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New Controversy Arises

In the previous installment we found that Eliashib, the High Priest at the time of Ezra and
Nehemiah, did not countenance the decision of the Great Assembly in regard to the putting away of
foreign wives. One of his older grandsons was involved in such an illegal marriage. This grand-
son, Manasseh, was married to one of the daughters of Sanballat the Horonite -- a Gentile.

Had Manasseh been married to an ordinary woman of no repute, it probably would not
have made a great deal of difference. But he was married to the daughter of Sanballat who was
governor of the northern province of Samaria. Sanballat was an influential government official of
the Kingdom of Persia.

The grandson of the High Priest of the Jews being married to the daughter of the governor
of Samaria offered a type of alliance between the two peoples. This presented a delicate political
situation. If Manasseh repudiated his wife, in order to keep the Law, this friendly relationship
would undoubtedly have ceased.

There were a few other Jews along with Eliashib and Manasseh who felt that this marriage
should not be terminated even if the Law of Moses and the decision of the Great Assembly com-
manded it. So, Manasseh openly rebelled against God's Government -- the constitutional law --
defying Ezra and Nehemiah and the Great Assembly.

When Manasseh refused to adhere to the Law, Nehemiah, who was governor of Judea, ex-
communicated him from the Jewish society and banished him from the country (Neh. 13:23-31).

Manasseh was exceedingly indignant over the excommunication. He especially was an-
gered because he would have become High Priest of the Jews upon his father's death, had he re-
mained faithful to the Law and had not been excommunicated. In lieu of this, he, and some of his
Jewish sympathizers, even some of the priests, left Judaea and went northward to Samaria.

Samaritans Enter the Picture

The Samaritans, who nominally adhered to some points of the Law of Moses, only as it
suited their fancy, readily accepted these renegade Jews. The Samaritans had no scruples over
marrying Gentile wives, for they themselves were Gentiles who had been placed in central Pales-
tine about 250 years before by the Assyrians.

With the arrival of Manasseh in Samaria, Sanballat, his father-in-law, sympathized with
him because he had been deprived of the opportunity to be High Priest among the Jews. But San-
ballat had cunningly devised plans to honor his son-in-law for his rebellion against Nehemiah and
the Great Assembly.

Since the Samaritans had no temple in which to worship, SANBALLAT PETITIONED
THE PERSIAN GOVERNMENT DO GRANT HIM PERMISSION TO BUILD A TEMPLE FOR
THE SAMARITAN PEOPLE. Because it was the general policy of the Persians to allow their
captive nations to worship their own gods, this permission was granted.

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