On Tuesday, April 11, 2000, IBEX took an afternoon field trip to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This museum includes some priceless treasures including the ossuary of the High Priest Caiaphas and the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are housed in a special exhibit called the “Shrine of the Book.” The large water fountain resembles the lid of a jar like those where the scrolls were found. We already had opportunity to visit the caves at Qumran where the scrolls were found. Now, we got to see the scrolls themselves, preserved and on permanent display.

Why are the Dead Sea Scrolls significant? Until 1947, our oldest surviving manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures dated to around 1000 AD. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, we suddenly had manuscripts that pre-dated our oldest scrolls by a thousand years! Compared side-by-side, they confirmed the Masoretic Text (MT) was incredibly accurate and well preserved.

One of the most significant finds was a massive scroll of Isaiah that contains all 66 chapters. Robinson and Harrison explain, “From Cave 1 came a complete copy of the book of Isaiah, known to scholars as &1QIsaa;. Surprisingly well preserved, it comprised fifty-four columns of clearly written Hebrew script inscribed on seventeen sheets of leather that had been stitched end to end. When unrolled it measured about 7.3 m (24 ft) in length, and was approximately 30 cm. (1 ft) in width… Aside from differences in orthography and the use of certain consonants as vowel letters, the text of Isaiah in &1QIsaa; was identical with that in the much later editions of the MT.” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

There are some minor differences in various scrolls, even in the two copies of Isaiah found. This might be because the text of Isaiah was preserved and passed down in different parts of the world, like an ancient game of telephone. “Isaiah A” includes vowel points and may have been for a less fluent Hebrew reader. “Isaiah B” seems to be a more pure form of Hebrew. But they are still very close overall and the differences are negligible in English.

As we explored the museum, I began to better grasp the flow of history and periods of archaeology:

Neolithic Period (Shortly after Noah’s flood) – Early pottery. Oldest known building is a tower in Jericho.
Chalcolithic Period (before 3000 BC) – Chaeleo (copper) + lithic (stone). Surprising sophistication and craftsmanship. Basalt bowls and ivory fertility objects found in Beersheba.
Early Bronze Period (3000-2200 BC) – Copper implements. Large urban settlements. Fortified cities. Writing develops in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Intermediate Bronze (2200-1550 BC) – Fewer cities. Mostly nomadic. Some jars and spear heads found. Beginning of alphabetic script in Phoenicia and Canaan. The time of Abraham and the patriarchs.
Middle/Late Bronze (1550-1200 BC) – Period of the exodus under Moses and conquest under Joshua. Classic Canaanite culture (as far as craftsmanship) was far superior to Israelite culture. Advanced weaponry like ax heads and sickle swords. Anthropoid sarcophagus found in Beit Shan.
Iron Age (1200-586 BC) – Iron technology. A loose tribal confederation gave way to wider rule under Saul, David, and Solomon, then division of Northern and Southern tribes. Many items have been found during this time such as a a bronze bull in Manasseh, proto-aeolic capitals on top of pillars, the Tel Dan inscription, and ivory pomegranates from Solomon’s temple.

One special exhibit are two silver amulets found by Gabi Barkay at the tombs of Ketef Hinnom in 1979. These small amulets contain the priestly blessing from Numbers 24-26 and predate the Dead Sea Scrolls by several hundred years, making them the oldest known surviving biblical text in the world.

Later periods of archaeology include the Persian, Hellenistic, Hasmonean, and so forth, but much of Old Testament biblical archaeology took place during these earlier times.

A final highlight was seeing the actual Seat of Moses from the synagogue of Chorazin. We had seen a replica in the Galilean town, but here they had the original on display.

25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos. Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!