The British Museum and the Bible
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture situated in London.
Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world.
The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane.
The museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759 in Montagu House in Bloomsbury, on the site of the current museum building.
Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum of Natural History in South Kensington in 1887.
Until 1997, when the current British Library building opened to the public, replacing the old British Museum Reading Room, the British Museum was unique in that it housed both a national museum of antiquities and a national library in the same building.
The collections at the British Museum and its connected institutions are of special interest to Bible students.
Two of the rarest and most valuable Bible manuscripts in the world are on public display at the British Library:
- Codex Sinaiticus : one of the most important hand-written ancient copies of the Greek Bible in existence. Written in the 4th century CE in uncial letters, it came to the attention of noted German Biblical scholar, Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf in the 19th century at the Greek Monastery at Mount Sinai, with further material discovered in the 20th century.
Originally, it contained the whole of both Testaments. The Greek Old Testament (or Septuagint) survived almost complete, along with a complete New Testament, plus the Epistle of Barnabas, and portions of The Shepherd of Hermas (apocryphal writings).
According to Tischendorf, Codex Sinaiticus was one of the fifty copies of the Bible commissioned from Eusebius by Roman Emperor Constantine after his conversion to Christianity, although other scholars have challenged this.
- Codex Alexandrinus : a 5th century manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Septuagint and the New Testament. It received the name Alexandrinus from its having been brought by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch Cyril Lukaris from Alexandria to Constantinople. It is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible in existence today.
Many other manuscripts and valuable artifacts feature the rise and fall of the "World Powers of Bible History".
The British Museums exhaustive collections delight Bible students, as time and again the evidence of history is seen to confirm the accuracy and truthfulness of Bible prophecy.
The DVD ROM : "The British Museum and the Bible" is a huge resource which brings together many of the most interesting exhibits to Bible students , and presents the evidence of the unfailing accuracy of sacred scripture.
The DVD ROM is in three parts:
Section 1 : Reference Works
50 respected reference works and scholarly articles featuring the museum and its history: PDF format - fully searchable and printable.
- 001 The Bible and the British Museum - Ada Habershon
- 002 The Stones are Crying Out - Ellen Henrietta Ranyard
- 003 Graven in the Rock - Samuel Kinns
- 004 The Bible Student in the British Museum - James Kitchin
- 005 The British Museum with Bible in hand - Frank Jannaway
- 006 The British Museum - Its History and Treasures - Henry Shelley
- 007 The British Museum Library - Gertrude Rawlings
- 008 Memories of the British Museum - Robert Cowtan
- 009 The First Printed English New Testament - Edward Arber
- 010 Guide to the Animals & Plants of the Bible - British Museum Publications
- 011 A Guide to the Egyptian Collections of the British Museum - Anon
- 012 Assyrian Texts of the British Museum - Samuel Alden Smith
- 013 The British Museum and the Bible - David Padfield
- 014 Bible Artifacts in the British Museum - Ferrell Jenkins
- 015 Touring the British Museum - Stafford North
- 016 Digitizing the Codex Sinaiticus - Trustees of the British Museum
- 017 The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt
- 018 Greek & Roman Antiquities in the British Museum - Edward Cook
- 019 Antiquities of the British Museum - F Arundale
- 020 The Tomb of Alexander - Edward Clarke
- 021 Sculptures and Inscriptions of Darius the Great - L W King
- 022 Greek and Roman Life - Trustees of the British Museum
- 023 Assyrian Antiquity of the British Museum - Trustees of the British Museum
- 024 The Rosetta Stone - E A Budge
- 025 Antiquities in the British Museum - W S W Vaux
- 026 The Exhibition Galleries of the British Museum - Edward Bond
- 027 A Handy Book of the British Museum - Thomas Nichols
- 028 The Library of the British Museum - Richard Sims
- 029 The British Museum - W Chambers
- 030 The Lives of the Founders of the British Museum - Edward Edwards
- 031 The British Museum - historical & descriptive - David Masson
- 032 Christian Antiquities in the British Museum - O M Dalton
- 033 Carchemish - Leonard Woolley
- 034 The Prisms of Esarhaddon & Ashurbanipal - R.Campbell Thompson
- 035 A Guide to Exhibited Manuscripts - Trustees of the British Museum
- 036 Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum - Samuel Sharpe
- 037 The Manuscripts of the British Museum - Julius Gilson
- 038 The Sculptures of the Parthenon in the British Museum - W Clowes
- 039 Ancient Marbles in the British Museum (Pt 1) - Taylor Combe
- 040 Ancient Marbles in the British Museum (Pt 2) - Taylor Combe
- 041 Ancient Marbles in the British Museum (pt 3) - Taylor Combe
- 042 Greek and Roman Relief's in the British Museum - A H Smith
- 043 Hieroglyphic Texts at the British Museum - Scott Moncrieff
- 044 The Gods of Greece at the British Museum - Anon
- 045 British Museum Annual Review 2008
- 046 Biblical Truth at the British Museum
- 047 Greek Manuscripts of the Holy Gospels - Frederick Scrivener
- 048 Illustrations from the Book of Genesis - M R James
- 049 A Guide to the Bible Manuscripts of the British Museum - Anon
- 050 Hebrew Manuscripts in the British Museum - Anon
Section 2 : "Bible Based Tours of the British Museum"
7 highly informative themed tours of sections of the museum of special interest to Bible students.
