What Does Samaritan Mean
The term Samaritan arose from an Aramaic word that then passed into Greek and finally, before reaching our language, into Latin. Its first meaning, according to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ), refers to the original subject of Samaria .
This region is located in the West Bank , in an area in dispute between Israel and Palestine . In ancient times, Samaria was a city of the Kingdom of Israel : indeed, between the fourth century and the seventh century before Christ was its capital. Since 2012 , the ruins of the ancient city are under the control of the Palestinian National Authority .
The Samaritans, therefore, are native to this region . The concept, however, is associated with the religious community that claims to be descended from the Israeli tribes (arisen, according to the Bible , from the twelve sons of Jacob ).
Tradition indicates that the Samaritans are descended from Ephraim and Manasseh , sons of Joseph (who, in turn, is the son of Jacob ). The Samaritans emerged after the exile that occurred when the Assyrians conquered the Israeli tribes: they did not leave and began to receive the foreigners who passed by. The Samaritan group, in this way, had clashes with the Jewish community.
The New Testament of Catholicism includes the Samaritans in parables that highlight the relevance of love for neighbor based on the differences that existed between the Samaritans and the Jews. The Samaritans who were converted and began to spread the word of Jesus are also mentioned . Nowadays, a person is usually described as a Samaritan when they are supportive .
Parables are narratives of a fictional event that lead the interlocutor to reflect on moral issues. One of the most important in the Bible is that of the Good Samaritan , whose summary is set out below.
Parable of the Good Samaritan
A Jewish man was heading towards Jericho from Jerusalem and, while he was in the middle of the trip, a group of thugs assaulted him, stripped him of his clothes, beat him and almost took his life. At the same time, a priest was passing through the area and saw the victim of the attack, almost dead; however, he decided to continue walking as if he had not noticed her presence. So too did a Levite act, ignoring the poor man's needs .
Later, a man from Samaria passed by, a town that the Jews despised; When he saw the man in distress, he did not hesitate to extend a hand to him. First, he gathered the necessary items to clean his wounds and bandage him; then he put him on his donkey and took him to a place where they spent the night. Before leaving, the Samaritan gave money to the owner of the place and asked him to take care of the Jewish man; In addition, she begged him not to skimp on expenses if they exceeded the initial payment, since he would cover them the next time they met.
Context of the parable
In the Gospel of Luke (specifically in 10: 25-25) it is said that an expert in Jewish law approached Jesus and asked what was the most important of the laws of Moses. To this, Jesus replied that she was the one who taught to love the Lord with the heart, soul, mind and with all the strength, and also to love one's neighbor as oneself .
Then the legal expert asked how to know who his neighbor was, and Jesus decided to tell him the above story so that he would understand for himself. At the end of the narrative, Jesus directed the first to take the example of the Good Samaritan.