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Main article: Samaritan

Samaritanism is the religion practiced by the Samaritan people. Like Judaism, it claims to be descended from ancient Israelite religion. It is closely related to Judaism in that it accepts the Torah as its holy book, though there are differences in the version accepted. Samaritans consider Jewish thinkers after the Torah as having been led astray while they themselves stayed to the true religion. Their temple was at Mount Gerizim in Nablus, not Jerusalem. Very few followers remain today: about 705 living in Mount Gerizim and Holon. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... For other uses, see Samaritan (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Samaritan (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... “The Twelve Tribes” redirects here. ... The Torah () is the most important document in Judaism, revered as the inspired word of G-d (the vocal is never spelled), traditionally said to have been revealed to Moses. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... Old view of Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim (Samaritan Hebrew Ar-garízim, Arabic جبل جرزيم Jabal Jarizīm, Tiberian Hebrew הַר גְּרִזִּים Har Gərizzîm, Standard Hebrew הַר גְּרִיזִּים Har Gərizzim) is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the West Bank city of Nablus (Biblical Shechem), and forms the southern... Map of the West Bank, with Nablus in the center north. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Old view of Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim (Samaritan Hebrew Ar-garízim, Arabic جبل جرزيم Jabal Jarizīm, Tiberian Hebrew הַר גְּרִזִּים Har Gərizzîm, Standard Hebrew הַר גְּרִיזִּים Har Gərizzim) is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the West Bank city of Nablus (Biblical Shechem), and forms the southern... The Yanshul, half-cat half-owl, the symbol of Holons Childrens Museum. ...

One theory states that when the Assyrian Empire conquered ancient Israel, it deported the upper classes of the Israelites to Assyria, replacing them with settlers from other parts of the Assyrian Empire. The lower classes and the settlers intermarried and merged into one community. Some modern scholars think that the influence of the non-Israelite settlers was exaggerated in the Bible for propaganda reasons, namely to be able to consider the Samaritans as heathens with good conscience. Centuries later, the descendants of those Judeans who were in turn exiled to Babylon in 586 BC were permitted to return, and many did. The Jews who had returned to the Land of Israel refused to recognize the descendants of the lower class Israelites who had remained as legitimate Jews, (officially) due to their intermarriage and merger with non-Jewish settlers, even though they largely followed the same religion that the Jews had followed before the exile, but which would have seen considerable reforms during the exile. It is believed that these descendants are the ancestors of the Samaritans. This article concerns the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom. ... Upper class refers to the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ... For other uses, see Assyria (disambiguation). ... A community is a social group of organisms sharing an environment, normally with shared interests. ... “The Twelve Tribes” redirects here. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during World War II. The text reads Red Army Fighter, SAVE US! Chinese propaganda poster from the time of the Cultural Revolution. ... Heathen is a term used both to describe a person who does not follow an organized religion, and also a modern practitioner of Heathenry. ... Map of the southern Levant, c. ... Exile (band) may refer to: Exile - The American country music band Exile - The Japanese pop music band Category: ... For other uses, see Samaritan (disambiguation). ...

This theory is problematic because then the people remaining in Israel would vastly outnumber those who returned, and there are no indications of this in either the Bible or in secular history.