Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, was well known in Old Testament times. In New Testament times the term Samaria seems to be used of a region rather than a city. See Luke 17:11; John 4:4-7; Acts 1:8; 8:1,9,14; 9:31; 15:3.
The city of Samaria had been rebuilt by Herod the Great and named Sebaste in honor of the Emperor Augustus. The modern name of the small town of Samaria is Sebastia.
Herod the Great built a temple to Augustus with a monumental staircase over the palace area of the Israelite kingdom. The temple was destroyed, but later rebuilt along the same plan by Septimius Severus (Roman emperor, A.D. 193-211). The monumental staircase still stands at the top of the tell.
Monumental steps from the time of Septimius Severus mark the site of Herod’s Temple to Augustus. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Some remnants of column capitals rest at the top of the steps.
Remnants of some of the columns rest at the top of staircase. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
This was the second of three temples erected by Herod in honor of Augustus. In two previous posts we have discussed the temple at Caesarea Maritima and the one in the district of Caearea Philippi (perhaps Omrit).
Carl Rasmussen wrote about the Imperial Cult a few months back on his Holy Land Photos’ Blog here. He says,
IMHO we also need to give emphasis to the fact that Herod the Great had built three Imperial Cult Temples — all less than 40 miles from Nazareth/Capernaum. By the time that Jesus began his public ministry these Imperial Cult Temples (namely those at Caesarea Maritima, Sebastia, and the one near Caesarea Philippi [= Omrit]) had been in existence for over 40 years!
In my recent lecture at the Florida College Lectureship I discussed two texts from the ministry of Jesus that may be understood in the light of the Emperor worship prevalent in the country. One was the location of Peter’s confession of Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 ESV). See a discussion here. The second text I used was the one involving the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17). More about that in a post to follow.
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Ferrell, could you give me the name of a tour company or individual guide that gives tours of Samaria and Sebaste? Nancy and I are going on a tour of Israel 8-19 Mar, but the tour company is not visiting these sites. They are taking us to Shiloh and My Gerizim (passing by Shechem). I tried to query the tour company, but they were no help. They said I could hire a driver for $600. We are staying over after the main tour leaves so we can visit additional sites like Samaria/Sebaste. Can you help? Craig Baugh PS If you don’t remember who I am, we are the people you met in the lobby of the Grand Hotel in Jerusalem in April 2013. I went to HGSR in 1984=2-84.