Jerusalem

Mt. Gerizim

Dead Sea

Sea of Galilee

NORTHERN KINGDOMOF ISRAEL

SOUTHERNKINGDOMOF JUDAH

SAMARIA

Medite

rrane

an Se

a

1000 BC

900 BC

800 BC

700 BC

SAMARIA SACKEDBY ASSYRIAN EMPIRE

UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL Under King David & King Solomon

DIVIDED KINGDOMIsrael (North)Judah (South)

1100 BC

Samaria wasthe capital of the northernkingdom ofIsrael

WHY JESUS’ FAMOUS STORY ISMORE RADICAL THAN YOU KNOW

The Good Samaritan in Its Original Cultural Context

When most of the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom were sent into exile, other people groups settled into their land. They intermarried with the remaining Israelites, and their offspring mixed worship of Israel’s true God with the idols of the foreigners.

John Hyrcanus destroysSamaria and its templeon Mount Gerizim

OLD

TES

TAM

ENT

TIM

ELIN

E

600 BC

500 BC

400 BC

300 BC

200 BC

100 BC

70-YEARJEWISH EXILE

0

NEHEMIAH CAME IN 444 BC TO REBUILD JERUSALEM’S WALLS

Samaritans opposeNehemiah’s wall building

JEWISH RULER JOHN HYRCANUS

RISKY PATHGalileans usually journeyedthrough Samaria for festivalsin Jerusalem, but Samaritanssometimes heckled them,causing occasional violence.

LOCATIONJews insisted thatJerusalem was the properplace for the temple;Samaritans insisted thatit was Mount Gerizim.

DIFFERENCESSamaritan tradition exhibited a conservative piety similar to thatof ancient Judaism, but rejectedBiblical history after the Pentateuch.

In the �rst century AD, Samaritans desecrate the Jerusalem temple with corpses, leading Jerusalem to permanently exclude Samaritans from worship at the temple.

100 AD

JESUS SHOCKS HIS JEWISH CROWD BY TALKING ABOUT A SAMARITAN WHO IS GOOD

Content adapted from the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study BibleInformation Graphic by: www.teresanne.com • Teresanne Creative, LLC

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT: www.contextchangeseverything.com