The route between Jericho and Jerusalem marks the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Inn of the Good Samaritan is located on a small plateau halfway between Jericho and Jerusalem that is typified by reddish-colored rock and is named Ma’aleh Adumim (the Ascent of Adumim). The red color is not due to iron ore in the rocks, but to a metamorphic processing of chalk from extreme heat and pressure into a metamorphic rock of multiple colors that are predominantly red.

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In a cave near the entrance to the museum is shown a movie about the story of the Good Samaritan. It can be shown in Hebrew with English subtitles. The larger mosaics are exhibited outside, and smaller mosaics, such as inscriptions, are in the museum building.

 

The exact quotation regarding the good Samaritan from the Gospel of Luke is as follows:

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’]” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise” (Gospel of Luke 10:25–37).

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There are some strange aspects of this story. It was told not by Jesus as a true event necessarily but as a parable. Samaritans were not regarded as Jewish, and hence would not be regarded as “neighbors” by Jews. In fact, there was a long history of conflict between them in this time of history. This did not at all exclude them from helping each other out, but not necessarily through this injunction. Rather, it would be to love a stranger as oneself, which is mentioned multiple times in the Torah.

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The church father Jerome was the first to mention the association of this site with the parable of the Good Samaritan, probably based on an earlier Christian tradition, and a church and monastery were built here in the Byzantine period. It became the embodiment of the parable by offering care for travelers, shelter for pilgrims and hospitality in the desert.

 

Prior to this time, there was a road station here in the Second Temple period for pilgrims coming from the Galilee and Gilead. Ironically, they would enter Jerusalem this way from the south to avoid Samaria and the hostility of the Samaritans. In the Crusader period, the site was developed further because of extensive pilgrim traffic and the Knights Templar built a fortress.  An inn was built at its foot, and this is the present location of the museum.

 

The mosaic collection was initiated Dr. Yitzhak Magen, who was the head of the Judea and Samaria Archaeology Unit.

 

Mosaic art began in the Greek world in the 8th century BCE and reached this country in the Hellenistic period in the fourth century BCE. Magnificent mosaics have been found in this country in the Roman and then Byzantine periods. In early churches the mosaics featured geometric patterns, but from the fifth century mosaics began to depict figures, and this also happened in synagogues. A very common design is a medallion created by grape vines surrounded by animals, plants and fruit trees and daily agricultural life, and there are examples here of this design. Samaritan synagogues never showed human figures.