What historical evidence supports the Samaritan woman's expectation of the Messiah in John 4:25? Scriptural Foundation (John 4:25) “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah (also called Christ) is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.’” Her statement presupposes a well-defined Samaritan hope. The historical data below show that such an expectation was alive, precise, and widespread in the first century. The Samaritan Canon and the Promise of Deuteronomy 18 1. Samaritans recognized only the Pentateuch (their own Samaritan text) as inspired. 2. Deuteronomy 18:15, 18—“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers… I will put My words in his mouth.” 3. The Samaritan Pentateuch elevates this passage by adding the phrase “at the end of days,” making it the centerpiece of eschatological hope. 4. Because Samaritans rejected the Davidic monarchy, their messianic figure was cast not as a king but as “the Prophet” (Heb. naḇiʾ) or “Taheb” (Aramaic, “Restorer”). Early Samaritan Literature • Memar Marqah (3rd – 4th cent. A.D.), a homiletic exposition of the Pentateuch, states: “The Taheb will open the books that have been sealed and reveal the hidden things.” This parallels the woman’s words, “He will explain everything.” • The Asatir (Samaritan chronicle, ca. 2nd cent. A.D.) speaks of “the returner” who will “restore” the tribes. These documents reflect a tradition older than their final redaction, rooted in the Second-Temple period. Jewish Historian Josephus (First Century A.D.) • Antiquities 18.85-87: Josephus recounts a Samaritan prophet who assembled followers on Mount Gerizim, promising to reveal sacred vessels hidden by Moses—evidence of messianic agitation. • Antiquities 20.118: He records another Samaritan messianic claimant who was executed by Governor Cumanus (A.D. 48-52). Such uprisings presume a shared national expectation. Archaeological Data from Mount Gerizim • Excavations (Yitzhak Magen, 1984-2008) uncovered a substantial Second-Temple-era Samaritan sanctuary with thousands of votive inscriptions in Paleo-Hebrew script invoking “YHWH.” • One inscription reads: “For the day of His visitation.” The phrase evokes the eschatological appearance of a divine agent and corroborates anticipation of a climactic figure. Dead Sea Scrolls and Regional Messianism • 4Q175 (Testimonia) links Deuteronomy 18, Numbers 24, and 2 Samuel 7, showing that multiple Jewish groups interpreted Deuteronomy 18 messianically. Though Qumran was Judaean, it demonstrates that Deuteronomy 18 was a live messianic text in the broader Levant, the same milieu in which Samaritans lived. • 4Q375-376 paraphrase Deuteronomy 18, stressing a mediator-prophet who will speak God’s words. The overlap with Samaritan belief suggests cultural cross-pollination. Patristic Testimony • Origen, Contra Celsum 6.43: “The Samaritans expect one they call Taeb, meaning ‘he who returns,’ similar to the Jews’ expectation of Messiah.” • Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 4.27, notes that Justin Martyr—a native of Flavia Neapolis (ancient Shechem)—grew up hearing of the Samaritan hope for a divine teacher-prophet. Numismatic and Epigraphic Clues • Coins struck under the Hasmonaean-era Samaritan administration bear legends such as “Shema” and “Return,” hinting at restorative ideology. • A plaster inscription from el-Khirbe (ca. first century) reads “the Taheb of God,” tying the title to concrete worship sites. Chronological Fit Given a ministry date of A.D. 30-33 (consistent with a conservative chronology), Josephus’s records of Samaritan prophets in the 30s-40s A.D. confirm that messianic fervor was already high when Jesus spoke with the woman. Convergence of Evidence 1. Scriptural promise centered on Deuteronomy 18. 2. Samaritan Pentateuch’s eschatological reading. 3. First-century uprisings described by Josephus. 4. Archaeology of Mount Gerizim inscribed with future-hope language. 5. Contemporary literature (Dead Sea Scrolls, Memar Marqah, Asatir). 6. Patristic and linguistic testimony. Together these strands demonstrate that the woman’s expectation in John 4:25 was not an isolated intuition but the natural product of an entrenched, historically verifiable Samaritan hope for a coming Prophet-Restorer who would reveal all truth—precisely the role Jesus claims moments later: “I who speak to you am He” (John 4:26). |
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