Editing Samaritans (section)

===Biblical versions===
According to the Hebrew Bible, they were temporarily united under a [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|United Monarchy]], but after the death of King [[Solomon]], the kingdom split in two, the northern [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] with its last capital city [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]] and the southern [[Kingdom of Judah]] with its capital [[Jerusalem]]. The [[Deuteronomist|Deuteronomistic history]], written in Judah, portrays Israel as a sinful kingdom, divinely punished for its idolatry and iniquity by being destroyed by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] in 720&nbsp;BCE. The tensions continued in the post-exilic period. The [[Books of Kings]] is more inclusive than [[Ezra–Nehemiah]] since the ideal is of one Israel with twelve tribes, whereas the [[Books of Chronicles]] concentrate on the [[Kingdom of Judah]] and ignore the Kingdom of Israel.{{sfn|Coogan|2009|p=353}} Accounts of Samaritan origins in respectively 2 Kings 17:6,24 and Chronicles, together with statements in both Ezra and Nehemiah differ in important degrees, suppressing or highlighting narrative details according to the various intentions of their authors.{{efn|"The author of Chronicles conceals the information that is given prominence in Kings, and vice versa. [...] The books of [[Ezra]] and [[Nehemiah]] adopt a narrow sectarian approach that seeks to maintain the uniqueness and racial purity of the exiles in Babylonia, while Chronicles is more broad-minded and views the Israelite nation as a great people that includes all the tribes, both Judah and Israel." {{harv|Magen|2007|p=187}}}}[[File:100.Foreign Nations Are Slain by Lions in Samaria.jpg|thumb|''Foreigners eaten by lions in Samaria'', illustration by [[Gustave Doré]] from the 1866 ''La Sainte Bible'', The Holy Bible]] The narratives in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] about the rivalries among the 12 sons of Jacob, and other stories of brotherly discord, are viewed by historian Diklah Zohar as describing tensions between north and south, always resolving them in a symbolically favourable way for the Kingdom of Judah rather than Israel.<ref name="Zohar-2022">{{cite journal |last1=Zohar |first1=Diklah |title=Myths of Brotherly Animosity and the Civil Wars of Biblical Israel |journal=Religions |date=2022 |volume=13 |issue=8 |page=753 |doi=10.3390/rel13080753 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The emergence of the Samaritans as an ethnic and religious community distinct from other [[Levant]] peoples appears to have occurred at some point after the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel in approximately 721&nbsp;BCE. The [[Annals of Sargon II|annals of]] [[Sargon II]] of [[Assyria]] indicate that he deported 27,290 inhabitants of the former kingdom. Jewish tradition affirms the Assyrian deportations and replacement of the previous inhabitants by forced resettlement by other peoples but claims a different ethnic origin for the Samaritans. The Talmud accounts for a people called "Cuthim" on a number of occasions, mentioning their arrival by the hands of the Assyrians. According to 2 Kings 17:6, 24 and Josephus,<ref>Josephus, ''[[Antiquities of the Jews|Antiquities]]'' 9.277–91</ref> the people of Israel were removed by the king of the Assyrians (Sargon II)<ref>See the wording of 2 Kings 17 which mentions [[Shalmaneser V|Shalmaneser]] in verse 3 but the "king of the Assyrians" from verse 4 onward.</ref> to [[Halah]], to [[Tell Halaf|Gozan]] on the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur River]] and to the towns of the [[Medes]]. The king of the Assyrians then brought people from [[Babylon]], [[Kutha]], [[Ivah|Avva]], [[Hama]]th and [[Sepharvaim]] to place in Samaria.<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Kings|17:24|HE}}</ref> Because God sent lions among them to kill them, the king of the Assyrians sent one of the priests from [[Bethel]] to teach the new settlers about God's ordinances. The eventual result was that the new settlers worshipped both the God of the land and their own gods from the countries from which they came.<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Kings|17:25–33|HE}}</ref>

In the Chronicles, following Samaria's destruction King [[Hezekiah]] is depicted as endeavouring to draw the [[Ephraimites]], [[Tribe of Zebulun|Zebulonites]], [[Tribe of Asher|Asherites]] and [[Tribe of Manasseh|Manassites]] closer to Judah.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Chronicles|30:1}} {{Bibleverse|2 Chronicles|30:10–11}} {{Bibleverse|2 Chronicles|30:18}}</ref> Temple repairs at the time of [[Josiah]] were financed by money from all "the remnant of Israel" in Samaria, including from Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin.<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Chronicles|34:9|9}}</ref> Jeremiah likewise speaks of people from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria who brought offerings of [[frankincense]] and grain to the House of [[Tetragrammaton|YHWH]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Jeremiah|41:5|9}}</ref> Chronicles makes no mention of an Assyrian resettlement.{{sfn|Magen|2007|p=186}} Yitzakh Magen argues that the version of Chronicles is perhaps closer to the historical truth and that the Assyrian settlement was unsuccessful; he asserts that a notable Israelite population remained in Samaria, part of which (following the conquest of Judah) fled south and settled there as refugees.{{sfn|Magen|2007|p=187}}[[Adam Zertal]] dates the Assyrian onslaught at 721&nbsp;BCE to 647&nbsp;BCE. From a pottery type he identifies as Mesopotamian clustering around the Menasheh lands of Samaria, he infers that there were three waves of imported settlers.{{sfn|Zertal|1989|pp=77–84}} Furthermore, to this day the Samaritans claim descent from the tribe of Joseph.{{efn|"The laymen also possess their traditional claims. They are all of the tribe of Joseph, except those of the tribe of Benjamin, but this traditional branch of people, which, the Chronicles assert, was established at Gaza in earlier days, seems to have disappeared. There exists an aristocratic feeling amongst the different families in this community, and some are very proud over their pedigree and the great men it had produced." {{harv|Montgomery|2006|p=32}}}}

The ''[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]'' (under "Samaritans") summarizes both past and present views on the Samaritans' origins. It says:

{{blockquote|sign=|source="Samaritans" in ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'', 1972, Volume 14, col. 727.|Until the middle of the 20th century it was customary to believe that the Samaritans originated from a mixture of the people living in Samaria and other peoples at the time of the conquest of Samaria by Assyria (722–721 BCE). The biblical account in II Kings 17 had long been the decisive source for the formulation of historical accounts of Samaritan origins. Reconsideration of this passage, however, has led to more attention being paid to the Chronicles of the Samaritans themselves. With the publication of Chronicle II (Sefer ha-Yamim), the fullest Samaritan version of their own history became available: the chronicles, and a variety of non-Samaritan materials.

According to the former, the Samaritans are the direct descendants of the Joseph tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, and until the 17th century CE they possessed a high priesthood descending directly from Aaron through Eleazar and Phinehas. They claim to have continuously occupied their ancient territory and to have been at peace with other Israelite tribes until the time when Eli disrupted the Northern cult by moving from Shechem to Shiloh and attracting some northern Israelites to his new followers there. For the Samaritans, this was the "schism" par excellence.
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