In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. 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 name of the former owner of the hill.
1 Kings 16:23-24
We had another field study on Sunday, this time journeying north into the West Bank to the ancient region known as Samaria. One thing that made the day stand out was that all the sites we visited were new to me. We looked at how the geography of this area compared to that around Jerusalem. Interestingly, this is a more strategic and fertile region than Jerusalem.
Shechem is first mentioned as Abraham entered the land in Genesis 12. God called Abraham from his home in Mesopotamia to come to this land. After months of journeying, his first stop in this land was Shechem. We viewed the ancient remains of that town, surrounded by the modern construction of the West Bank city of Nabulus. Above Shechem are Mount Gerazim and Mount Ebal. On these mounts, Moses commanded the people to read a list of curses and blessings for keeping or disobeying God’s Torah (teaching or law). We stood atop Mount Gerazim and read the blessings that Moses commanded the Israelites to read from there. It provided a great view.
We went to the ancient city of Samaria for lunch before wandering the site. The region received its name from this city. King Omri, the father of King Ahab, bought this site and built a new capital city there. This was during the time of the divided kingdom when Israel was split into north and south. This became the new capital of the northern kingdom while the south was centered in Jerusalem. The Bible makes special mention of Ahab – he is best known for his wickedness and his dealings with the prophet Elijah. Why was the capital moved to this location? As we stood on top, we saw the hills slowly descending from us on the west, headed to the coast. This is an open area with many natural routes taking travelers in any direction. Moving here fueled an expansionist policy. Herod the Great (think the Temple Mount and the Herodion) built here in the 1st century BC, renaming the city Sebaste (the Greek form of the Roman Emperor Augustus). He built one of three of his temples to Augustus here. Sitting atop the hill, it could be seen from the coastal port of Caesarea twelve miles away as ships came in, letting those who arrived know who ruled this land.
Visiting the heart of the West Bank requires a mention of the modern situation. The Palestinians are calling for a UN vote to have full member status in the UN along the borders from pre-1967. The official request has been set for this Friday. Israel and the US have been calling for a return to the negotiation table rather than unilateral declarations. Please pray for the situation here and that this doesn’t spark any violence on either side.
