Samaritan Name for God in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible does not record a specific name for God used exclusively by the Samaritans. The term "Samaritan" refers to the mixed inhabitants settled in Samaria by the Assyrian king Esarhaddon around 677 BCE, after the original inhabitants were taken into captivity by Sargon in 721 BCE [1]. These new inhabitants, brought from Babylon and other places, gradually blended with the remaining Jews and adopted aspects of the Jewish religion, though they were distinct from the Jews who returned from captivity [1].
The name "Samaria" itself has Hebrew roots, meaning "watch-mountain" [7] or "throne or keeping of the Lord" [4]. The biblical text refers to individuals with names incorporating elements related to God, such as "Hashabiah," meaning "whom God regards" [5], and "Shamariah," meaning "kept by Jehovah" [6]. These names, found in various biblical books, reflect a common linguistic practice in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions where divine names or attributes were incorporated into personal names. For instance, Shamariah is mentioned as a son of Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 11:19 [6] and another individual named Shemariah appears in Ezra 10:32 [8].
While the Hebrew Bible does not specify a unique Samaritan name for God, it does mention various deities worshipped by neighboring peoples. For example, Rimmon was a deity worshipped by the Syrians of Damascus, possibly an abbreviated form of Hadad-rimmon, a sun-god [2]. The prophet Isaiah mentions "the god of Hamath, and of Arpad," and "the god of Sepharvaim" in a passage referring to the Assyrian conquest, including Samaria [3]. These references highlight the polytheistic context of the ancient Near East, from which some of the original Samaritan settlers originated [1].
Later New Testament accounts illustrate the significant religious and ethnic animosity between Jews and Samaritans. Jews considered Samaritans excommunicated and used terms like "heretic and devil" to describe them [9]. The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke highlights this tension, portraying a Samaritan as showing compassion where a Jewish priest and Levite did not, emphasizing that a Jew would not typically expect help from a Samaritan due to their mutual enmity [10]. Despite this, the Samaritans in John's Gospel recognized Jesus as the "Savior of the world," a name that underscored their distinct identity from Judaism and suggested a broader understanding of Jesus's mission beyond Jewish confines [11].
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Samaritans — The name given to the new and mixed inhabitants whom Esarhaddon (B.C. 677), the king of Assyria, brought from Babylon and other places and settled in the cities of Samaria, instead of the original inhabitants whom Sargon (B.C. 721) had removed into captivity (2 Kings 17:24; comp. Ezra 4:2, 9, 10). These strangers (comp. Luke 17:18) amalgamated with the Jews still remaining in the land, and gradually abandoned their old idolatry and adopted partly the Jewish religion. After the return from the Captivity, the Jews in Jerusalem refused to allow them to take”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Rimmon — a deity worshipped by the Syrians of Damascus, where there was a temple or house of Rimmon. (2 Kings 5:18) Rimmon is perhaps the abbreviated form of Hadad-rimmon, Hadad being the sun-god of the Syrians. Combining this with the pomegranate which was his symbol, Hadad-rimmon would then he the sun-god of the late summer, who ripens the pomegranate and other fruits. (pomegranate) the name of several towns. + A city of Zebulun (1 Chronicles 6:77; Nehemiah 11:29) a Levitical city, the present Rummaneh, six miles north of Nazareth. + A town in the southern portion o”
- Isaiah “Isaiah 36:19 (Geneva1599) — Where is the god of Hamath, and of Arpad? where is the god of Sepharuaim? or howe haue they deliuered Samaria out of mine hand?”
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Shamariah — throne or keeping of the Lord”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Hashabiah — (whom God regards). + A Merarite Levite. (1 Chronicles 6:45) + Another Merarite Levite. (1 Chronicles 9:14) + The fourth of the six sons of Jeduthun, (1 Chronicles 25:3) who had charge of the twelfth course. ver. 19. (B.C. 1014.) + One of the descendants of Hebron the son of Kohath- (1 Chronicles 26:30) + The son of Kemuel, who was prince of the tribe of Levi in the time of David (1 Chronicles 27:17) (B.C. 1014.) + A Levite one of the "chiefs" of his tribe, who officiated for King Josiah at his great Passover feast. (2 Chronicles 35:9) (B.C. 623). + A Mera”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Shamariah — (kept by Jehovah), son of Rehoboam. (2 Chronicles 11:19)”
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Samaria — watch-mountain”
- Ezra “Ezra 10:32 (NASB) — Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah;”
- Luke (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Luke 10:33: Samaritan--one excommunicated by the Jews, a byword among them, synonymous with heretic and devil (Joh 8:48; see on Luk 17:18). had compassion--His best is mentioned first; for "He who gives outward things gives something external to himself, but he who imparts compassion and tears gives him something from his very self" [GREGORY THE GREAT, in TRENCH]. No doubt the priest and Levite had their excuses--It is not safe to be lingering here; besides, he's past recovery; and then, may not suspicion rest upon ourselves? So might the Samaritan have reasoned,”
- Luke (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Luke 10:33: Samaritan is mentioned merely to show that he was a person from whom a Jew had no right to expect any help or relief, because of the enmity which subsisted between the two nations.”
- John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on John 4:42: 4:42 The Samaritans had experienced for themselves that Jesus was true. Their name for Jesus, Savior of the world (also used in 1 Jn 4:14), demonstrated that the Samaritans were keenly aware of their distance from Judaism. Jesus’ ministry was not simply for Jews, but for all people (John 1:4-12; cp. 12:20-26).”