As is well known, there is no agreement as to the origin of the Samaritans. There is the Samaritan view and that of the Jews.

The Samaritans, Shomronim or Shomrim in Hebrew, hold themselves to be the “true Hebrews,” the “guardians of the Law,” and claim that their history is the history of the Jews until the tenth century B.C., when they separated from the main body of the Jews in a dispute over the location of the Temple site and other matters. It is their belief that the Jews transgressed in building the Temple in Jerusalem and not on Mount Gerizim. Also they claim that the Tenth Commandment of the Decalogue was altered by the Jews in order to justify the building of the Temple in Jerusalem.