Matthew 4:12-16 now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. (13) And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, (14) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: (15) "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: (16) The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."
We have stated that contrary to popular belief, the majority of the Jews remained in Israel after the exile of the Jewish elites in the year 722 BC. And so the question is asked, in which region of Israel did they reside? The above-quoted passage of scripture answers that question for us, for in this passage we see that a number of the Jews continued to live in the region of Galilee, and the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali are specifically mentioned. The Scriptures teach us that the Lord Jesus and most of His disciples originated from the geographical area of Galilee. I want you to notice in this passage that the scripture refers to the region of Galilee, as Galilee of the Gentiles. The reason it does that is that after the year 722 BC, the Jews living there were governed by a succession of Gentile nations. And so we can see that the majority of Jews from the northern kingdom of Israel remained in Israel, but ceased to exist as a sovereign nation.
2 Kings 17:24-33 “Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. (25) And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. (26) So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land." (27) Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land." (28) Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. … (33) They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods--according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away.”
The above-quoted passage of scripture reveals several further truths, which we need to mention regarding the exiling of Israel. Firstly, we see that not only were the elite Jews exiled from the northern kingdom but they were also replaced; for this passage teaches us that the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon and placed them in the cities of Israel. Although we do not know how many foreigners were imported into Israel at that time, we can assume that the number must have been similar to the number of Jews who were exiled, i.e. approximately 60,000. Secondly, we see that after the expulsion of the Jews, Israel was renamed Samaria; for this passage speaks about the people of Babylon taking possession of Samaria and dwelling in its cities. And so over time, the people living in Samaria eventually became known as Samaritans. And then finally we see that the Lord allowed some of the priests of the tribe of Levi to be brought back to Samaria to teach the new inhabitants how they should fear the Lord. The new inhabitants of Samaria did not convert to Judaism, for this passage declares that although they feared the Lord, nevertheless they continued to serve their gods according to the rituals that they were accustomed to doing. Nevertheless, over time the Samaritan religious practices and beliefs mutated into a combination of Judaism and paganism, as evidenced in the Samaritan woman's conversation with the Lord Jesus when He visited the Samaritan town of Sychar. From the record of that conversation, we can deduce that the Samaritans believed that they were the descendants of Jacob, and they believed in the coming Messiah. We can also see that they believed in sacrificing to the Lord on Mount Gerizim and not in Jerusalem (John 4:1-43). Historical records reveal that the Samaritan population grew over time, and by the time the Lord Jesus appeared in Israel, they were a significant segment of the total population in Judea. Nevertheless, after the Byzantine Empire brutally suppressed the Samaritan population in the 5th Century AD, their numbers began to decline. Although there is still a surviving population of Samaritans in modern-day Israel today, their number is relatively insignificant[1].
Michael E.B. Maher
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