Jerusalem - The Israel Museum

The Israel Museum is so vast and fascinating that we actually went there together one day and then I returned on another day to see the exhibit on Hasidism (fascinating!) and the Archaeological section (since Jeremy had been there before).  The archaeological section houses some of the most important artifacts of the region, some of which support or correct events in the Torah and Bible.  The archaeological section chronologically tells the story of all the people that have inhabited the land since the Early Bronze Age, which also tells the narrative of the Jewish people.  "The earliest definite reference to the Israelites outside the Bible is an Egyptian inscription dating from about 1220 BCE, commemorating the victory of the Egyptian Pharaoh Marniptah over them and several other peoples in the land of Canaan," (Source: A Short History of the Jewish People, Scheindlin).  

The Israel Museum houses the Tel Dan stele, a piece of stone with an Aramaic inscription found in Tel Dan (Northern Israel) and dating back to the 9th Century BCE.  The inscription mentions the "house of David" which is the only archaeological evidence outside of the Bible mentioning the Kingdom of David.  (There is also the Mesha Stele, but the inscription is incomplete, so the evidence is debatable.)  I was in awe to see such a significant archaeological artifact!  So cool!  I wanted to take a picture (without the flash of course), but the security people are everywhere and watch you like hawks!  There are pictures on Wikipedia though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Dan_Stele

I also saw the oldest known reference to biblical texts, which is written on two silver amulets and date back to 6th/7th Century BCE.  I didn't take a picture of the amulets, but I got a picture of the museum's description of the amulets.

Here's a link to a picture, if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ketef_hinom_scrolls.JPG

One of the most amazing things we saw together at the Israel Museum (and what took up majority of the first day) was seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest known biblical documents, which date back to 408-318 BCE.  These are full-fledged documents, not just partial texts like the amulets above.  These documents were found on mostly parchment, but also papyrus and Bronze.  40% of the documents are texts known to the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible).  30% of the scrolls were manuscripts not canonized into the Tanakh, but were Jewish documents from the Second Temple Period.  30% of the scrolls documented the rules and beliefs of the Jewish community who owned these scrolls.  The scrolls were discovered in caves in Qumran, preserved in huge clay pots. The story of their discovery and the significance of the discovery is just incredible! 

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls)

Housed below where I'm sitting are the Dead Sea Scrolls, in a cave-like room meant to represent the cave where the scrolls were discovered.  This sculpture is supposed to look like the top of the clay pots which the scrolls were discovered in.  

This basalt wall accompanies the white fountain across from it and represents the Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness, one of the scrolls found in Qumran.  Behind the wall is the entrance to what the Israel Museum calls The Shrine of the Book. 

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Museum)

All this archaeological stuff was very serious, but Jeremy and I still had our fun with this crazy funhouse mirror sculpture thing!

I was excited to see this famous picture in person.  It's an untitled picture by an Israeli photographer, Adi Nes.  Reminiscent of the Last Supper, the IDF soldiers eat in the cafeteria, their fate unknown.

The Israel Museum has this awesome, huge model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period, around 63-66 CE.  Check out our video:

Here we are next to the massive Second Temple model!  So cool! 

It maybe be a little tough to see, but on the model there's a little red arrow pointing at the Western Wall, the retaining wall which is the remnant of the Second Temple and is the holiest Jewish site.

The Israel Museum is such an amazing museum because it has some of the most fascinating and significant archaeological finds in the world, mixed with exhibits about Jewish life and culture over the centuries.  It also has international art exhibits, with Monet, etc.  It was such a wonderful experience to see the journey we've taken - the historical sites we've visited in person - documented in the museum and with a wealth of information that we're so eager to learn.