Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Kings 16:24

"And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill, Samaria." — 1 Kings 16:24 (ASV)

“Samaria” is the Greek form of the name, Samareia; the original Hebrew is shômerôn. The site is marked by the modern “Sebustiyeh,” an Arabic corruption of Sebaste, the name Herod gave to Samaria when he rebuilt it. In the heart of the mountains of Israel, there is a deep, basin-shaped depression, and in its center rises an oblong hill with steep but accessible sides and a long, flat top.

This was the site Omri chose for his new capital. Politically, it was more central than Shechem and likely also Tirzah. From a military standpoint, it was well-suited for defense, the surrounding country was especially productive, and the hill itself had abundant springs of water. As a result, while Shechem and Tirzah were both tried and abandoned, Samaria continued without interruption as the capital of the northern kingdom through all later changes in dynasty, right until the end of its independence.

Omri purchased the property rights to the hill, just as David purchased the threshing floor (2 Samuel 24:24; compare to 1 Kings 21:2). The price of two talents, or 6,000 shekels (see the note on Exodus 38:24)—about £500 to £800 in British currency at the time of this writing—may well have been the full value of the land. While naming his city after Shemer, Omri may have also considered the name’s appropriateness for the location.

To a Hebrew ear, “Shomeron” would have immediately suggested the idea of a “watch-tower.” However, this name does not appear to have been accepted at first by the surrounding nations. The earlier Assyrian kings knew the Israelite capital not as Samaria but as Beth-Khumri, that is, “the city of Omri.” It was not until the time of Tiglath-pileser that they exchanged this designation for “Sammirin.”