Museum#9

Israel Museum & Shrine of the Book

מוזיאון ישראל

The Israel Museum is the country's foremost cultural institution and one of the leading art and archaeology museums in the world. Founded in 1965, its encyclopedic collection spans 5,000 years and includes archaeology, fine art, Jewish art and life, and an acclaimed youth wing. The museum's most famous attraction is the Shrine of the Book — a striking white dome housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known biblical manuscripts, discovered in caves near Qumran between 1947 and 1956. Adjacent to the Shrine is a large-scale outdoor model of Jerusalem as it appeared during the Second Temple period (66 CE), offering an extraordinary bird's-eye view of the ancient city.

Wikimedia Commons

Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Don't Miss

See the Dead Sea Scrolls in the iconic Shrine of the Book
Study the Second Temple-period model of Jerusalem — incredibly detailed at 1:50 scale
Explore the archaeology wing with finds from across the Holy Land
Visit the Billy Rose Art Garden with sculptures by Picasso, Rodin, and Henry Moore
See the reconstructed interiors of ancient synagogues from Italy, India, and Suriname

The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Shrine of the Book houses the oldest biblical manuscripts ever discovered. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near the Dead Sea settlement of Qumran. Written between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE, they include the oldest known copies of every book of the Hebrew Bible (except Esther), as well as community rules, commentaries, and hymns. The Great Isaiah Scroll, displayed in the center of the shrine, is a complete copy of the Book of Isaiah dating to around 125 BCE — over a thousand years older than any previously known copy. The shrine's distinctive white dome is designed to evoke the lids of the clay jars in which the scrolls were stored.

The Second Temple Model

Adjacent to the Shrine of the Book, a 1:50 scale model recreates the entire city of Jerusalem as it appeared in 66 CE — just before the Roman destruction. Built over decades by historian Michael Avi-Yonah using historical sources and archaeological evidence, the model covers nearly 1,000 square meters and includes every known structure: the Temple with its courts and colonnades, Herod's palace, the Upper City mansions, the Pool of Bethesda, and the city walls. Walking around the model gives you an understanding of ancient Jerusalem's scale and grandeur that no amount of reading can provide.