was joined in the celebration of the festival by those of the local population, including no doubt some from the region of Samaria, who were willing to accept the cult of YHVH alone, for which the phrase used here is to seek YHVH, a key expression of C, also used of the northerners who accepted Hezekiah’s invitation (2 Chron. 30:18–19 and cf. Ezra 4:2). While these “seekers” are not called proselytes (gērîm), their inclusion illustrates the openness of the postexilic Jewish community to outsiders