Reflections of the Temple

Following the display of the Isaiah Scroll in the focus exhibition Swords into Plowshares: The Isaiah Scroll and Its Message of Peace, the Israel Museum continued a program of installations in the Shrine of the Book, which showcased singular objects of Biblical history and Jewish archeological and historical importance using collection treasures and loans. The next in this series was a display of artifacts relating to the theme of the Second Temple that included the largest section of the Temple Scroll, never before on view in Israel; a piece of incised plaster bearing one of the oldest known representations of the Temple Menorah from the first century BCE, found in the Jewish Quarter; a selection of coins from the Hasmonean and Bar-Kochva periods featuring images from the Temple; and two gold-glass medallions from the fourth century CE, adorned with iconic imagery of the Holy Ark, the Lions of Judah and the Menorah.