Where did Samaritans come from?

Answer 1

They were from an area north of what we now call Israel called Samaria. When the Jewish exile ended in 538 BC and the exiles began returning home from Babylon, they found their former homeland populated by other people who claimed the land as their own and Jerusalem the capital, in ruins. The Persian Emperor Cyrus allowed this return of the exiles to their homeland and ordered the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. This was of extreme importance to the Jews as they believed that God 'dwelt' in this very temple. The local inhabitants of the land offered to assist with the building of the new temple during the time of Zerubbabel, but their offer was rejected. According to Ezra, this rejection precipitated a further interference not only with the rebuilding of the temple but also with the reconstruction of Jerusalem. The history is not clear on this matter, but one possibility is that these "people of the land" were thought of as Samaritans. We do know that Samaritan and Jewish conflict increased, and that the Samaritans eventually built their own temple on Mount Gerizim. As the Jews worshipped God in their own Temple - which they believed was his 'home' - this setting up of a rival 'Temple' was not only seen as sacrilege to the Jews, but to them it was the greatest insult that could be bestowed on God. Therefore Jews and Samaritans not only hated each other - they absolutely detested each other. Therefore in Jesus' fictional story of the 'Good Samaritan' - the only person out of three (the other two being 'holy' Temple officials!!) who passed by a wounded man who showed any compassion - the choice of a Samaritan showed up just how hypocritical the pompous and pious religious leaders could be.

Answer 2

The Samaritans may be a remnant of the population of the northern kingdom of Israel that managed to hang onto their original homes through the invasions that destroyed that kingdom in the years before the Babylonian exile destroyed the southern kingdom of Judah. The Samaritan Torah has been passed down through the past 2500 years through an independent scribal tradition from the Jewish Torah. The two Torahs differ in about 6000 places, mostly small variations in spelling or grammar, but a few significant places. The Samaritans entirely reject the Jewish texts added to The Bible after the Torah. Samaritans believe that God sanctified Mount Gerizim (outside modern Nablus) as the holy site for sacrifices. Jews say the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.