Samaria
Where is Samaria today? Sebastia, northwest of Nablus in the West Bank, capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and its surrounding region.
- Today
- Sebastia, northwest of Nablus (West Bank)
- Country
- Palestine (West Bank)
- Status
- Archaeological site: remains from the Israelite palace to Herod's era
- Identification
- Certain
Samaria is the city King Omri built on a hill he had bought and made the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel; the KK translation tells of its founding under the name Shomron. Ahab built a temple for Baal here, and in the days of Elijah and Elisha the city endured famine and siege. Around 722 BC the Assyrians captured Samaria and deported its people. Over time the name came to cover the whole hill country around it: the woman Jesus spoke with at the well was a Samaritan, and Philip proclaimed the gospel in Samaria.
Read the chapters
- 1 Kings 16
- 1 Kings 18
A chapter recounting the dramatic confrontation in which the prophet Elijah stands alone against many opponents on Mount Carmel — a tense scene testing which power is real.
- 2 Kings 6
- 2 Kings 17
- John 4
- Acts 8
Related topics
Related people
- Jesus Christ
- Mary
- Paul
- Peter
- John the Baptist
- Solomon
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Barnabas
- Stephen
- Lazarus
- Lydia
- Martha
- Matthew
- Mary Magdalene
- Timothy
- Thomas
- John the Apostle
- Philip the Apostle
- Andrew
- Judas Iscariot
- Mark
Related verse collections
- Bible Verses About Love
- Bible Verses About Prayer
- Bible Verses of Comfort
- Bible Verses About Fear and Anxiety
- Bible Verses About Creation
- Bible Verses About Salvation
- Bible Verses About Repentance
- Bible Verses About Generosity
- Bible Verses About Jesus
- Bible Verses About Witness
- Bible Verses About Loneliness
- Bible Verses About Guidance
- Bible Verses About Joy
- Bible Verses About Peace and Rest
- Bible Verses About Friendship
Reading plans
- Start with John — 7 Days Through the Life of Jesus
- The Bible for Beginners — 10 Days
- Holy Week — The Final Days of Jesus
- Advent — 24 Days to Christmas
- The Early Church Through Acts — 28 Days
- The Bible in a Year — 365 Days from Cover to Cover
- 30 Days with the Gospel — An Introduction to the New Testament
Books
Places in the Bible
Where is Samaria today?
The city of Samaria today is the village and archaeological site of Sebastia in the West Bank, about 10 kilometres northwest of Nablus; the name Samaria also refers to the surrounding hill country. In the Bible it is the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, built by King Omri on a hill he had bought (1 Kings 16:24). On the mound visitors see remains of the Israelite royal palace, the temple Herod built in honour of Augustus and a Roman colonnaded street; the village's Nabi Yahya Mosque keeps alive the tradition of John the Baptist's tomb.
Who are the Samaritans?
The Samaritans are the community that lived in the region after the fall of northern Israel and regard Mount Gerizim as their holy place. In Jesus' day there was deep tension between them and the Jews (John 4:9), which is why the parable of the Good Samaritan surprised its hearers. A small Samaritan community still lives on Mount Gerizim and in Holon, Israel.
Is John the Baptist's tomb in Sebastia?
The Bible does not say where John was buried; it only tells that his disciples took his body and laid it in a tomb (Mark 6:29). A tradition going back to the early centuries places his tomb in Sebastia, where the Nabi Yahya Mosque, set within the remains of a Crusader cathedral, keeps that tradition alive.