Family Guide: Two Bibles. Two Stories.

Archaeology, History and Art:
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity!

Help your family learn about the Dead Sea Scrolls and The Saint John's Bible by diving into the rich collection of artifacts, videos, photographs, and printed words. It's archaeology, art, culture, scribing, and biblical history. The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition is the story of two Bibles: the oldest known Bible—the 2,000 year old Dead Sea Scrolls, and the newest, hand illuminated (painted) Bible—The Saint John's Bible.

For simplicity, we're describing the exhibition in this family guide in three parts:

• The Dead Sea Valley (blue walls)
• The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (brown walls)
• The Saint John's Bible

As you go through the exhibit, talk to the volunteers and staff; they have lots of information to share. Listen to the Audio Guide, included free with each admission. Each audio tour stop has a version specifically for kids.

The Dead Sea Valley

The section of the exhibition with blue walls is about the Dead Sea Valley and the culture of the people who lived there 2,000 years ago.

Step on the big map. Locate the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Jerusalem, and Qumran. Can you locate mountains, a delta, a lake, a river, an ocean? What do the different colors on the map tell you about the region?

Watch the video about the Dead Sea Valley. How is the region different from where you live? How is the lake different from a lake you know?

Look around the exhibition. Find objects that tell about how people lived at that time. Look for dishes, jars, food remains, and fabrics. Find the coins; what images are on them?

The Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls include the oldest known Bible, approximately 2,000 years old. In 1947, shepherds found the first scrolls in a cave near an ancient settlement named Qumran; later, archaeologists found others.

The brown wall area is about the discovery of the scrolls, how scientists have restored them, and what scholars think the scrolls mean.

• Feel the relief map. What can you identify?
• Listen to the audio guide and read the panels.
  • Where were the Dead Sea Scrolls found?
  • Who found them?
  • What is written on the scrolls?
  • What language are they written in?
  • What were they written on? What was the ink made from? What kind of pens did the scribes* use?

The Scroll Room displays five scrolls. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the scrolls! Most scroll fragments are in museums in Israel, and they rarely leave the museum.

*Scribe, Scriptorium, Scribble. A scribe is someone who neatly copies or writes documents. They might work in a scriptorium, a place for writing. If you scribble, you are a scribe too, but a messy one.

The Saint John's Bible

The Saint John's Bible is the first hand-written and illuminated (painted) Bible since the printing press was invented 500 years ago. This Bible will be used by the monks at Saint John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota (near St. Cloud). The work is being done in a scriptorium (a place for writing) in Wales and is being led by the Queen of England's scribe, Donald Jackson. Jackson, at age 12, visited museums and started copying manuscripts.

• What tools are the scribes using to write this book?
• What are the inks and paints made from?
• What is the "paper" for The Saint John's Bible?
• Look closely at the images on the pages? What story does the artwork tell?
• Watch the video. How does Donald Jackson use an egg?

Keep the Conversations Going

• How does seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls or The Saint John's Bible make you feel?
• What does learning about this chapter in history add to your understanding of your religion?
• Relate the exhibit to your family. For example, what elements and objects from your daily life will be of significance to archaeologists in 2,000 years?
• How was life different in Qumran 2,000 years ago from today where you live? What was the same?
• Learn to print your name in a fancy script. Visit www.calligraphy-skills.com for an introduction to the art of calligraphy.
• See a list of the scrolls with translations.
• See our educator guide for other ideas.
• See www.deadseascrolls.org for other print and online resources (news, video, research, and books on the scrolls).
• See www.saintjohnsbible.org for more information on The Saint John's Bible.
• See www.scriptorium.columbia.edu/highlights for images of ancient manuscripts.