Original Word: Σαμάρεια
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: Samareia
Pronunciation: sah-MAR-eh-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (sam-ar'-i-ah)
KJV: Samaria
NASB: Samaria
Word Origin: [of Hebrew origin (H8111 (שׁוֹמְרוֹן - Samaria))]

1. Samaria (i.e. Shomeron), a city and region of Israel

Samaria.

Of Hebrew origin (Shomrown); Samaria (i.e. Shomeron), a city and region of Palestine -- Samaria.

see HEBREW Shomrown

Word Origin
of Hebrew origin Shomron
Definition
Samaria, the name of both a city and a region in Pal.
NASB Translation
Samaria (11).

STRONGS NT 4540: Σαμάρεια

Σαμάρεια (on the accent cf. Chandler § 104; Buttmann, 17 (15); Σαμαρια T WH (see Tdf. Proleg., p. 87; cf. Iota); on the forms see Abbot in B. D. American edition, under the word), Σαμαρείας (cf. Buttmann, as above), ἡ (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 18, 5{a}) (Hebrew שֹׁמְרון, Chaldean שָׁמְרַיִן pronoun Scha-me-ra-in, Assyr. Samirina) (on the derivation, see B. D., under the word), Samaria;

1. the name of a city built by Omri king of Israel (1 Kings 16:24), on a mountain of the same name (שֹׁמְרון הַר, Amos 6:1), situated in the tribe of Ephraim; it was the capital of the whole region and the residence of the kings of Israel. After having been besieged three years by Shalmaneser (IV.), king of Assyria, it was taken and doubtless devastated by Sargon, his son and successor, , who deported the ten tribes of Israel and supplied their place with other settlers; 2 Kings 17:5f, 24; 2 Kings 18:9ff. After its restoration, it was utterly destroyed by John Hyrcanus the Jewish prince and high priest (see next word). Long afterward rebuilt once more, it was given by Augustus to Herod (the Great), by whom it was named in honor of Augustus Sebaste, i. e. Augusta (Strabo book 16, p. 760; Josephus, Antiquities 15, 7, 3; 8, 5). It is now an obscure village bearing the name of Sebustieh or Sebastiyeh (cf. Bädeker, Palästina, p. 354ff. (English translation, p. 340ff; Murray, Handbook, Part ii., p. 329ff)). It is mentioned, Acts 8:5 L T WH, εἰς τήν πόλιν τῆς Σαμαρείας (genitive of apposition, cf. Winers Grammar, § 59, 8 a.; (Buttmann, § 123, 4)), but according to the better reading, πόλει ... τῆς Σαμαρείας, the genitive is partitive, and does not denote the city but the Samaritan territory; cf. Acts 8:9.

2. the Samaritan territory, the region of Samaria, of which the city Samaria was the capital: Luke 17:11; John 4:4f, 7; Acts 1:8; Acts 8:1, 5 (see above), ; ; by metonymy, for the inhabitants of the region, Acts 8:14. Cf. Winers RWB, under the word Samaria; Robinson, Palestine ii. 288ff; Petermann in Herzog 13:359ff; (especially Kautzsch in (Riehm under the word Samaritaner, and) Herzog edition 2, xiii. 340ff, and references there and in B. D. (especially American edition) under the word ).

Geographical and Historical Setting

Samaria occupied the central ridge of the land, bounded by Judaea to the south and Galilee to the north. The rugged hill-country was dotted with towns such as Shechem (ancient Shechem/Sychar), Sebaste (the rebuilt capital), and many villages tied to the fertile valleys below. Founded by King Omri as the capital of the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 16:24), Samaria became both a political center and a symbol of Israel’s apostasy when Ahab introduced Baal worship. After the Assyrian conquest in 722 BC, deportations and resettlements (2 Kings 17:24–33) produced an ethnically mixed population that retained a form of Yahweh worship while incorporating foreign elements.

Samaritan Identity in the First Century

By New-Testament times the Samaritans held to the Pentateuch, revered Mount Gerizim as the true place of worship, and rejected the Jerusalem temple and later prophetic writings. Centuries of mutual suspicion, sharpened by religious and political rivalries, lay behind the statement in John 4:9, “For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.” Yet Samaritans maintained a distinct expectation of the coming Messiah (“the Taheb”), which created an unexpected point of contact with the gospel.

Samaria in the Ministry of Jesus

1. Mandatory Passage: “Now He had to pass through Samaria” (John 4:4). Geographic necessity became redemptive opportunity as Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah to a Samaritan woman, leading many in Sychar to confess, “This is indeed the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).
2. Border Mercy: On the road between Galilee and Samaria, Jesus healed ten lepers, of whom only the Samaritan returned to give glory to God (Luke 17:11–19), illustrating that faith can bloom in unexpected soil.

Samaria in the Program of Acts

• Promise: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The inclusion of Samaria marks the gospel’s first step beyond Judaea.
• Persecution-Driven Expansion: Following Stephen’s martyrdom “all except the apostles were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). What appeared as defeat advanced the divine plan.
• Evangelistic Breakthrough: Philip preached in Samaria; “so there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:5–8). The subsequent visit of Peter and John (Acts 8:14–17) publicly affirmed Samaritan believers as full members of Christ’s body through the same Holy Spirit.
• Ongoing Strengthening: “So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace” (Acts 9:31), showing that the once-fractured region was now part of a unified, Spirit-filled community.
• Council Journey: Paul and Barnabas later “passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers” (Acts 15:3), evidence that Samaritans rejoiced at God’s wider mercy.

Theological Significance

1. Bridge People: Samaria illustrates God’s strategy of using those on the margins to open new frontiers. The Samaritans were neither fully Jewish nor Gentile, yet they became the gospel’s first cross-cultural harvest.
2. Unity in the Spirit: The apostolic laying on of hands (Acts 8:17) demonstrated that the same Spirit who filled Jewish believers also indwelled Samaritans, prefiguring the inclusion of the nations.
3. Fulfillment of Prophecy: The healing of the land’s historic breach aligns with prophecies of a reunited Israel (e.g., Ezekiel 37:19–22), anticipating the consummate harmony of the kingdom.

Practical Lessons for the Church

• Gospel Priority over Prejudice: Jesus and the early church modeled deliberate engagement with the estranged. Modern disciples likewise cross cultural and historical divides.
• Spirit-Empowered Witness: Effective mission follows the Acts pattern—Spirit impetus, proclamation of Christ, and confirmation through transformed lives.
• Joy as Missional Fruit: Repeatedly Luke notes “great joy” in Samaria; vibrant joy accompanies genuine revival.

Samaria’s eleven New-Testament mentions chart the movement from hostility to harmony, underscoring God’s unchanging purpose to make “one flock” under the “one Shepherd” (John 10:16).

Σαμαρείᾳ Σαμάρεια Σαμάρειαν Σαμαρείας Σαμαρια Σαμαρία Σαμαρίᾳ Σαμαριαν Σαμαρίαν Σαμαριας Σαμαρίας Samareia Samáreia Samareíāi Samareian Samáreian Samareias SamareíasInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts