Walk through the Israel Museum without going to Jerusalem

Another great museum has partnered with Google to let you visit without leaving home. You can now “walk” through the Israel Museum in Jerusalem using Google Street View to observe displays as if you are there in person.

The museum is known for its large collection from the Ancient Near East, including many famous biblical artifacts. If you are in Jerusalem, plan for a few hours in the Israel Museum. You can use Google Street View to familiarize yourself in advance with the museum’s layout. Otherwise, do the next best thing and visit virtually from home.

All images below are screen shots from my computer, courtesy of Google Maps.

Entrance to the “Land of Canaan” galleries in the Israel Museum.

The Israel Museum’s display on Jesus of Nazareth. From left to right, the Ossuary of Caiaphas, the original Pontius Pilate inscription, and the ossuary of a Jew named “Yehohanan son of Hagkol” who died by crucifixion. His heel bone is displayed on the far right with the crucifixion nail still embedded.

A view of finds from Canaanite Hazor including lions (foreground) that guarded the entrance of a temple. In the back is an array of standing stones (masseboth) from a Canaanite shrine.

Standing stones from a Canaanite shrine in Hazor, dating approximately to the period of Joshua or Deborah in the Bible (15th to 13th centuries BC). Note the hands on the middle stone of the circle and the flat “offering” stone in the center.

Weapons and military relics from Assyria’s destruction of Lachish in Judah, displayed below a simplified replica of Sennacherib’s panels that portray the siege. (The original panels are in the British Museum.) This military campaign is described in the biblical books of 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah.

The “Trumpeting Stone” (center) from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, marking the spot where priests would blow the trumpets announcing various events. It was found in debris from the Roman destruction of AD 70. To the left is a Greek inscription warning of death for any Gentile entering the sacred zone around the Temple.