Artifact Catalog - Museum of the Bible

Artifacts SPECIAL

COLLECTION EDITION

AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE COLLECTION OF MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE

THE MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE COLLECTION The Museum Collection, one of the world’s largest private collections of biblical texts, objects, and artifacts, allows Museum of the Bible to convey the global impact and compelling history of the Bible in a unique and powerful way.

The Museum Collection contains donated artifacts, along with loaned items – comprising more than 40,000 objects. The Collection spans cuneiform tablets dating from the time of Abraham to Dead Sea Scroll fragments, biblical papyri and manuscripts, Torah scrolls, and rare printed Bibles.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

N A R R AT I V E case #1 page 4

PRESENTING MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE Some of the world’s rarest biblical, ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Christian artifacts in the world will be

HISTORY case #2 page 9

displayed in our eight-floor, 430,000-square-foot museum in Washington, DC. The artifacts shown here reflect the breadth and depth of what people will find as they make their way through the museum.

I M PA C T case #3 page 15

THE NARRATIVE FLOOR

Narrative The Bible contains many captivating and dramatic

from exile. The New Testament portion of The

stories. It is challenging to focus on just a few to

Narrative Floor picks up these and other related

give some sense of their connections with each

themes. It also expands upon them while focusing

other in a meaningful way. The Narrative Floor

on Jesus of Nazareth and his teachings, and the

presents the Jewish Bible along the central idea

world he knew.

that “one is always welcome home.” Through sight and sound-filled immersive environments, various stories highlight themes of trust, faith, danger, family, struggle, fortitude, and joy, among others.

The overarching story is told from the point of view of a family, Abraham and his descendants, looking back from the time of the Jews’ return

1 PRIVATE BIBLE READING

DEVOTIONAL FAMILY BIBLE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1856

This Bible shows part of the family record found in many Bibles. Genealogies have a significant role in recording where we come from. The Bible uses genealogies in this way, often highlighting specific aspects of the family as it traces various lines of descendants. Illustrated family Bibles helped parents explain what they were reading to their children.

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2 PUBLIC BIBLE READING IN WORSHIP

TORAH SCROLL Manuscript in Hebrew on parchment Yemen Circa 1820 The Torah is the most important scroll in Jewish communities. It is read aloud weekly on the Sabbath, and contains the Law of Moses.

This Torah scroll is parchment from domesticated ranch-raised goat in the Yemeni Republic (Yemen).

This scroll is open to the place where we read:

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4–10, NJPS)

3 RITUAL AND WORSHIP

KIDDUSH CUP REPOUSSÉ SILVER Hessen, Hanau, Germany 1890 This embossed silver cup might have been used to drink wine at special Jewish family events, such as Shabbat dinner or a religious holiday. The image shown seems to represent a family celebrating Passover. On the unseen side of the cup is an embossed image of the Second Temple.

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4 CELEBRATION

ILLUMINATED ESTHER SCROLL Manuscript in Hebrew on parchment Israel Late 20th century This natural parchment Esther scroll is a modern scroll from Israel made in the late 1900’s. It has Sephardi writing, indicating it was meant for use by Sephardic Jews (descendants of Jews from Spain and Portugal). The book of Esther is read every year during Purim, which celebrates the Jews’ deliverance from extermination in ancient Persia.

THIS CASE DISPLAYS FIVE IMPORTANT TEXTS ILLUSTRATING THE TRANSMISSION OF THE BIBLE.

think of seeing interesting and amazing, often beautiful, things—paintings, sculptures, clothing, and so forth. Through these things, or “artifacts,” we expect to learn something about history, the people who made or owned them, and what their importance might be for us today. The History Floor does all of this in presenting the ancient Near Eastern setting and development of the biblical texts among various Jewish and Christian faith communities. Organized along basic chronological timelines, several hundred

THE HISTORY FLOOR

history

When we think of museums, we naturally

artifacts will be displayed showing the historical setting, growth, transmission, and translation of the biblical texts.

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5 HEBREW BIBLE

DEAD SEA SCROLLS, ECCLESIASTES FRAGMENTS (4Q109 OR 4QQOHA) FACSIMILE Manuscript in Hebrew on vellum Qumran, Cave 4 2nd century BC This facsimile is of Ecclesiastes, or Qohelet, with verses from chapters 5–7. Based on multispectral photography from the West Semitic Research Project led by Bruce and Ken Zuckerman, the facsimile fragments are made to the same standard as the original scrolls, imaged on specially prepared paper, and then mounted in custom-designed three-layer museum quality acrylic frames. They are cut to the exact outline of the fragment, and then engraved with a brief description.

This is one of a set of three facsimiles of Jordan’s scroll fragment treasures housed at the National Archaeological Museum in Amman.

6 3RD–4TH CENTURY GREEK TEXTS

P. BODMER VIII BIFOLIUM (P72) FACSIMILE 1 PETER 1–2 Manuscript in Greek on papyrus Egypt 3rd–4th century AD Nomina sacra (“sacred names”) are a distinctive Christian scribal tradition of the 3rd century and earlier for writing specific words held with high respect: God, Lord, Jesus, Christ, Son, Spirit, David, Cross, Mother, God-Bearer, Father, Israel, Savior, Man/Human, Jerusalem, and Heaven. The first and last letters of the word are shown with a horizontal line above them. These are contractions. Some Christian traditions still use nomina sacra in their iconography.

There are seven nomina sacra on the pages shown exemplifying this scribal practice.

How many can you find?

