Samaria - A History and Geography for the Jewish People
The Land Between the Hills
When I think about Samaria, I am not simply thinking about a modern geographic region.
I am thinking about a land deeply woven into the history of Israel—a land of mountains and valleys, ancient cities and forgotten roads, kings and prophets, conquest and exile, judgment and restoration.
Samaria sits in the heart of the Land of Israel, between the central hill country associated with Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. Its landscape is dominated by mountains, ridges, valleys, springs, and fertile agricultural areas.
For me, understanding Samaria begins with understanding something fundamental:
Samaria is not merely a name on a modern map. It is a biblical land with a long history.
The Tanakh repeatedly describes the land of Israel in geographic, tribal, political, and covenantal terms.
“And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.”
— Genesis 12:7
That promise provides the larger biblical framework for understanding the geography of Israel.
Where Is Samaria?
Geographically, ancient Samaria occupied much of the central hill country of the Land of Israel.
Its territory lies approximately between the region of the Jezreel Valley to the north and the Judean hill country to the south.
To the west, the land gradually descends toward the coastal plain.
To the east, the central mountains descend dramatically toward the Jordan Valley.
The landscape is therefore very different from the flat coastal plain.
Samaria is a mountainous region.
Its hills provided natural defensive positions, while its valleys created routes connecting different parts of the country.
Several important biblical locations are associated with this region, including:
- Shechem
- Mount Gerizim
- Mount Ebal
- Shiloh
- Bethel
- Samaria
- Jezreel
- Dothan
- Tirzah
These were not isolated places. They belonged to a broader landscape through which people traveled, farmed, worshiped, governed, fought, and traded.
The Land of Ephraim and Manasseh
Much of the territory later identified with Samaria was associated with the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
After the Israelites entered the Land, the territory was divided among the tribes.
Joshua records the inheritance of Ephraim:
“And the lot of the children of Joseph went out from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Bethel.”
— Joshua 16:1
The territory of Joseph included both Ephraim and Manasseh.
The central hill country therefore became particularly associated with the descendants of Joseph.
This is important because the history of Samaria cannot be separated from the history of the northern tribes of Israel.
Shechem: One of Samaria's Great Biblical Cities
When I look at the history of Samaria, I cannot begin anywhere more appropriately than Shechem.
Shechem was situated between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.
The location is extraordinarily significant in the Tanakh.
Abraham passed through the land and came to the place of Shechem:
“And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the plain of Moreh.”
— Genesis 12:6
There the LORD appeared to Abraham.
Shechem therefore connects the geography of Samaria directly with the earliest promises made to Abraham.
Later, Jacob came to Shechem.
“And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan.”
— Genesis 33:18
Jacob purchased land there.
His family history became permanently connected with the region.
Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal
The mountains surrounding Shechem are among the most important geographical landmarks in the biblical history of Israel.
Mount Gerizim stands to the south of Shechem.
Mount Ebal stands to the north.
Moses commanded Israel to pronounce blessings and curses associated with these mountains.
Deuteronomy records:
“And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.”
— Deuteronomy 11:29
Joshua later carried out these instructions.
“Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal.”
— Joshua 8:30
The Israelites gathered there and heard the words of the Torah.
This makes the geographical setting enormously important.
The mountains were not simply scenery.
They became part of Israel's covenantal memory.
Shiloh: The Sanctuary in the Hill Country
Another important location in the Samarian region is Shiloh.
After the conquest of the land, the Tabernacle was established there.
Joshua records:
“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there.”
— Joshua 18:1
Shiloh became one of the earliest major centers of Israelite worship.
For generations, the sanctuary stood there.
The story of Hannah and Samuel is connected with Shiloh.
Hannah prayed at the sanctuary, and Samuel was brought there to serve the LORD.
The prophet Jeremiah later referred back to Shiloh as a warning to Jerusalem.
“But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first.”
— Jeremiah 7:12
Shiloh therefore reminds me that the central hill country was not merely politically significant.
It was profoundly connected with Israel's spiritual history.
Bethel
Another important biblical location in the region is Bethel.
The name itself means House of God.
Jacob encountered God at Bethel.
“And he called the name of that place Bethel.”
— Genesis 28:19
Bethel became an important location throughout Israel's history.
The geography of the central hill country meant that Bethel was positioned along important routes through the mountains.
Its location helped make it strategically significant.
Yet its later history also became tragic.
After the kingdom divided, Bethel became one of the places where Jeroboam established one of his golden calves.
