The Hatred of the Jews for the Samaritans

The Jews "had no dealings with the Samaritans"--the very name was a term of severe reproach, as when they said to our Lord Himself "Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil" (John VIII., 48). This hatred of the Jews seems perfectly natural from a human standpoint. The Samaritans were to them a heathen people dwelling in the land, who "served God" and "worshipped idols." History tells us that fifty years after the King of Assyria had carried captive the ten tribes of Israel, he sent colonists from the region of the Tigris and Euphrates to occupy the long desolated land of Samaria. This heathen people soon intermarried with the descendants of the Israelites who had escaped the captivity, and ultimately took the name of Samaritans.

When they complained of the wild beasts that infested the country they were told that it was because they did not worship the "God of the land." The King of Assyria therefore ordered a priest of Jehovah to be sent to them, that he might instruct them--"in the manner of the God of the land."--and protect them from the ravages of the wild beasts. They secured a copy of the Pentateuch and set up a Temple worship on Mount Gerizim,--but they retained their heathen worship and persisted in their idolatry.

Therefore it was that the Jews on their return, under the proclamation of Cyrus, would have nothing to do with the Samaritans, and utterly refused all intercourse with them. The Samaritans retorted with equal bitterness, and it was through their influence that the re-building of the Temple was so hindered.

This bitterness was not lessened even in the time of our Lord--but He took no part in it. He dwelt among them and healed their sick-and taught them-and the noble parable of the Samaritan is all the more pointed because the chief personage was of the hated intruders of the Holy Land.

The few people in the world still called Samaritans--about 150 in number--live in the city of Nablus, the Shechem of the Bible.

Their faith and practice are founded upon the Pentateuch alone; they reject all other inspired writings. "The Samaritan Pentateuch" is in the possession of their priests, and is thought to be the oldest written copy of the Pentateuch now in existence. The Prince of Wales went to see it in 1862, and a fine photograph was made for his Royal Highness. The Samaritans say that their Roll is the identical one written by Abishua, the great-grandson of Aaron. Those who do not credit this yet give it an antiquity of several hundred years before the coming of our Lord. The precious relic is worn and torn with the kisses of many pilgrims, and is patched with re-written parchment. It is preserved in a silver case with a cover of crimson satin embroidered with letters of gold.

Let us not throw stones at the Samaritans; do we not all "serve God" and "worship idols."

"BLACK FRIDAY," CONEMAUGH VALLEY, PA., MAY 31ST, 1889.

As the last pages of this book are going to press, another "Black Day" must be added to the list referred to on page 237.

Another "Black Friday"--May 31st, 1889--which so far overshadows all others, that in comparison it might stand alone as the crowning date of disaster to the English-speaking race.

A lovely lake nestled among the Allegheny Mountains, receiving its supply of clear fresh water from some seven mountain rivulets. In the long ago, this natural basin had been dammed up as a reservoir for the Pennsylvania canal, and running through the centre of the State. Railroad travel had superseded that by canal, and years of neglect left this beautiful sheet of water still the delight of the hunter and the sportsman, and to their keen appreciation of the beautiful in nature is due the restoring of the dam, and the opening of a summer resort upon the shores of "Lake Conemaugh." Year after year the families of "The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club" found rest and refreshment and recreation in this mountain retreat; lovely boats glided across the lake (about two miles in length by three quarters of a mile in width), or found their way into the coves of the numerous inlets. Cottages multiplied, and if a Paradise could be found on earth, surely it was there.

Then came a day of disaster along the Conemaugh river, of which this lake was the head waters; an unprecedented fall of rain filled the lake to overflowing, the dam washed away, and the homes and towns of the busy Conemaugh Valley were suddenly overwhelmed beneath a flood of water from thirty to fifty feet deep. Johnstown, a city of some 30,000 inhabitants, was swept away in one wild tumultuous whirlpool. As night came on, another element burst forth to complete the work of destruction; as if in defiance of its foe, flames leaped from the floating debris, adding horror to the scenes which a merciful darkness might have held in its keeping. The destruction of Pompeii, some 2000 years ago, had stood until this date as the most terrible calamity which ever swept down upon a city,--but it pales beside the horrors of the Conemaugh, both in the number of its victims and in the extent of territory devastated.

Of the 12,000 inhabitants of Pompeii, not more than 300, it is thought, were smothered or roasted by the scorching rain of ashes which poured down from Mt. Vesuvius; there was warning and time for escape;--but the people of this stricken valley were in the mills and in their homes, who now are numbered by thousands among the dead, and as yet the death roll is not complete. It is an unparalleled tale of horror, and one such is enough for the world's history.

June 14th, 1889.