the mutual hostility explains Christ's command to His disciples not to enter into any city of the Samaritans (Mt lU").
Samaria, after its conquest by Assyria, wa» ruled by Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian governors until Syria and Palestine fell to Alex- ander after the battle of Issus. The Samaritaas hastened to prott'er aid to the conqueror, and in return were granted, according to Josephus, per- mission to build a temple on ilt. Gerizim (A nt. XJ. viii. 4, 6, XIII. iii. 4, ix. 1). In this temple, which, more probably, however, was built by Sanballat during tlie time of Nehemiah, the Samaritans ofl'ered sacrifices after the manner of the Jews. But when Antiochus IV. Epiphanes took Jerus. and desecrated the temple, they were quite ready to address him as god, and ask his permission to call their place of worship the temple of Zeus-Hellenius (Ant. XII. v. 5). After having more than once changed hands during the struggle between Alexander's successors, Samaria was given by Antiochus III. the Great, as part of the dower of his daughter Cleopatra, to Ptolemy V. Epi- phanes(^n<. XII. iv. 1). During the reign of the latter's successor, Ptolemy VI. Philometor, the Samaritan colony in Egypt, which owed its origin to the settlement of Samaritans serving in Alex- ander's army (Aiit. XI. viii. 6), and to the re- moval of Samaritans from Palestine to Egypt by Ptolemy I. Soter (Ant. XII. i. 1), maintained, in controversy with the Alexandrian Jews, that according to the laws of Moses the temple was to be built on Gerizim and not at Jerus. (^4 nt, XIII. iii. 4). Samaria was conquered by Jolin Hyrcanus, who destroyed the temple on Gerizim (BJ I. ii. 6, 7) ; and, after passing to the Romans when Pompey intervened in the quarrel between Hyr- canus II. aud his brother, it was given to Herod by Augustus (Ant. XV. vii. 3). On Herod's death it was granted to his son Arehelaus (Ant. XVII. xi. 4 ; B.J II. vi. 3) ; but, on his banishment, it was added to the province of Syria (Ant. XVII. xiii. 5 ; BJ II. viii. 1). In the time of Pilate a large number of Samaritans were killed when on their way to Gerizim, and to I'ilates action on this occasion Josephus ascribes his recall (Ant. XVUI. iv. 1, 2).
In the days of our Lord the Samaritans formed an important element in the population ; and though thev probably had a strong admixture of Jewish blood in their veins (2 K 23"'- ^, 2 Ch 34", Ezr 6'S Jn 4" ; Ant. X. iv. 5), they had not lost their distinctive character as aliens by descent (Lk 17'^ cf. 10''''"''), and apparently in religion (.In 4'--). The gospel ajjjiears to have been first preached to the Samaritans by Philip, and with some measure of success (Ac 8'""). But it cannot have been very generally accepted, for the Samaritans more than once came into collision with the Roman emperors and the Christians. 'Vespasian quelled a tnreatened rising by slaying 11,600 of them on Mt. Gerizim (BJ UI. vii. 32) j and they were so severely punished by Zeno and Justinian for murdering Christians and destroying churches, that they never afterwards recovered. Benjamin of 'Tudela, A.D. 1163, found 'Cutheang, who observe the Mosaic law only, and are called Samaritans,' at NiMus, Ca;sarea, Ascalon, and Damascus (Early Travels, p. 81). They are now represented by a few families at Ndblus,
LiTRRATiHE.— Condcr, Tent-Work, 1. 80-109; Stantey, Sinat and Palestine, 221>-248 ; G. A. Smith, UtSllL S21-S43 ; Gatna, Samarie ; Snhiirer, IJJP I. i. 190 (., 280, 11. i. 6-8 ; Baedelter- Socin, Pal." 226ff.; Buhl, GAP, 207. C. 'W. WiLSON.
SAMATUS (SdAuiTos), 1 Es 9".— One of the bom of Kzora, corresponding to Shemariah or Shallom in Ezr lu"- «.
S.UIECH
samso:n^
377
SAMECH (D). — The fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and as such employed in the 119th Psalm to designate the 15th part, each verse of which begins with this letter. In this Dic- tiouarj- it is transliterated by f.
SAMELLIUS (B Sa/^AXiot, A St/x- -f/3-; AV SeiMcUius), 1 Es 2'«-"-"»-*'=Shimshai the scribe, cf. Ezr 4" etc.
SAMEUS (B ea/iotos, A Xa/iaTot; AV Sameitts).— Of the sons of Emmer (1 Es ff"), answering to Shemaiaii, of the sons of Hariin, £zr 10-'.
SAMGAR-NEBO ("i2n:^P).— An officer of Nebu- chadnH/z;ir, who, according to the MT of Jer 39 [Ur. 46]', took his seat, along ^vith other princes, in the middle gate of Jerusalem after the Chal- diEsn army had forced its way into the city. If the name (LXX Bx Za/iayud, A Eliraafiayid) is to be accepted, it may he = Stimgir-Anbu, ' be gra- cious, O Nebo ' (Schrader, COT ii. 109).* The text has in any case sutiered corruption, as is evident, apart from other considerations, from the multi- tude of variant readings exhibited (cf. Swete, OT in Greek, ad loc.) by the LXX. If we retain the name Samgar-nebo, we ought perhaps to drop the first ' Nergal-sharezer,' and read : ' Samgar-nebo the Sar-sechim [a title as yet unexplained], Nebu- shazban the Rab-saris [cf. v."]and Nergal-sharezer tlieKab-mag' (so Sayce in art. Nekgal-Sharezek above). Another course la to reject (with Uiese- breclit) the name Samgar - nebo entirely, taking "uoo as a dittography of jd 2i, and joining uj to the following, CDanijuj thus = [jiptn} of v.". It must be confessed that the means are not yet at our disposal for pronouncing with confidence on the true text, bee, for another expedient, art. Bak.?i.ciii.\i. J. a. Selbie.