according to 1 Kings xvi. 24, means the hill of Shemer. Omri “bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built
on the hill, and called the name of [his] city ... after the name of
Shemer ... Samaria.” (B.C. 925.)
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
