“The Lord said to Abraham: “Leave your land, your people, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. . . Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot his, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. . .” (Genesis 12:1-5).
Have you ever wondered exactly how father Abraham and his entourage got from Haran in Mesopotamia to the faraway Promised Land? Did they ride camels? Or would they have traveled in style, perhaps in a comfortable carriage? Find the answer on a visit to Jerusalem’s unique Bible Lands Museum, now celebrating its 15th anniversary. The only one of its kind in the world, the museum will take you on a fascinating journey back in time to the people, countries and cultures of the Bible. Learn how ancient customs and traditions influenced our ancestors and provided the backdrop for the Jewish religion, the Jewish spirit, and the Jewish homeland.
The museum’s founder, the late Elie Borowski, was a genius obsessed with the idea of bringing the Bible to life. He decided to accumulate antiquities unearthed not only in the Holy Land, but also in countries whose ancient cultures preceded our own. He decided to make them accessible and understandable to the general public. But when he began collecting in 1943, Borowski was almost out of money. Therefore, the story goes, he borrowed the means to acquire two Assyrian seals and sold one for enough money to pay his moneylender for both. The remaining seal, which is on display in the museum, is engraved in Hebrew with the word “leshallum”. Dating back to the First Temple Period, it could refer to Shallum – the 15th King of Israel. (Shallum assassinated King Zacharias in the seventh month of his reign, took his place, and was himself assassinated 30 days later.) As he walks through the museum’s open galleries, symbolically resembling an archaeological dig, he will see for himself how Father Abraham journeyed to Canaan. He’ll also discover why the plague of darkness terrified the Egyptians of the time of Moses, and how the ancients could keep thieves away while lying in a coffin! And you’ll get the answer to that burning question: how was Rebecca able to keep her makeup fresh on the long, hard journey to the land where Isaac waited for her fiancée? Archaeologists believe that the patriarch’s family may have traveled in a bull-drawn chariot exactly like a model on display in Gallery 5. Made of bronze, the model is an original dating to somewhere between 3000 and 2000 BC. C. What makes it so exciting is the fact that it was found near Haran, the city where Abraham lived when he was commanded to “go to the land.” Possibly, says volunteer museum guide Yehuda Harel, people residing in the Middle East long ago made models of their cars and left them at home, believing this would protect them on their travels.
Gallery 1 houses a large display of knives made from flint. Despite its strength, flint can be crumbled to give it a very sharp edge, making it easy for a skilled toolmaker to make into knives. The ancient Egyptians, who circumcised upper-class teenagers, performed the surgery with flint knives. So did Joshua, when he mass circumcised the Children of Israel. Why did Joshua use flint and not some other type of stone in use at the time? Perhaps as a gesture of respect for Father Abraham, Harel suggests, since he would have performed his circumcisions with flint. Also, iron, still in short supply in any case, would have dulled after a few circumcisions and would have had to be constantly sharpened. Flint was preferable for another reason as well: according to legend, at least, the stone contains a natural antibiotic, very useful for mass circumcisions! Women have been using cosmetics since the dawn of civilization. In ancient times, cosmetics were associated with cult worship, and fragrant ointments were applied to idols to appease the various gods. Eventually this became the custom of using cosmetics to enhance a woman’s appearance.
Rebecca was a lovely young woman with perfect manners. In the Bible, Abraham sends his servant to Mesopotamia with orders to find a wife for his son Isaac among his former compatriots and relatives. After Rebecca draws water for both the servant and her camels, he makes sure that she is the answer to a prayer. He bestows her with a nose ring that weighs over five grams and two gold bracelets that weigh even more (you can find out what they went for in Gallery 5, which features jewelry from the same region and time period).
So Rebecca begins her long journey to Canaan, intending to look as beautiful as possible when she meets her future husband. Obviously, then, she needs cosmetics! To examine containers like Rebecca’s, head over to the cosmetics and perfume display. Animal-shaped, one of them has space for two types of eyeshadow. The compartments would have been topped by two corks. The most interesting thing is the detachable head: when the upper part of the lower part was lifted, it would hold a small makeup brush.
The strange-looking clay figurines in Gallery 9 are household gods who played an important role in the ancient world. After working for Laban for 20 years, Jacob set out for Canaan with his two wives, children, and flocks. Laban spent three days chasing him, frantic because someone from Jacob’s house had stolen her idols (it was Rachel, and she sat on them so her father wouldn’t discover them).
