The chief city in the kingdom, of the ten tribes. It was built by Omri, as we read 1 Kings 16:24. It seems to have taken its name from Shamar, and hence called Shomeron by the Israelites: so that his Shamar might mean his prison or his guard. Samaria forms an interesting history to the church, both in the Old Testament and the New. From 1 Kings 16:1 - 1 Kings 22:53 to 2 Kings 1:1 - 2 Kings 25:30, and in the Gospel the woman of Samaria, John 4:1-54, and numberless other occasions render it memorable.