What race are the samaritans?
The southern kingdom of Judah was exiled to Babylon in 583 BC.
The Babylonian king left some poorer Jews behind to till the
ground. 70 years later, some of the Jews from Babylon returned to
Judah. They found that the Jews had intermarried with some
Philistines, one of Israel and Judah's most noted enemies in the
Bible. These Jews were despised. The Jews weren't supposed to marry
outside of their twelve tribes. This hatred of the Samaritans
lasted centuries. When Jesus found the woman at the well, she was a
Samaritan. Jesus shouldn't have been talking to a woman, let alone
a Jew. In fact, when Jews had to travel from Jerusalem to Galilee,
the shortest way was through Samaria. But they would take the long
way around so as not to pass through. The Samaritans were despised
by the Jews as dogs, half-Jews and half-Samaritans. They were known
as half breeds.