Why did Rachel take them and why were they so important to Laban? Harel explains that these small idols were believed to guard the home and intercede with the main gods. But, he says, when their owner died, whoever owned them apparently became the heir to the house. Rachel, no fool, may have wanted protection for her trip to Canaan. But she was also thinking about the future, perhaps, because she (and Leah) had bitterly, and rhetorically, asked Jacob: “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? 5 Don’t you regard us as foreigners? He has not only sold us, but he has spent what was paid for us… (Genesis 31:14-15).
Rachel’s son Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous half-brothers, eventually became second in command to the Egyptian pharaoh. When he died, at the age of 110, his brothers embalmed him and placed him in a coffin suitable for upper-class burial. It probably closely resembled the elaborate coffin in Gallery 9. Belonging to a man named Pheto, it is typical of coffins used by nobles and other aristocrats. The coffins for this spell were prepared in advance, filled with precious items for use in the other world, and covered with images. Look especially for two very large eyes. They belong to the god Horus, who was in the shape of a falcon and had unusually keen eyesight.
As he gazed at his final resting place, the Egyptian wondered how to keep thieves away after his death. Painting Horus on the coffin meant that, even after death, they could see a potential thief and send a message: “Watch out, I see you! And when it’s your turn, I’ll get you for this!” On the catwalk together to Gallery 9, you can see a headless statue of Ramses II. Possibly the pharaoh of the Exodus, he was the greatest builder of his time. His name appears in hieroglyphics within the engraved kartush or ellipse used only for royalty and associated with the sun god Re. The sun was very important to the ancients, and the ellipse probably symbolizes his path. In the pagan world, beliefs and traditions were based on what people could see. Each morning they saw the sun appear to rise from the earth, move up into the sky, take a path across the sky, and at night return to the earth. The sun god Re is depicted in many different forms, including that of a scarab (dung beetle) that comes out of the ground, lives its life, grows old, and re-enters the ground at nightfall. At midnight there is a fight between Re and a terrible snake called Apophis who threatens to kill the sun god. If he does, the sun won’t shine! Now you can understand what made the ninth plague such a terrifying catastrophe for the ancient Egyptians. Because an Egyptian who wakes up in the morning does not see the sun, he knows that the serpent has won and the world is in chaos. If the darkness continues, with no sign of his world returning, the result would be panic and consternation across the land. Did you know that David’s first wife was Mical, and that she seems to be very much in love with her? However, it is possible that she felt differently. On one occasion, the Philistines had just returned the Holy Ark, and as “he was entering the City of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of a window. And when he saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, he despised him in your heart.” [2 Samuel 6:16]
Could a stunning ivory on display at the museum, a window with a disgusted woman’s face looking out, showing us how Michal felt about her husband’s ball? It was crafted in the Middle East and dates to about 850 B.C. C., not long after David’s rule! Or is it, in fact, a representation of Jezebel who “painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window?” (2 Kings 9:30).
A large broken vessel, dating to the 6th century BC. C., is found on a ledge in Gallery 14. “King Zedekiah then ordered Jeremiah to be placed in the guard yard and given bread from the bakers’ street every day until all the city bread…[Jeremiah 37:21]
Perhaps used before the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and discovered among the ruins of the city south of the Temple Mount, this jar could have carried wine, oil, or flour for the bakers who baked the bread. The building in which it was found served as part of a royal administrative center, in the storage area. Its inscription reads “Belonging to the Minister of…” Perhaps it belonged to the Minister of Bakers. . .
During the First Temple period, Jews who died were generally buried in family caves, their bones then collected in large pits. In the Roman era, however, a thousand years later, they were buried in personal sarcophagi (Greek for “meat-eaters”) that they had often prepared before their deaths. A sarcophagus in Gallery 18 tells a fascinating story. An inscription in Aramaic, the language written by Jews at the time, reads: “Close this and don’t bring anyone else in!” The sarcophagus was prepared while the owner was alive, but it was forbidden to bury two people in the same coffin. Therefore, Harel suggests, the owner must have been trying to convey a message to his wife, the only person who might insist on joining him despite the ban. So what he was actually saying could have been this: “Wife, I had enough of you while you were alive. After you die, find another arrangement!”
Through December, museum visitors can enjoy a special exhibit called “The Three Faces of Monotheism” which, while presenting the different symbols of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, also illustrates our common heritage.
The museum is completely wheelchair accessible. Hours: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9:30-17:30; Wednesday 9:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Friday 9:30-14:00; Telephone 5611066. Guided tours in English (Highly recommended and included in the ticket!) every day at 10:30. Note: The Museum Shop offers wonderful and unique gifts.