The Tanakh records:
“And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan.”
— 1 Kings 12:29
A place associated with Jacob's encounter with God became associated with idolatrous worship.
That transformation tells us something important about the biblical history of Samaria:
The land itself was not the problem. What people did in the land mattered.
The Kingdom Divides
The history of Samaria changes dramatically after the reign of Solomon.
Following Solomon's death, the united kingdom divided.
The tribes in the north formed what became known as the Kingdom of Israel.
Judah and Benjamin remained associated with the southern kingdom centered on Jerusalem.
Jeroboam became king over the northern kingdom.
The division was political, but it also became spiritual and religious.
The northern kingdom established alternative centers of worship.
Eventually, the city of Samaria itself became the capital of the northern kingdom.
The City of Samaria
The city of Samaria was founded by King Omri.
The Tanakh tells us:
“And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria.”
— 1 Kings 16:24
This is where the name Samaria becomes particularly important.
The word can refer to the city itself and, more broadly, to the surrounding territory associated with the northern kingdom.
The city occupied a strategically important hill.
From this elevated position, the capital could command views across the surrounding countryside.
Its location also provided defensive advantages.
Samaria became the political center of the northern Kingdom of Israel.
A Kingdom of Mountains, Valleys, and Fertile Land
Samaria's geography helped shape its history.
The central hill country contains numerous valleys between mountain ridges.
These valleys provided agricultural land and transportation corridors.
The hills themselves provided defensible locations for settlements.
The region also contains springs and agricultural terraces.
In biblical times, people cultivated crops such as grain, grapes, olives, and other produce.
The Tanakh repeatedly describes the abundance of Israel's land.
Moses described the Promised Land as:
“A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey.”
— Deuteronomy 8:8
Samaria participated in this broader agricultural landscape.
The land could be beautiful and productive.
But its agricultural wealth also made it economically and strategically valuable.
The Jezreel Valley
To the north of the central Samarian mountains lies the broad and fertile Jezreel Valley.
This valley became one of the great agricultural and military landscapes of ancient Israel.
The city of Jezreel appears repeatedly in the biblical narrative.
King Ahab maintained a royal residence there.
The story of Naboth's vineyard took place at Jezreel.
The Tanakh records:
“So Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him.”
— 1 Kings 21:4
The Jezreel Valley also provided a natural corridor connecting different parts of the country.
Whoever controlled this region possessed significant strategic advantages.
Samaria and the Prophets
The prophets spoke extensively about the northern kingdom and its capital.
One of the most powerful voices was Amos.
Amos confronted the wealthy and powerful inhabitants of Samaria because of injustice.
He declared:
“Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy.”
— Amos 4:1
Amos's words remind me that biblical geography is never merely geography.
The mountains of Samaria became the setting for a moral confrontation.
God cared about how people treated one another.
The wealthy could not hide behind prosperous cities, fortified hills, or political power.
Isaiah and the Pride of Samaria
Isaiah also spoke against Samaria.
He described the northern kingdom's pride and political confidence.
“Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower.”
— Isaiah 28:1
Ephraim was one of the dominant tribes of the northern kingdom.
The expression connects the political and spiritual condition of the kingdom with its geographic heartland.
The lesson is sobering.
A prosperous land does not guarantee a righteous people.
A powerful capital does not guarantee security.
The Assyrian Conquest
Eventually, the northern kingdom fell.
The Assyrian Empire invaded the Kingdom of Israel.
Samaria was besieged.
The Tanakh records:
“Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.”
— 2 Kings 17:3
Eventually:
“And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria.”
— 2 Kings 17:6
This was one of the great catastrophes in Israel's biblical history.
The northern kingdom was destroyed.
Large numbers of Israelites were deported.
The political kingdom of Israel ceased to exist.
Why Samaria Became Associated With the Northern Tribes
After the Assyrian conquest, the population and political character of the region changed dramatically.
The Assyrian Empire relocated populations from various conquered territories.
The Tanakh records:
“And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel.”
— 2 Kings 17:24
This passage is fundamental to understanding the later history of the region.
Samaria became a land in which different populations lived.
The biblical account describes conflict, adaptation, intermarriage, religious confusion, and competing claims regarding worship.
At the same time, the descendants of Israelites from the northern tribes did not simply disappear from biblical history.
The Tanakh continues to mention members of the northern tribes.
The Return of Judah and the Question of Samaria
Later, the Babylonian exile brought another major transformation.
Judah was conquered.
Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed.
