Samaria, the Region

Name: The Vineyard
Uploaded: 2024-03-14T13:14:20-07:00
Description: Walking Tanach, Episode 6. Filmed in Shomron vineyards during the grape harvest.

שֹׁמְרוֹן

Where is the region of Samaria? Central hill country, from Benjamin to the Jezreel Valley. I mark it certain.

Omri, a general who became king, bought a hill from a man named Shemer and built his new capital on it. He called it Shomron, and the name spread to the whole kingdom of Israel and its hills.

By Aaron Shaffier, licensed Israel tour guide and mapmaker · About the mapmaker

Site today: Central hill country, from Benjamin to the Jezreel Valley
How sure: Certain The name, the sources and the finds all agree.
Other names: Shomron, Hills of Samaria, Hill country of Ephraim, Sebaste
Location: 32.0606° N, 35.2189° E (Google Maps)

Samaria, the Region on the hand-drawn Map of Biblical Israel — Samaria on our hand-drawn Map of Biblical Israel. Get the full map as a print →

How we know where it was

The city came first. It is the excavated site of Sebastia, where archaeologists found palaces, carved ivories and a group of inscribed potsherds known as the Samaria ostraca. From there the name grew. Jeremiah speaks of "the hills of Samaria," and the Assyrians resettled "the towns of Samaria" with foreigners. Earlier books call most of this land the hill country of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Jeremiah promised that vines would be planted again on the hills of Samaria. I see that prophecy playing out in this generation. Wineries in these hills are making wine again from the land's own ancient grape varieties.

Watch: The Vineyard

Walking Tanach, Episode 6. Filmed in Shomron vineyards during the grape harvest.

Visiting today

Sebastia National Park preserves ancient Samaria, and visits depend on the security situation. I filmed the grape harvest in these hills for The Vineyard.