who brought us up here.” (Ezra 4:1, 2) This claim of devotion to Jehovah, however, proved to be only lip service, for when Zerubbabel declined their offer, the Samaritans did everything they could to prevent the building of the temple. After all their concerted efforts at harassment and intimidation had failed they then made false accusations in a letter to the Persian emperor, and succeeded in getting a government decree issued that put a stop to the construction for a number of years.—Ezra 4:3-24.

In the middle of the fifth century B.C.E., when Nehemiah began repairing Jerusalem’s walls, Sanballat (governor of Samaria, according to one of the Elephantine Papyri) made several strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to stop the project. (Neh. 2:19, 20; 4:1-12; 6:1-15) Later, after an extended absence, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to find that the grandson of High Priest Eliashib had married Sanballat’s daughter. Immediately, Nehemiah “chased him away.”—Neh. 13:6, 7, 28.

The erection of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim in competition to the one in Jerusalem is considered by some as marking the final separation of the Jews and Samaritans, although some think the severance in relations came more than a century later. When Jesus began his ministry, the breach between the two had not been healed, although the Gerizim temple had been destroyed more than a century and a half earlier. (John 4:9) The Samaritans were still worshiping on Mount Gerizim (4:20-23), and the Jews had little respect for them. (8:48) This existing scornful attitude permitted Jesus to make a strong point in his illustration of the neighborly Samaritan.—Luke 10:29-37.

SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH

From early times, the Scriptures of the Samaritans have consisted of only the first five books of the Bible, and these only in their own recension, written in their own characters and known as the “Samaritan Pentateuch.” The rest of the Hebrew Scriptures, with the possible exception of the book of Joshua, they rejected. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs from the Masoretic text in some 6,000 instances, most of which are minor, but some are major, as, for example, the reading of Deuteronomy 27:4, where Gerizim is substituted for Ebal, the place where the laws of Moses were to be inscribed on whitewashed stones. (Deut. 27:8) The obvious reason for this change was to give credence to their belief that Gerizim is the holy mountain of God.

But their acceptance of the Pentateuch, by and large, gave the Samaritans the basis to believe that a prophet greater than Moses would come. (Deut. 18:18, 19) In the first century Samaritans were looking for the coming of Christ the Messiah, and some of them recognized him at his first presence; others rejected him. (Luke 17:16-19; John 4:9-43; Luke 9:52-56) Later, through the preaching of the early Christian, many Samaritans gladly embraced Christianity.—Acts 8:1-17, 25; 9:31; 15:3.

SAMEKH

[ם].

The fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, also later used outside the Hebrew Scriptures as a number to denote sixty.

Saʹmekh corresponds generally to the sound of English “s.” This letter represents the sound that the Ephraimites used when endeavoring to pronounce the word “shibboleth,” which begins with the letter shin (ש) rather than with saʹmekh. (Judg. 12:6; see also SIN or SHIN.) In the Hebrew, saʹmekh is the initial letter in each of the eight verses of Psalm 119:113-120.

SAMGAR-NEBO

(Samʹgar-neʹbo) [possibly, “be gracious, Nebo”].

The name or title of one of the Babylonian princes who entered Jerusalem right after a breach was made in its walls in the summer of 607 B.C.E.—Jer. 39:3.

SAMLAH

(Samʹlah) [mantle].

The fifth-named king of Edom who reigned before a king ruled Israel. Samlah was from Masrekah.—Gen. 36:31-37; 1 Chron. 1:47, 48.

SAMOS

(Saʹmos) [height].

An island in the Aegean Sea near the W coast of Asia Minor. Paul apparently stopped briefly at Samos on the return from his third missionary tour.—Acts 20:15.

This island is separated by a one-mile (1.6 kilometer) strait from the Asian promontory named Trogyllium. Samos was SW of Ephesus and NW of Miletus. (See map on page 685.) It is about twenty-seven miles (43 kilometers) in length and fourteen miles (23 kilometers) in width. Though very mountainous, it is remarkably fertile. Over the years it came under the domination of Persia, Athens, Pergamum and Rome. At the time of Paul’s missionary journeys it was a free state. Its major city and port was also named Samos. The island was celebrated for the cult of Hera (Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and childbirth) and had a temple to her which vied in splendor and celebrity with the temple of Artemis at Ephesus.

According to the Scriptural account, the ship Paul was on when returning to Jerusalem stopped at Chios, sailed some sixty-five miles (104 kilometers) down the coast of Asia Minor and ‘touched at Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.’ (Acts 20:15) Certain manuscripts add an expression that leads to the rendering “we touched at Samos and, after stopping at Trogyllium, made Miletus the next day.” (JB) This has been understood to mean that the ship did not remain in port at Samos, but, instead, crossed the strait and anchored in the protection of the high promontory. But the oldest and most reliable manuscripts omit the expression about Trogyllium, and it was rejected by Westcott and Hort in preparing their master text. The ship Paul was on evidently docked briefly at Samos and then traveled on to Miletus.

SAMOTHRACE

(Samʹo·thrace) [possibly, Samos of Thrace].

A mountainous island located in the NE Aegean Sea, having a city of the same name on its N side. Paul’s ship came “with a straight run” to the island of Samothrace from Troas in NW Asia Minor in the spring of 50 C.E. during his second missionary journey. There is, however, no indication that he went ashore. (Acts 16:11) The modern-day island lacks a good harbor, though it offers a number of places for safe anchorage.

SAMSON

(Samʹson) [sunny, sunlike, sun-man; or, desolator, destroyer].

One of Israel’s outstanding judges; son of Manoah, a Danite from Zorah. Prior to his birth an angel appeared to his mother and announced that she would bear a son who was to be a Nazirite from birth and “take the lead in saving Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.” (Judg. 13:1-5, 24; 16:17) As future leader in the fight against the Philistines, Samson would have to come near the dead bodies of persons slain in battle. Therefore, the very nature of his commission showed that he did not come under the law prescribing that Nazirites not touch dead bodies. (Num. 6:2-9) It should also be noted that this law applied to persons who voluntarily took a vow of Naziriteship and made no reference to persons who, like Samson, were Nazirites from birth.

When old enough to marry, Samson requested that his parents get a certain Philistine woman from Timnah for him as a wife. This was in harmony with the direction of God’s spirit, as it was to provide occasion for Samson to fight against the Philistines. (Judg. 13:25–14:4) Subsequently, near Timnah, a maned young lion confronted Samson. Empowered by God’s spirit, he tore the animal in two with his bare hands. He then continued on his way to Timnah and there spoke with the Philistine woman whom he wanted as a wife.—Judg. 14:5-7.