Samaritans in the New Testament
Four New Testament writings mention Samaritans and Samaria—Luke−Acts, John, and Matthew. We must consider that all Samaritan texts in the New Testament are based on a historically correct knowledge of the cult of YHWH worshippers in Samaria oriented towards the Gerizim. If the YH...
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doaj-0d8ba3c67a124fc79c3d9b1b1aaf839a2020-11-25T01:54:55ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442020-03-0111314710.3390/rel11030147rel11030147Samaritans in the New TestamentMartina Böhm0Fachbereich Evangelische Theologie, Fakultät für Geisteswissenschaften, Universität Hamburg, 20354 Hamburg, GermanyFour New Testament writings mention Samaritans and Samaria—Luke−Acts, John, and Matthew. We must consider that all Samaritan texts in the New Testament are based on a historically correct knowledge of the cult of YHWH worshippers in Samaria oriented towards the Gerizim. If the YHWH admirers in Samaria are to be understood as one of the two independent “Israel” denominations that existed in the Palestinian heartland during the post-exilic period, consequently, in John, Matthew, and Luke−Acts, attention is paid to their understanding of the ecclesiological significance of “Israel” and to Christological aspects. Moreover, the authors of the Gospels reflect a semantically young phenomenon, when Σαμαρῖται is understood beyond the ethnicon as a term for a group religiously distinct from Judaism. At the time of Paul, the term “Samaritan” had not yet been established to refer to the religiously defined group. This means that care must be taken when interpreting the term “Israel” and “Israelites” in all Jewish or Jewish-Christian texts written before 70 A.D. This also applies to Paul: when Paul speaks of “Israel”, “Israelites”, and “circumcision”, he could have consciously used inclusive terminology that, in principle, included the (later named) “Samaritans” in the diaspora.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/3/147luke–actsgospel of matthewgospel of johnpauline letters2kingsseptuagintinscriptions (greek)josephusisrael/israeliteshistorical jesusmount gerizimpost-exilic periodpentateuchmosesjerusalemdiasporadelosben sira |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Martina Böhm |
spellingShingle |
Martina Böhm Samaritans in the New Testament Religions luke–acts gospel of matthew gospel of john pauline letters 2kings septuagint inscriptions (greek) josephus israel/israelites historical jesus mount gerizim post-exilic period pentateuch moses jerusalem diaspora delos ben sira |
author_facet |
Martina Böhm |
author_sort |
Martina Böhm |
title |
Samaritans in the New Testament |
title_short |
Samaritans in the New Testament |
title_full |
Samaritans in the New Testament |
title_fullStr |
Samaritans in the New Testament |
title_full_unstemmed |
Samaritans in the New Testament |
title_sort |
samaritans in the new testament |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Religions |
issn |
2077-1444 |
publishDate |
2020-03-01 |
description |
Four New Testament writings mention Samaritans and Samaria—Luke−Acts, John, and Matthew. We must consider that all Samaritan texts in the New Testament are based on a historically correct knowledge of the cult of YHWH worshippers in Samaria oriented towards the Gerizim. If the YHWH admirers in Samaria are to be understood as one of the two independent “Israel” denominations that existed in the Palestinian heartland during the post-exilic period, consequently, in John, Matthew, and Luke−Acts, attention is paid to their understanding of the ecclesiological significance of “Israel” and to Christological aspects. Moreover, the authors of the Gospels reflect a semantically young phenomenon, when Σαμαρῖται is understood beyond the ethnicon as a term for a group religiously distinct from Judaism. At the time of Paul, the term “Samaritan” had not yet been established to refer to the religiously defined group. This means that care must be taken when interpreting the term “Israel” and “Israelites” in all Jewish or Jewish-Christian texts written before 70 A.D. This also applies to Paul: when Paul speaks of “Israel”, “Israelites”, and “circumcision”, he could have consciously used inclusive terminology that, in principle, included the (later named) “Samaritans” in the diaspora. |
topic |
luke–acts gospel of matthew gospel of john pauline letters 2kings septuagint inscriptions (greek) josephus israel/israelites historical jesus mount gerizim post-exilic period pentateuch moses jerusalem diaspora delos ben sira |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/3/147 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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