Woe to you that are wealthy in Sion, and to you that have confidence in the mountain of Samaria: ye great men, heads of the people, that go in with state into the house of Israel.
Tertullian
Jesus' miracle was performed in the district of Samaria, to which country also belonged one of the lepers. Samaria, however, had revolted from Israel, carrying with it the disaffected nine tribes, which having been alienated by the prophet Ahijah, Jeroboam settled in Samaria. Besides, the Samaritans were always pleased with the mountains and the wells of their ancestors. Thus, in the Gospel of John, the woman of Samaria, when conversing with the Lord at the well, says, "No doubt yours are greater," and again, "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, but you say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Accordingly, he who said "woe unto them that trust in the mountain of Samaria," promising now to restore that very region, purposely requests the men "to go and show themselves to the priests," because these were to be found only there where the temple was, submitting the Samaritan to the Jew, inasmuch as "salvation was of the Jews," whether to the Israelite or the Samaritan.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.