The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-04
"

1t was during the Persian period that the feud
between the Jews and the Samartans arose.
1t is mistake to suppose that the district be-
tween Mount Ephraim was entirely STRIPPED Of
its old lSraelite population by the As,yriau in
radars. In other words. the so-caled lost tribes
were never wholly lost On the contrary, dur
ing the 49, years which elapsed between the
capture OF Samaru by the Assyrians and the de-
structinn Of Jerusalem hytha Babylonians. and
throughout the sixty years during which many
Of the Judcans suffered exile in BabyOnia. the
worship ofJchoyah went on at the old shrncs Of
northern Israel side bv side or even intortu,cd
with the heather rites of the now settlers whom
tn" Assyrians had brought to I'll up tn" lands
dcsolatcd 10y war Jnsiahs conqucsts in the
north and reform crusades left a lasting impress
sion upon the samaritan people ThrncciOrth,
for many generations. Deuteronomy was the
law book Of the northern lsrac!ites. as well as
of the JuGeans, and Jerusalem the one accrcd-
tied sanctuary. There Is no suggestion in the
e.. . prophecies OF any hostility between the
JuLcans and Samaritans in fact. the interests
OF tn" descendants Of the ancient lsraciitcS
and Of the Judeans are regarded ~ the same.
and tn" hope OF Il re- lion Of the two branches
OF the Hebrew rae" VINO were then associated
in common suirerings finds frequent express
sion There is evidence that up to about the
Samartans who desired continued to wor-
ship AT the Jerusalem sanctuary, as they had
since the days Of Josiah; hut the old hostility
between the northern and southern descend
ants OF jacob had not been entirely cXlin-
Gui-hCa by the disasters which had over
taken the two peoples. The admiXturc of for
crgn blood in the Samaritans and their par
tial assimilation Of heather customs made
conGenial union between them and the stricter
Judeans impossible. The schism between the
two closely related communities was consume
mated when the prcSty law was adopted ut
Jerusalem. but the sohism only acyentuated
differences which Were nearly as old as the
race. 1t was merely reasscrtion on Il rclig-
iouS basis OF the same ancient rivalry aud mu-
tual antagOuism which had led to n division Of
the Hebrew kingdom after the death Of Solo
mon. During tho centuries Of their indcpend-
cnt national lives the lsra"itrS and tn" Jude
ans hal been subjected tod,I"rrut Influences
and experiences. which had wdcurd he gulf
between them There is evidence chat. in the
nc" % Nehemiah, the Jews undertook "A
systematic conversion o! their northern
kiusmcn. and they succeeded in winning
over part OF the inhabitants Of the
northeast, RI district Of Palestine Gru,u-
ally and quietly during III" last century
OF IN" Persian, and III" opening years Of the
Greek period. waa cousummatcd that religious
union between GallrG and Judea which was
destined to prove such an important factor in
determining the faith Of a large section OF
mankind. In Samaria proper tn" same prose-
lyting movement failed. Nor Is it strange that
the Samaritams refused to abandon their form
of religion for that OF the Judraus. whom, dur
ing the Baby lonian and Persian Periods they
had learned to despisG. According to the logi,
OF numbers and strength, it was natural
to expcc, that the weaker would be
absorbed by tho stronger Before Nchr-
minh arrived in Judca this solution of
the political and religious differences between
the Jews and Samaritans was by no means i'm
possible. lie recognized when he reached
Jerusalem tkat the Jews, who were weak both
morally and physically. were not capable 81
assimilatins the larger and mor, influential
community which adloinrd them ON tho
| north. lie accordingly at once threw down
the gauntlet hy declaring that hereafter San
lallrt, the leader of tho Samartan~, AMI hi,
followers. should have no rortioa nor right
mon memorial in Jerusalem Nehemiah ii 10,
and aroused Thereby their bitter urpo,it To
his enterprise He ii was who ON personal and
religi ous ground prCClp.tat"d the rupture.
| The history Of the steps which led to the final
! Sehsm is obscure. Nehemi0hs memoirs In