The Samaritans, the Earliest Jewish Sect; Their History, Theology and Literature

General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1907 Original Publisher: The J.C. Winston Co. Subjects: Samaritans History / Jewish Religion / Christianity / History Religion / Judaism / General Religion / Judaism / History Religion / Christianity / General Social Science / Jewish Studies Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER V. THE SAMARITANS UNDER THE HELLENIC EMPIRE.1 At the end of the last Chapter probable references to th relations between the Jews and the Samaritans in the Hel- v . lenic age have been anticipated. When we turn now to . / the political history of Samaria under Hellenism, we find few further data concerning the sect until the age of the Maccabees. It is true that the land of Samaria figures constantly in the wars of Alexander and of the Diadochi. ( Its capital Samaria rebelled against the conqueror and re- y ceived exemplary punishment;2 Eusebius also reports that 7 l the city was rebuilt by Perdiccas and subsequently, in 296-5, was again destroyed by Demetrius Poliorcetes.3 But these facts throw no light upon the Samaritan sect, although it may be presumed that it sorely suffered under the harryings of the land, and that its members, men of the hardy Hebrew blood, were often found among the rebels. Josephus describes the calamities brought upon Syria and upon Juda in particular by the wars of the first Ptolemy, and records that this monarch carried off many captives from the hill-country of Juda, and the places about Jerusalem, and Mount Gerizim.4 The result of these Ptolemaicwars and conquests was the connection made between Egypt and the Jews and Samaritans, which brought many of both sects, partly as captives, partly as willing immigrants, to the ...