The Shrine of the Book is a wing of the Israel Museum that houses one of the most important archaeological finds ever found in the Land of Israel – The Dead Sea Scrolls! Today on display, you will find the Aleppo Codex, among other critical archeological discoveries!

Shrine of the Book

The Shrine of the Book houses the Isaiah scroll, dating from the second century BCE! In fact, It’s the most intact of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Aleppo Codex, dating from the 10th century CE, the oldest existing Hebrew Bible. A copy of the original Isaiah scroll is now on display in the Shrine of the Book.

Israel Museum Tour

Furthermore, the shrine is built as a white dome, covering a structure placed two-thirds below the ground that is reflected in a pool of water surrounding it. Across from the white dome is a black basalt wall. According to one interpretation, the colors and shapes of the building are based on the imagery of the War Scroll: Which depicts the War between the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness. The white dome symbolizes the Sons of Light; while the black wall represents the Sons of Darkness.

What Else We Can Find There?

Also, among other things you can find at the Shrine of the Book are the three scrolls bought in 1947 by Eliezer Soknik and four more scrolls purchased in the United States by Yigael Yadin. All of them are on display in the Israel Museum.

Also on display is the Temple Scroll that Yadin was involved in purchasing and came into his hands after the Six-Day War. A scroll section is displayed between 3 and 6 months to protect the scrolls. After which it is returned for preservation and replaced with another section. An exception is the scroll of Isaiah, a copy of which is displayed in its entirety in the center of the Shrine of the Book.