5

Range of meaning

An inhabitant of Samaria, specifically a member of the religious community centred on Mount Gerizim near Shechem. They kept only the five books of Moses as Scripture, claimed descent from the northern tribes, and were a people in their own right, neither Jews nor pagans (BDAG).

Against the English

Every English version has 'Samaritans', which is correct. But modern English has made 'Samaritan' mean 'kind helper' (from Luke 10), and that is nearly the opposite of what Galilean Jews heard in the word.

How it drifted

Luke's parable (Luke 10:30–37) gave the world the 'Good Samaritan', and the word became a byword for charity. That works in Luke only because a Samaritan was the last person a Jewish listener expected to be the hero.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jewish tradition traced them to the foreign colonists of 2 Kings 17:24–41, and Josephus calls them 'Cuthaeans' (Ant. 9.288–291). Ben Sira scorns 'the foolish people who live in Shechem' (Sir 50:25–26). The Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus destroyed their Gerizim temple in the late 2nd century BC (Josephus, Ant. 13.254–256). Under the governor Coponius (AD 6–9), Samaritans were said to have scattered human bones in the Jerusalem temple (Ant. 18.29–30). Around AD 52 Galilean pilgrims passing through Samaria were attacked (Ant. 20.118–136). John 4:9 notes that 'Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.'

From the study of Luke 10:33

Range of meaning

In the first century this named a member of the Samaritan community, centred on Shechem and Mount Gerizim in the region of Samaria. Samaritans saw themselves as true Israelites, descended from the northern tribes. They kept the five books of Moses and called themselves "keepers" of the Law. Many Judeans saw them very differently: as people of mixed race and false worship, descended from foreigners the Assyrians settled in the land (2 Kings 17:24–41). Rabbinic writings call them "Cutheans" after Cuthah, one of those foreign cities. The word named an ethnic and religious group. It said nothing about whether a person was kind.

Against the English

Every translation correctly has "Samaritan." Because of this parable, though, "Samaritan" in modern English means a helpful stranger ("a good Samaritan," Good Samaritan laws, charities named after him). The NLT adds "despised" ("a despised Samaritan came along") to bring back the edge the plain word has lost.

How it drifted

Over centuries the parable's fame swallowed the word's original meaning. Later headings added the title "the Good Samaritan," which is not in the text. Now the word sounds praiseworthy all by itself, which reverses its effect on the first hearers.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Kings 17:29 (LXX Σαμαρῖται) is the only Old Testament use. Sirach 50:25–26 (about 180 BC) says the writer's soul loathes "the foolish people that dwell in Shechem." Josephus reports that John Hyrcanus destroyed the Gerizim temple in the late 2nd century BC (Antiquities 13.254–256). He also says Samaritans scattered human bones in the Jerusalem temple courts at Passover in AD 6–9 (Ant. 18.29–30), and that Galilean pilgrims were killed passing through Samaria around AD 52 (Ant. 20.118–136; Jewish War 2.232–246). In the New Testament: "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans" (John 4:9). Jesus' opponents insult him with "you are a Samaritan and have a demon" (John 8:48). A Samaritan village refuses Jesus, and James and John want to call down fire on it (Luke 9:52–54). The healed Samaritan leper is called "this foreigner" (Luke 17:18). Attitudes in later rabbinic writings vary, and some treat Samaritans as partly Israelite in law. The hostility was real, but it was not uniform.