VII.  The Nature and Consequences of the Schism.  The schism between Jew and Samaritan was but a revival of the ancient rivalry which dated from the days when the Israelites had first settled in Canaan.  The destruction of Samaria in 722 and the strong policy of Josiah had apparently led the Samaritans to look to the temple at Jerusalem as the chief sanctuary of the land.  Shechem, however, and Mount Gerizim, which rises abruptly on the south, enjoyed traditions which dated from the earliest days of Israel’s history.  The sacred oak and altar at Shechem figured even in the patriarchal period.  At the temple of Baal-berith in Shechem apparently both Canaanites and Israelites worshipped during the days of the settlement.  According to the Samaritan version of Deuteronomy 24:4, Mount Gerizim, not Ebal or Jerusalem, was the place where the Israelites, after entering Canaan, were first commanded to rear an altar to Jehovah, and to inscribe upon it the laws given to Moses.  Even in the Jewish version of Deuteronomy 11:29 and 27:12 Mount Gerizim is the mountain of blessing.  In the light of these passages such commands as, for example, that in Deuteronomy 12:4, 5 would naturally be interpreted by the Samaritans as a reference to Gerizim rather than to Jerusalem.  The destruction of the Judean capital and temple gave a great incentive to the revival of these Ancient traditions and a new prestige to the northern sanctuary.  Until the close of the Persian period, however, the Samaritans evidently regarded Jerusalem as an important shrine and worshipped there side by side with the Jews.  The ultimate schism appears to have come as a result of the growing jealousy with which certain of the Jews regarded foreign marriages.  The marriage of Manasseh, the brother of Jaddua the high priest, to Nicaso, the daughter of Sanballat ii, and his ultimate expulsion by the Jews blew into a flame the smouldering jealousy and opposition that had long existed between the two communities.  As Josephus recounts, Sanballat, in order to satisfy his son-in-law, ceded lands and special rights to him and to the other Jerusalem priests, who were attracted by these offers, and ultimately built the famous temple on Mount Gerizim over which Manasseh and his descendants presided.  In many ways the temple and service on Mount Gerizim appear to have been duplicates of those at Jerusalem.  The same law was recognized by both communities; they shared together the same traditions and the same ideals; and yet their subsequent history illustrates the psychological truth that of all forms of hatred that between brothers is the most venomous and lasting.  The bitter rivalry and growing hatred that resulted from this act are reflected even in the wisdom teachings of Ben Sira (B.  Sir. 47:21, 24, 25).  They also fundamentally color the writings of the Chronicler.  The strenuous efforts that he made to discountenance the claims of the Samaritans reveals the intensity of the feud even in the Greek period (cf.  II Chron. 11:13-16).