Every Bible reader is familiar with the fact that the Assyrian empire conquered Northern Israel and took the ten tribes into captivity. After this, the Assyrians moved other people into the holy land. “And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities” (2 Kings 17:24, ESV). The remainder of 2 Kings 17 describes what happened to these foreign people: They became the Samaritans, who appear in the New Testament.
