Original Word: שֹׁמְרוֹן
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Shomrown
Pronunciation: shohm-RONE
Phonetic Spelling: (sho-mer-one')
KJV: Samaria
NASB: Samaria
Word Origin: [from the active participle of H8104 (שָׁמַר - keep)]

1. watch-station
2. Shomeron, a place in Israel

Samaria

From the active participle of shamar; watch-station; Shomeron, a place in Palestine -- Samaria.

see HEBREW shamar

Word Origin
from shamar
Definition
capital of N. kingdom of Isr.
NASB Translation
Samaria (109).

שֹׁמְרוֺן₁₀₉ proper name, of a location capital of Northern Israel from Omri's time (belonging to clan שֶׁמֶר, Sta^{ZAW v (1885), 165-175}; originally שַׁמְרוֺן or שַׁמְרַיִן; Assyrian Samerina COT^{1Kings 16:24}); — ׳שׁ 1 Kings 16:24 (name explanation as from שֶׁמֶר, originally owner of site), 1 Kings 16:28; 1 Kings 16:29; 1 Kings 16:32; 1 Kings 20:1,10 +; שֹׁמְר֫וֺנָה 1 Kings 20:43; 2 Kings 6:19; 2 Kings 14:14; personified as woman Ezekiel 16:46,51,53,55; Ezekiel 23:4,33; king of Northern Israel is ׳מֶלֶךְ שׁ 1 Kings 21:1; 2 Kings 1:3; ׳אֲשֶׁר בְּשׁ 1 Kings 21:18, compare ׳בְּשׁ ׳מָלַךְ עַליִֿשׂ 1 Kings 22:52 9t.; thence name of territory, ׳שְׂדֵה שׁ Obadiah 19, ׳עָרֵי שׁ 1 Kings 13:32 (point of view of later editor), 2 Kings 17:24,26; 2 Kings 23:19; ׳הָרֵי שׁ Amos 3:9; Jeremiah 31:5, — compare ׳הַושֿׁ Amos 4:1; Amos 6:1; 1 Kings 16:24; perhaps ׳שׁ alone Jeremiah 23:13; 1 Kings 18:2; 2 Kings 7:24; 2 Kings 7:28; 2Chronicles 25:13; ׳חֵיל שׁ Nehemiah 3:34. — ᵐ5 usually Σαμαρεια, but 1 Kings 16:24 Σεμερω, Σαεμερων, Σομορων; = modern Sebastieh; see GASm ^{G 346 ff.} Buhl^{G 207 f.} Cowley^{Ency. Bib. under the word} Wilson^{Hast. DB under the word} .

שָֽׁמְרָ֑יִן proper name, of a location (Biblical Hebrew שֹׁמְרוֺן, I. שָׁמַר); — Ezra 4:7,10.

Geographical Profile

Samaria—or Shomron—designates the city built on a steep-sided, flat-topped hill in central Israel as well as the surrounding district. Rising about 90 meters above the valleys of Ephraim and Manasseh, the site commands north-south and east-west trade routes and is watered by a strong perennial spring. Its location made it both defensible and prosperous (1 Kings 16:24; Isaiah 10:9-10).

Founding by Omri

1 Kings 16:24: “He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the owner of the hill.” By shifting Israel’s capital from Tirzah, Omri forged political stability, centralized taxation, and widened international influence (1 Kings 16:27). Archaeological layers reveal colossal walls, ornate palaces, and ivory inlays, paralleling the “ivory house” noted in 1 Kings 22:39 and Amos 3:15.

Capital of the Northern Kingdom

For roughly 160 years (c. 880–722 B.C.) Samaria served as Israel’s governmental, religious, and military heart:

• Ahab’s Baal cult (1 Kings 16:31-33) brought prophetic confrontation from Elijah and later Elisha.
• Repeated Aramean sieges highlight divine deliverance: the miraculous victory in 1 Kings 20; the famine-breaking intervention in 2 Kings 6:24—7:20.
• Jehu’s purge executed the house of Ahab at Samaria’s gates (2 Kings 10:1-11).
• Prophetic denunciations targeted its luxury and idolatry: “Proclaim… ‘See the great turmoil within her’… Therefore an enemy will surround the land” (Amos 3:9-11). “I will make Samaria a heap of rubble” (Micah 1:6). “Your calf is rejected, O Samaria” (Hosea 8:5-6).

Final Siege and Exile

2 Kings 17:5-6: “The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria, and besieged it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria.” The city fell in 722 B.C., and Assyrian resettlement produced the ethnic and religious mixture described in 2 Kings 17:24-41 and later opposed Jerusalem’s rebuild (Ezra 4).

