The Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem is open for the public again, with special exhibitions, guided tours, lectures by leading scholars
and exciting activities for families!
Museum visits and participation in special activities must be arranged in advance, in accordance with the Purple Tag guidelines.
Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, Shmuel Stephan Wise Str. 21, Jerusalem
Free parking at the museum’s parking lot
For tickets and information, visit our website: www.blmj.org or call 02-5611066
Opening hours: Sun.-Tue. 9:30-17:00 | Wed. 9:30-19:00 (Hanukkah: until 17:00) | Thu.-Sat. closed
Starting on Monday, December 14, 2020, and until further announcement, the regular guided tours will be held daily at the museum, with no extra fee beside the entry ticket price.
Yonit Kolb, the new director of the Bible Lands Museum: “We are happy to open to the public again, after a long time when the museum lights went off. People crave for culture and free thinking, and experiencing culture via a computer screen is not the real thing. We invite you to visit our galleries and exhibitions and to see ancient art come alive. Of course, we will all wear masks and adhere to the regulations of the Health Ministry, but we will make our best to meet together whenever possible given the current situation.”
For our visitors, this is a unique opportunity to see the special exhibition “Yemen: From Sheba to Jerusalem” which opened a few weeks before the coronavirus pandemic, and to experience a unique journey through one of the most remote Bible lands. The exhibition displays the unique culture of ancient South Arabia (now Yemen) – the starting point of the famous frankincense route, through which the precious incense of the frankincense and myrrh trees reached the other countries of the Near East, Greece and Rome. Ancient South Arabia was home to a rich and unique culture which gave rise to the biblical story of the Queen of Sheba.
The daily guided tour of the museum’s permanent display and special exhibitions starts daily (Sun.-Wed.) at 11:00, and is conducted in Hebrew.
For group visits, in accordance with the Health Ministry regulations, guided tours in other languages are available, but advance arrangement is required; please call 02-5955305
Individual visits are allowed during the museum’s opening hours, within the following time slots:
Sun.-Wed.: 9:30-11-00, 11:00-12:30, 12:30-14:00, 14:00-15:30, 15:30-17:00 (Wed. also 17:00-18:30)
Hanukkah at the Bible Lands Museum
Family activities are held partly online and partly at the museum, for those willing to enjoy a warm space on a cold winter day!
Online activities:
- “The secrets of fire” – online challenges for the entire family
- “The gifts of fire” – a theater of shadows and artifacts
Sun.-Tue., December 13-15, at 10:00 and 11:00. No payment required
Activities at the museum:
- A tour of the museum galleries with a special activity booklet based on the Hanukkah song “Maoz Tzur” – no payment required
- “Don’t look at the jug”: play at the exhibition “Gods, Heroes and Mortals in Ancient Greece,” based on a quiz of 21 questions – no payment required
- Making a small souvenir of your own with “The coin and the jug” set, inspired by the ancient vessels and coins in the museum’s collection – 5 NIS
Sun.-Wed., December 14-16, 9:30-11:00, 11:00-12:30, 12:30-14:00, 14:00-15:30
- “The secrets of fire” corner: a theater of shadows and artifacts, and various creative activities for the entire family – Wednesday only! Watch a video “The secrets of fire,” and make a Hanukkah lamp of your own, which gives light without burning! Other creative activities are also available: make a decorated oil lamp, or a beautiful magic box for Hanukkah coins.
Wed., December 16, 9:30-11:00, 11:00-12:30, 12:30-14:00, 14:00-15:30
Cost: 15 NIS (10 NIS for registered museum patrons or groups of 3 or more participants), in addition to the museum entry ticket
For details and registration: https://bit.ly/3ls2k0i
The Wednesday evening lecture series is running again, with many interesting talks on archaeology, history, biblical studies and ethnography by the museum’s senior staff and leading academic scholars in the relevant fields. Each lecture will last about an hour and will be held on Zoom.
Wed., 18:00, no payment required
For details and registration: https://bit.ly/2EUiSza
All programs subject to change, please keep updated via our website and Facebook page.
Museum visits are subject to the Purple Tag guidelines: each visitor must wear a mask, have his body temperature measured at the entrance, and keep social distance.
Corona time tour according to the purple tag guidelines. Photo: Dana Levy.
