Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

We have the Samaritan woman and the parable of the Good Samaritan that both illustrate the fact that there was extreme animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. Why did they hate each other so much? I copied this from my favorite online commentary written by Dr. Thomas Constable.

Politically Samaria was part of the Roman province of Judea in Jesus' day.
Nevertheless culturally there were ancient barriers that divided the
residents of Samaria from the Jews who lived in Galilee and Judea.
Wicked King Omri had purchased the hill on which he built Samaria as
the new capital of the northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 16:24). The
name Samaria eventually came to describe the district in which the city
stood and even the whole Northern Kingdom. After the Assyrians
captured the city and terminated the kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C., they
deported the substantial citizens and imported foreigners who intermarried
with the remaining Israelites. Most of these foreigners continued to
worship their pagan gods (2 Kings 17—18). The Jews who returned to
Jerusalem after the Exile regarded the residents of Samaria as racial half-
breeds and religious compromisers. The Samaritans resisted Nehemiah's
attempts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 4:1-2). They built a rival
temple on Mt. Gerizim opposite Shechem about 400 B.C., which they
dedicated to Zeus Xenios. John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean ruler of Judea,
destroyed it and Shechem about 128 B.C. These actions all resulted in continued
hostility between these two people groups.

That Jesus conversed with this woman was extraordinary on many levels, since Jews did not associate with Samaritans, men did not speak publicly to women, and strangers did not speak to each other. In contrast to the response of Nicodemus, the Jewish Pharisee, who left Jesus without professing belief, this woman recognized Jesus as messiah and brought many from her town to Him. Throughout jesus' ministry, non-Jews responded more favorably to Him than did his own people.

Tomorrow's reading: Mark 1:14-39; John 4:46-54; Luke 4:16-44; Matt. 4:18-25, 8:14-17