But eventually, the people of Judah returned.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah describe the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple.
The people living in the surrounding region sought involvement in the rebuilding.
But the returning Judeans refused their participation.
Ezra records:
“Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God.”
— Ezra 4:3
From this period onward, relations between the Jewish community centered in Jerusalem and the Samaritan population became increasingly hostile.
The conflict was not merely geographic.
It involved competing claims concerning ancestry, worship, authority, and the proper place of worship.
Samaria and Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim became particularly important to the Samaritan community.
Its significance was rooted in the biblical geography surrounding Shechem.
Deuteronomy had commanded Israel to associate blessing with Mount Gerizim.
The Samaritan community eventually regarded Mount Gerizim as its sacred mountain.
The Jewish biblical tradition, however, centered Israel's worship upon Jerusalem and the Temple.
The Tanakh declares concerning Jerusalem:
“But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek.”
— Deuteronomy 12:5
Jerusalem therefore became the central sanctuary of Jewish worship.
The distinction between Jerusalem and Mount Gerizim became one of the defining religious divisions between Jews and Samaritans.
Samaria in the Books of the Prophets
The prophets continued to speak about Samaria.
Micah declared:
“Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard.”
— Micah 1:6
The image is striking.
A capital city could become ruins.
A powerful kingdom could disappear.
Buildings could collapse.
Political institutions could vanish.
Yet the land itself remained.
The hills remained.
The valleys remained.
The ancient roads remained.
The biblical landscape continued to testify to Israel's history.
Samaria's Relationship to Ephraim
When studying Samaria, I often encounter the word Ephraim.
That is because Ephraim was one of the most influential tribes of the northern kingdom.
The prophets frequently used "Ephraim" as a designation for the northern kingdom.
Hosea repeatedly speaks about Ephraim.
“Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.”
— Hosea 4:17
But Hosea also speaks about restoration.
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.”
— Hosea 14:4
This combination of judgment and hope is characteristic of the prophetic message.
God's judgment is real.
But so is His concern for restoration.
Samaria Is Not the Same as Judea
It is important for me to distinguish the ancient regions.
Judea refers primarily to the southern region associated with Judah.
Samaria refers to the central region associated historically with the northern Kingdom of Israel.
Galilee lies farther north.
These regions have distinct geographic characteristics and different histories.
Yet they are all part of the larger biblical landscape of the Land of Israel.
The Tanakh does not present Israel as an abstract idea.
It repeatedly names mountains, valleys, rivers, cities, borders, tribal territories, and roads.
The geography matters.
The Mountains of Samaria Today
When I look at the physical geography of Samaria, I see a continuation of the central mountain spine of the Land of Israel.
The terrain includes:
- Mount Ebal
- Mount Gerizim
- the hills around Shechem
- the highlands of Ephraim
- the valleys surrounding the mountain ridges
- the approaches toward the Jezreel Valley
- the eastern descent toward the Jordan Valley
The landscape is rugged in many places.
Ancient communities often occupied elevated positions.
Terraces allowed farmers to cultivate hillsides.
Natural springs supported settlements.
Valleys provided transportation routes.
The result is a landscape in which geography and history are inseparable.
Samaria and the Biblical Idea of Inheritance
For Jewish people, one of the most important questions surrounding the Land is the concept of inheritance.
The Tanakh repeatedly describes the Land as an inheritance given to the tribes of Israel.
The LORD told Joshua:
“Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh.”
— Joshua 13:7
The tribal territories were not merely political districts.
They were connected with family, ancestry, covenant, and inheritance.
That is why biblical geography can carry such profound meaning for Jewish people.
When I read about Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Judah, and the other tribes, I am not reading a random list of ancient territories.
I am reading the story of a people and their inheritance.
The Prophetic Promise Concerning Israel
The story of Samaria does not end with conquest.
The prophets repeatedly spoke about the future restoration of Israel.
Jeremiah gives a particularly powerful promise:
“Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel.”
— Jeremiah 31:4
And he specifically mentions the northern tribes:
“Again thou shalt plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria.”
— Jeremiah 31:5
This verse is remarkable.
Jeremiah does not speak of Samaria merely as a symbol of destruction.
He speaks of planting again.
Building again.
Living again.
Restoration is part of the prophetic vision.
“Mountains of Samaria”
That phrase deserves special attention.
Jeremiah says:
“Again thou shalt plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria.”
— Jeremiah 31:5
The prophecy connects the physical landscape with restoration.
The mountains are still there.
