Bible, Art, and History Museums

Dunham Bible Museum Links

General Bible background and history:

Discovering the Bible – overview of Bible’s history, content, preservation, and

influence.

Biblical manuscripts:

  • Scrolls from the Dead Sea – Library of Congress exhibit on Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • Digital Dead Sea Scrolls – Examine the Dead Sea Scrolls in detail.  The Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk scroll, the Temple Scroll and the War Scroll are online for careful examination.  Includes videos and explanatory notes.
  • Dead Sea Scroll Foundation – foundation for the conservation, preservation, publication, and exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts – Center devoted to electronically recording every known New Testament manuscript for textual study and analysis.
  • Tischendorf and Codex Sinaiticus – Tischendorf’s own account of the discovery of the important 4th century manuscript.
  • Aleppo Codex – the oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible.  Website includes history, transmission, and digital online version.
  • Codex Bezae – 5th century uncial manuscript of the New Testament
  • Codex Sinaiticus – one of the earliest Bibles, from the 4th century.  The British Library owns the major portion of the Codex.
  • Codex Sinaiticus Project – gives history of the manuscript, the manuscript online, and news of the manuscript.  A cooperative project of the British Library,the National Library of Russia, St. Catherine;s Monastery, and Leipzig University Library.
  • Codex Alexandrinus – one of the 3 earliest manuscripts of the entire Bible in Greek.
  • Jerome and the Vulgate – more on Jerome’s 4th century Latin translation.
  • Syriac Bible from the 5th century.
  • A Story of Remarkable Recovery by Nicholas Van Cleve examines the history and significance of a scroll of the book of Exodus from the Cairo Genizeh.  Mr. Van Cleve was a freshman Honors College student when he won first place for this essay in the 2012 “Piece of the Past” essay contest at HBU.
  • Lindisfarne Gospels – visit the British Library and turn the pages of the Lindisfarne Gospels.
  • St. Cuthbert Gospel –  this manuscript is the oldest intact European book with a fascinating history beginning in the 7th century.  Purchased by the British Library in 2012 for $14.3 million, the manuscript has been digitized and made available online.
  • Old English Hexateuch – earliest copy in English of part of the Old Testament, with over 400 illustrations, 11th century.
  • Luttrell Psalter – richly painted and embellished Psalter from the 14th century.
  • “The Fragmentation and Digital Reconstruction of a Greek Lectionary,” – Lecture by Andrew Patton at University of Birmingham, includes source and background for 12th century manuscript of John in the Dunham Bible Museum’s collections.
  • The Saint John’s Bible – illuminated, handwritten Bible produced in the 21st century for Saint John’s University, using techniques of medieval scribes.
  • Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible at the Library of Congress – exhibition devoted to the illuminated, handwritten Bible commissioned by Saint John’s University and Abbey in Minnesota.
  • Tyndale House – Christian study center in Cambridge, England dedicated to researching all the primary evidence relevant to the study of the Bible. Includes many online sources as well as references to further study materials on early manuscripts and Christian evidences.

Reformation Era

English Bible

Bible in America

Bible and Education

Bible and Art

  • Art and the Bible – A collection of pictures of  hundreds of paintings, famous and less famous, with their corresponding Bible passage – the passage the artist may have read. Also provided is  information on the paintings themselves.
  • Gustave Dore’ Bible Gallery – devoted to Bible illustrations by the 19th century Alsacian artist.  Many of the backdrops for the Dunham Bible Museum’s exhibits are from Gustave Dore’s Bible illustrations.
  • Biblical Art on the Web – an indexed collection of Biblical art which can be searched by artist, biblical text, biblical subject or a word.
  • Introduction to Galatians – River Pointe Church’s introductory video to sermon series on Galatians, illustrated with art from Bibles in the Dunham Bible Museum Collection.
  • Stations of the Cross – in 2021, HBU alums Kim and David Balkum donated 14 mid-19th century Dutch paintings of the Stations of the Cross, depicting the passion of Jesus Christ.   The paintings have been placed throughout the University and be found through the map on the Stations of the Cross pamphlet.
  • The Visual Commentary on Scripture –  The “Visual Commentary,” launched by King’s College, London, displays three works of art for each passage of Scripture, accompanied by a commentary on the artwork and Scripture.
  • The Wiedmann Bible  – The Wiedmann Bible depicts the entire Old and New Testament in 3,333 images. This unique piece of art is named after the Stuttgart-based artist Willy Wiedmann (1929-2013). For 16 years, he worked on the Leporello, which is more than a mile long.

Other Bible Museums or Exhibits

  • Amsterdam’s Biblical Museum – Thee museum  exhibits include rare Bibles, archaeological finds, Egyptian artifacts, prints and paintings. Undisputed highlight is the oldest printed Bible in the Netherlands, dating back to 1477.  A scale The scale model of the tabernacle – the sacred shrine housing the Ark of the Covenant, which the Israelites carried with them, during their exile in the desert – is among the exhibits.
  • Biblical Heritage Exhibits – dedicated to teaching the history of the Bible in a visual and engaging manner, the exhibit is currently located on the second floor of Faith Baptist Church in Tacoma, Washington, with a second location at the Bible Education and Missionary Service headquarters in Gulfport, Mississippi. At both locations we encourage our visitors to step in and interact with the exhibit, handling the artifacts and holding each facsimile Bible as they read about the various historical texts.  The team continues to produce quality facsimiles for the exhibit to better tell the story of the Bible through a painstakingly detailed process of sourcing, digitizing, correcting and enhancing, printing, and binding. Quality facsimiles are also available for sale.
  • Christian Heritage Museum in Hagerstown, Maryland.
  • Museum of Biblical and Sacred Writings – a public museum, research center, and educational center for the study of ancient historical texts and archaeology in Irvine, California.
  • Museum of the Bible – Major Museum on the Bible, its history and influence opening in Washington D.C. November 2017.  Passages is a traveling exhibit from the Green collection (Steve Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby is sponsoring the collection and Museum of the Bible).
  • The Scriptorium – This museum in Orlando, Florida is part of The Holy Land Experience and houses the priceless Van Kampen Collection consisting of several thousand manuscripts, scrolls, and other religious artifacts. The walk-through experience of The Scriptorium transports visitors to historical and geographical areas of the world where displayed biblical documents originated and gives guests a dramatic understanding of the history of the Bible, how it parallels the history of civilization, and the impact it has had upon the world.
  • Manifold Greatness – a special exhibit on the “Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible”, from collections at the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and University of Texas’ Ransom Center.
  • A Collection of Bible Museums – Bible Gateway compiled a list with links to Bible Museums throughout the world.
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