Shrine of the Book

The Shrine of the Book is a wing of the Israel Museum near Givat Ram in Jerusalem that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves around Qumran area.

The sanctuary is shaped like a dome, with a pool of water surrounding it. In front of the dome there is a wall of black basalt. The colors and shapes of the building evoke the War Scroll of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness, the white dome symbolizes the Sons of Light and the black wall symbolizes the Sons of Darkness.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in Qumran, so it seemed natural to reinstall the Second Temple model by the Shrine in the Israel Museum. A hallway connects both places to indicate that together they have much to teach visitors about the period in which the construction and destruction of the Second Temple and the ministry of Jesus took place.

The model also allows visitors to see Jerusalem from a different point of view. The film projected in the new Dorot Center auditorium, which has a capacity of 80 people, follows the footsteps of an acolyte at Qumran and a young priest in Jerusalem. Like the shrine and the model, this film is a valuable tool to help Christians to reflect on Jesus’ ministry in those tumultuous times.

The museum also has other unique ancient manuscripts that displays the Aleppo Codex.