The vineyards can be planted again.
The land that experienced war and exile can become productive again.
This is one of the reasons biblical geography matters so much to me.
The mountains described by the prophets are real mountains.
The valleys are real valleys.
The ancient cities stood in real places.
The promises were spoken concerning a real land.
The Valley of Jezreel and Hope
The prophet Hosea also speaks about the Jezreel Valley.
The name Jezreel itself is connected with the biblical theme of sowing and planting.
Hosea declares:
“And I will sow her unto me in the earth.”
— Hosea 2:23
The imagery of sowing, planting, vineyards, fields, and fruitfulness appears repeatedly in the prophetic literature.
These images are particularly meaningful when considered against Samaria's actual agricultural geography.
The land is capable of producing.
The hills can support vineyards and olive trees.
The valleys can produce crops.
The prophetic language of restoration therefore speaks in terms deeply connected with the physical character of the land.
What Samaria Teaches Me
When I study Samaria, I see several lessons.
1. Geography preserves memory.
Mountains and valleys can outlast kingdoms.
A political empire may disappear, but the landscape remains.
2. Prosperity does not equal righteousness.
The northern kingdom became wealthy and powerful in certain periods, yet the prophets repeatedly condemned injustice and idolatry.
3. Israel's history is deeply geographic.
Shechem, Bethel, Shiloh, Samaria, Jezreel, Mount Gerizim, and Mount Ebal are not interchangeable names.
Each place carries its own history.
4. Exile does not erase biblical memory.
The Assyrian conquest changed the population and political structure of the region.
But the prophets continued to speak about Israel, Ephraim, and Samaria.
5. Judgment and restoration appear together.
The Tanakh does not hide Israel's failures.
It records them honestly.
But it also records God's promises concerning restoration.
Samaria and the Jewish Connection to the Land
For me, Samaria is ultimately part of a much larger biblical story.
The story begins with Abraham.
It continues through Isaac and Jacob.
It moves through the twelve tribes.
It continues through the conquest under Joshua.
It passes through the judges, the united monarchy, the divided kingdoms, the Assyrian conquest, the Babylonian exile, and the return.
The land witnessed all of it.
The mountains of Samaria saw generations come and go.
The roads carried travelers.
The fields were cultivated.
Cities rose.
Cities fell.
Prophets warned kings.
Families mourned.
Children were born.
Israel experienced both blessing and judgment.
And throughout the Tanakh, the land remained intertwined with God's covenantal dealings with Israel.
A Land Remembered by God
Perhaps the most important thing I take away from studying Samaria is that biblical geography is not merely about borders.
It is about memory.
The Tanakh repeatedly reminds Israel where things happened.
God appeared to Abraham.
Jacob lived in the land.
Joshua divided the inheritance.
Israel worshiped at Shiloh.
The kingdom divided.
Samaria became a capital.
The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom.
The people were exiled.
The prophets warned.
And the prophets also promised restoration.
Jeremiah's words remain especially powerful:
“Again thou shalt plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria.”
— Jeremiah 31:5
That single verse captures something profound.
The mountains of Samaria have witnessed sorrow.
But the prophetic vision includes planting.
Growth.
Life.
Renewal.
Conclusion: Remembering Samaria
Samaria is a region of mountains, valleys, ancient cities, agricultural terraces, springs, and historic roads.
But for Jewish people, it is more than geography.
It is part of the biblical inheritance and memory of Israel.
It is connected to Ephraim and Manasseh.
It contains Shechem, Mount Gerizim, Mount Ebal, Shiloh, Bethel, Jezreel, and the ancient capital of Samaria.
It witnessed the rise and fall of the northern kingdom.
It experienced the devastation of Assyrian conquest and exile.
It became the center of a complicated relationship between Jewish communities and the Samaritan population.
And yet the prophets did not speak only of destruction.
They spoke of restoration.
They spoke of vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
They spoke of rebuilding.
They spoke of Israel's future.
When I look at Samaria through the Tanakh, I therefore see both history and hope.
I see a land whose hills remember.
I see a land whose valleys have carried generations.
I see a land that became the stage for some of the most consequential events in Israel's history.
And I am reminded that the biblical story is inseparable from the physical land in which that story unfolded.
“And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.”
— Zechariah 2:12
The Tanakh calls me to remember the land not simply as territory, but as part of the story of Israel, its covenant, its history, its failures, its promises, and its hope.
Samaria is not merely a place I can locate on a map.
It is a landscape of Jewish history.
