Question

Who were the ancestors of the Samaritans of Jesus' day?

Answer 1

Ephraim and Manasseh  Israelites of the northern ten-tribe kingdom, but after the conquest of Samaria by the Assyrians in 740 B.C.E., it included the foreigners brought in by the Assyrians. In Jesus’ day, rather than having a racial or political connotation, the name usually referred to those who belonged to the religious sect that was located in the vicinity of ancient Shechem and Samaria.

Answer 2

Answer:

The Samaritans claimed that they were Israelite descendants of the Northern Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh,