King Hoshea Rules in Israel. He was a bad king who ruled for 9 years. After that, Samaria falls to Assyria around 723-721 B.C. Foreigners settle in Samaria. The religion that comes from the mixing the knowledge of the true God and mixing that with worshipping false gods. This explains the statement of the Samaritan woman in John 4: 19,20 and Jesus' response in John 4: 22. This chapter is a summary of what has happened to the Northern kingdom of Israel over the last 200 years. (Took some material from gotquestions.org about: Should we have a Christmas tree?)