Day 290 - John 4

Why is the Evangelist so exact about this place? It is so that when you hear the woman say, “Jacob our father gave us this well,” you will not think it strange. For Sychar was the place where Simeon and Levi brought about a great slaughter because of their anger over what happened to Dinah.… And from where did the Samaritans get their name? Samaria receives its name from Somer, a mountain there, so called from the name of a former possessor of it. [1Ki 16:24; Is 7:9 LXX.] … The inhabitants of the country were formerly not Samaritans but Israelites. But in due time, they fell under God’s wrath and the [king of Assyria] … transplanted them to Babylon and Media, placing Gentiles from various parts in Samaria in their place.… God, however, sent lions to afflict the barbarians in order to show that it was not for lack of power on his part that he delivered up the Jews, but rather for the sins of the people themselves. The king was told this, and he sent a priest to instruct them in God’s law. But not even then did they entirely discontinue their iniquity but only effected a half-hearted change. In due time, they abandoned their idols and worshiped God. At this point, the Jews returned but were always jealous toward them as strangers and enemies, naming them “Samaritans” after the mountain—St John Chrysostom