Located just off the main road between Jerusalem and Jericho, this site is associated with the popular parable told in Luke 10: 25-37. In the story, Jesus describes a man who is robbed, beaten and left for dead on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. A priest passes by and then a Levite but neither lends a hand to the stricken traveller. Finally, a Samaritan stops to help the stranger, dressing his wounds and bringing him to a nearby inn; thus ‘good Samaritan’ became a byword for ‘compassionate individual’.
Historians suggest that an Israelite rather than a Samaritan was the original hero of the story, and that a Greek translator mistakenly swapped the words while compiling the book of Luke.
Archaelogists have unearthed a Second Temple-era palace, presumably constructed by Herod, which may have been converted into the inn mentioned in the Bible. A church was added under the Byzantines, and during the Crusader period a khan (travellers inn) was erected. The ruins you can see today are a confection of foundations and mosaics from the different eras of construction. Also on the site is a new Israeli museum housing a collection of mosaics.