Post-Exilic and Intertestamental Development

Rebuilt as Samerina under Assyria and Sebaste under Herod the Great, the site retained political importance. Its mixed population forms the backdrop for New Testament ministry in Samaria (John 4; Acts 8), though Greek Σαμάρεια is used in those passages rather than שֹׁמְרוֹן.

Symbol of Idolatry and Judgment

Prophets employed “Samaria” as shorthand for covenant betrayal:

• Isaiah 28:1-3 rebukes “the wreath of Ephraim’s drunkards.”
• Ezekiel 23 paints Samaria (Oholah) and Jerusalem (Oholibah) as adulterous sisters.
• Zechariah 9:9-10 envisages the Messianic King removing warfare from both Samaria (Ephraim) and Jerusalem.

Foreshadowing of Restoration

Amos 9:14 looks beyond ruin: “I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities.” New-covenant reality emerges when “there was great joy in that city” after Philip preached Christ in Samaria (Acts 8:8).

Key Theological Themes

1. Covenant Accountability—privilege demands fidelity.
2. Peril of Syncretism—Baal worship led to downfall.
3. Sovereign Discipline—God raised and removed kingdoms.
4. Boundless Grace—regions once notorious for idolatry receive the Gospel.

Representative Old Testament Occurrences

1 Kings 16:24; 1 Kings 20:1, 34; 2 Kings 6:24; 2 Kings 17:5-24; 2 Kings 18:9-12; 1 Chronicles 5:26; Isaiah 7:9; Isaiah 10:9-11; Hosea 7:1; Hosea 13:16; Amos 3:9-12; Micah 1:5-6; Zechariah 9:9-10—together with many additional references, composing the term’s 109 uses.

Archaeological Corroboration

Fortification walls twelve feet thick, ostraca documenting eighth-century taxation, and Phoenician-style ivories lend historical weight to the Biblical description of Samaria’s wealth, administration, and downfall (cf. Amos 6:4).

Ministry Applications

• Leaders must resist the allure of power at the expense of obedience.
• God’s judgment is thorough, yet His mercy reaches even formerly hostile populations.
• The transition from idolatrous capital to field of Gospel harvest encourages missionary vision: no place is beyond redemption.

Summary

Samaria stands in Scripture as a strategic stronghold, an emblem of royal apostasy, a target of prophetic judgment, and, ultimately, a scene of redemptive grace—a vivid testimony to the righteous authority and unfailing mercy of the LORD.

בְּשֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן בְּשֹׁמְר֑וֹן בְּשֹׁמְר֖וֹן בְּשֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃ בְשֹֽׁמְר֗וֹן בְשֹׁמְר֛וֹן בְשֹׁמְר֜וֹן בשמרון בשמרון׃ וְשֹֽׁמְרוֹן֙ וְשֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן וּמִשֹּֽׁמְרוֹן֙ וּמִשֹּׁמְרֽוֹן׃ ומשמרון ומשמרון׃ ושמרון לְשֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן לְשֹׁמְר֔וֹן לְשֹׁמְר֖וֹן לְשֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃ לשמרון לשמרון׃ מִשֹּׁ֣מְר֔וֹן מִשֹּׁמְר֑וֹן מִשֹּׁמְר֖וֹן מִשֹּׁמְרֽוֹן׃ משמרון משמרון׃ שֹֽׁמְר֑וֹן שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן שֹֽׁמְרוֹן֙ שֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן שֹׁמְר֑וֹן שֹׁמְר֔וֹן שֹׁמְר֖וֹן שֹׁמְר֗וֹן שֹׁמְר֛וֹן שֹׁמְר֣וֹן שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃ שֹׁמְרֽוֹנָה׃ שֹׁמְרוֹן֒ שמרון שמרון׃ שמרונה׃ bə·šō·mə·rō·wn ḇə·šō·mə·rō·wn beshomeRon bəšōmərōwn ḇəšōmərōwn lə·šō·mə·rō·wn leShomeRon ləšōmərōwn miš·šō·mə·rō·wn mishshomeRon miššōmərōwn shomeRon shomeRonah šō·mə·rō·w·nāh šō·mə·rō·wn šōmərōwn šōmərōwnāh ū·miš·šō·mə·rō·wn umishshomeRon ūmiššōmərōwn veshomeRon wə·šō·mə·rō·wn wəšōmərōwnInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts