Acts 8:5

“Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, etc.] The city which was formerly called Samaria, but now Sebaste; it had been destroyed by Hyrcanus, and was rebuilt by Herod; and called by him, in honour of Augustus, by the name of Sebaste f388; and so R. Benjamin says f389, that “from Luz he came in a day to Sebaste, ˆwrmwç ayh, “this is Samaria”; where yet may be discerned the palace of Ahab king of Israel — — -and from thence are two “parsas” to Neapolis, this is Sichem.” Which last place, Sichem, is by Josephus said to be the “metropolis” of Samaria; and is thought by Dr. Lightfoot to be the city Philip went to, and where our Lord had before been, and preached to the conversion of many…”

“SUCCESS OF PHILIP'S PREACHING IN SAMARIA--CASE OF SIMON MAGUS. (Acts 8:5-25) Then Philip--not the apostle of that name, as was by some of the Fathers supposed; for besides that the apostles remained at Jerusalem, they would in that case have had no occasion to send a deputation of their own number to lay their hands on the baptized disciples [GROTIUS]. It was the deacon of that name, who comes next after Stephen in the catalogue of the seven, probably as being the next most prominent. The persecution may have been directed especially against Stephen's colleagues [MEYER]. the city of Samaria--or "a city of Samaria"; but the former seems more likely. "It furnished the bridge between Jerusalem…”

“Then Philip - One of the seven deacons, Acts 6:5. He is afterward called the “evangelist,” Acts 21:8. The city of Samaria - This does not mean a city whose “name” was Samaria, for no such city at that time existed. Samaria was a “region,” Matthew 2:22. The ancient city Samaria, the capital of that region, had been destroyed by Hyrcanus, so completely as to leave no vestige of it remaining; and he “took away,” says Josephus, “the very marks that there had ever been such a city there” (Antiq., book 13, chapter 10, section 3). Herod the Great afterward built a city on this site, and called it “Sebaste”; that is, “Augusta,” in honor of the Emperor Augustus (Josephus, Antiq., book 15, chapter 8,…”

“Stephen - Being taken away, Philip, his next colleague, (not the apostle,) rises in his place. Acts 8:9”

“Philip: Act 8:1, Act 8:14, Act 8:15, Act 8:40, Act 6:5, Act 21:8 the city: Rather, "to a city of Samaria," εις \[Strong's G1519\], πολις της Σαμαρειας, for the city of Samaria had been utterly destroyed by Hyrcanus, and the city built by Herod on its site was called Σεβαστη, that is, Augusta, in honour of Augustus. Samaria comprised the tract of country formerly occupied by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, west of Jordan, lying between Judea and Galilee, beginning, says Josephus, at Ginea in the great plain, and ending at the toparchy of Acrabateni. Act 1:8; Mat 10:5, Mat 10:6 preached: Act 8:35-37, Act 5:42, Act 9:20, Act 17:2, Act 17:3; Joh 4:25, Joh 4:26; Co1 1:23, Co1 2:2, Co1 3:11…”