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7 6TH–7TH CENTURY GREEK TEXTS

CODEX CLIMACI RESCRIPTUS BIFOLIUM LEAF

Palimpsest in Syriac & Western Aramaic on vellum St. Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai 6th/9th century AD The Codex Climaci Rescriptus is a palimpsest manuscript with its leaves containing various underlying texts in Greek (6th–7th century) or Western Aramaic (6th century). The upper text is a ninth century Syriac translation of The Ladder of Divine Ascent by John Climacus. Here the Syriac is shown upside down to better display the underlying Western Aramaic right side up.

This leaf contains texts from Mark 1-2.

8 MEDIEVAL LATIN VULGATE

BIBLIA LATINA

Manuscript in Latin on vellum Paris, France Circa 1250 This illuminated Biblia Latina manuscript is a Paris Pocket Bible, a one-volume manuscript format that became standard for Bibles in the 1200s. It introduced many elements still featured in modern Bibles. The text is written in two columns, has headings at the top of each page indicating the book of the Bible, and the books are arranged from Genesis to Revelation. The books are divided into chapters according to the system attributed to Stephen Langton (d. 1228), a professor at the University of Paris in the early 1200s.

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9 NEW TESTAMENT IN ENGLISH

TYNDALE NEW TESTAMENT WITH WOODCUTS

Possibly printed in the Low Countries [Belgium] 1553 William Tyndale (ca. 1494–1536) is known as the “father of the English Bible” due to his highly influential translation of the New Testament. An outstanding linguist, Tyndale used Erasmus’ Greek New Testament, and produced an English translation with many iconic phrases still used today, like “fight the good fight” and “the powers that be.” Other English translations at the time often used and referenced Tyndale’s work, including the Matthew Bible, the Great Bible, the Coverdale Bible, the Geneva Bible, and the King James Bible.

in various cultures, the impact of the Bible is evident in all areas of life and society. It is seen in literature, music, law, government, philosophy, science, religion, and everyday speech. The Impact Floor explores the influence of the Bible across the globe, with a special focus on the Bible in America,

Impact

through thought-provoking displays and interactive media. It illustrates the Bible’s pervasive influence on culture.

THE IMPACT FLOOR

When looking at the spread of the Bible through time and

THIS CASE PRESENTS SOME OF THE THEMES ILLUSTRATING THE IMPACT OF THE BIBLE.

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10 PRINTING REVOLUTION

GUTENBERG BIBLE LEAF Latin Mainz, Germany 1455

Johannes Gutenberg’s famed “42-Lined Bible” was the first major book printed with moveable type, which helped inaugurate the printing revolution. The leaf shown here was printed in 1455 by Gutenberg with his partners, Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer. The text is from the “Third Book of Kings,” the book of 1 Kings in modern Bibles. It is 10:5-11:27, the account of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon with the description of Solomon’s splendor and wealth. The page is printed in gothic type with two-line Lombard initials in red, with headlines and chapter numbers in alternating red and blue, capital strokes in red.

11 BIBLE ILLUSTRATION

JESUS WASHING THE DISCIPLES’ FEET Used in the first printing of Gospels in Arabic Antonio Tempesta, Artist Carved Woodblock Italy 1591

This original woodblock designed by Antonio Tempesta, presents Jesus Washing the Disciples’ Feet as told in the narrative of the Last Supper in the Gospel of John. It is one of the complete set of woodblocks preserved and housed in the collection.

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12 BIBLE AND THE NATURAL WORLD

PHYSICA SACRA: COMMENTARY ON NATURAL THINGS APPEARING IN THE HOLY WRITING [BIBLE], VOL. IV Compiled by Jacob Scheuchzer German Augsburg, Germany Circa 1731

Physica Sacra is the project of Johann Jakob Scheuchzer. Its four volumes are known as the “Copper Bible” (Kupfer-Bibel) for the 760 engraved copperplates used in depicting natural phenomena of the Bible. A medical doctor and natural scientists from Zurich, Switzerland, Scheuchzer intended the illustrations to be commentary on natural phenomena found in the Bible. The plates often appear bizarre to the modern eye in their graphic representation, particularly of plants, animals, and the human body among other elements of nature.

13 BIBLE IN AMERICA

AITKEN BIBLE

Printed by Robert Aitken Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1782

Robert Aitken (1734–1802) emigrated from Scotland in 1769 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since the British crown had embargoed the sale and export of Bibles to the American colonies, Aitken was determined to publish an English Bible in violation of English laws. In 1781, he petitioned the Second Continental Congress of the newly formed United States for approval or authorization “to print and vend” his Bible. In 1782, the Congress “highly approve[d] the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient of the interest of religion as well as an instance of the progress of arts in this country...they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorize him to publish this Recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.”

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In the fall of 2017, Museum of the Bible opens its eight floor, 430,000-square-foot museum in Washington, DC, conveniently located two blocks south of the National Mall and three blocks southwest of the Capitol at the Federal Center SW Metro Station, Museum of the Bible is a place where people can engage with the Bible – its history, narrative, and impact – in their own way through in-depth explorations and interactive media and technologies. The museum and its traveling exhibitions display ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Christian artifacts and documents from the museum’s collection.

These irreplaceable historical items help in telling various stories involving the Bible – as a historical and cultural item as well as a sacred text. The museum seeks to create an atmosphere of wonder and exploration, of reflection and contemplation, inviting all people to look at the Bible anew.

As of 2015, Museum of the Bible traveling exhibits have been on display in several U.S. cities and in four other countries: The Vatican, Rome, Italy; Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, Israel; Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina and 300 D Street SW Washington, D.C 855.554.8900 (toll-free) donorservices@mbible.org museumoftheBible.org

S.M.I. Catedral de La Habana, Havana, and Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, Santiago, Cuba. More traveling exhibits are being planned and new locations sought to increase access to the museum’s artifacts and to invite people to engage with the Bible.