The tour guides are experienced Bible educators and the Bible translation used is the "New World
Translation of the Holy Scriptures".
All presentations are in WMV format - computer use only.
Tour One : "The Stones are Crying Out"
The first tour examines the Assyrian invasion and its devastating effects on the 10 tribe Northern Kingdom.
What kind of people were the Assyrians ?
How did Jehovah use this ruthless nation to punish the apostate nation of Israel ?
But how did he punish the Assyrians when they attacked his servant Hezekiah ?
See for yourself the evidence and facts uncovered by years of patient archeological research as "The Stones are Crying out" to confirm the absolute infallibility of the Bible record.
Tour Two : "Jehovah : A God of True Prophecy".
The presentation discusses and provides evidence of :
- Isaiah's prophecies fulfilled during the period of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Medo Persian World Empires.
- A close look at the man, Nebuchadnezzar and how accurate the Bibles description is of this intriguing despot.
- Can we prove the co-regency of Belshazzar, for decades regarded as a fictional character who only existed in the bible record, from SECULAR evidence ?
- Could Isaiah have been written after Cyrus completed his conquests ?
- If not ... why not ?
These and many other centuries old mysteries are revealed as once again it is irrefutably proved that "Jehovah is a God of True Prophecy".
Tour 3: "This is History Written in Advance"
We now move into the Grecian and Roman period.
- Who was Alexander the Great ?
- Why are his exploits of particular interest to Bible students ?
The tour helps us to live and breathe the excitement of Daniel's prophecies, as line by line they are corroborated by the historical record.
How well do you know the Caesars of Rome ?
- Julius, Augustus, Tiberious, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian - these men and their styles of rulership were predicted with amazing accuracy in Daniel's prophecies!
- Does the influence of the Roman empire extend into our day ?
All is explained in "This is History Written in Advance" .
Alexander (356 -323 BC)
Julius Caesar (102 - 44 BC)
Tour 4: "Surviving a Famine"
This excellent tour deals with archeological evidence which confirms the Bible record regarding Joseph and Moses.
Can we find evidence that a prominent non- Egyptian had great authority in the land of Egypt around the year 1700 BC and was this person instrumental in preparing the nation for a great famine ?
Why did the attitude of the Egyptian ruling class change towards the Israelites shortly after Joseph's death ?
Do the stones of Egypt verify the account of the ten plagues and Pharaoh's crushing defeat ?
And if not ... why not ?
In modern times we also face a great famine.
But this is the famine forecast by the prophet Amos at Amos 8:11.
This is a famine far more serious than the biblical famines which occurred in the days of Joseph and Moses.
The question is ... Will YOU SURVIVE !
Tour 5 : "Choose for Yourselves"
Towards the end of his life, Joshua made this profound statement to the congregated Israelites :
" ... And now fear Jehovah and serve him in faultlessness and in truth, and remove the gods that your forefathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, and serve Jehovah.
Now if it is bad in your eyes to serve Jehovah, choose for yourselves today who you will serve ... but as for me and my household, we shall serve Jehovah". (Joshua 24:14-15).
This tour takes a closer look at "the gods ... served on the other side of the river and in Egypt".
What were these "gods" ?
How seriously were the Egyptians effected by demonology ?
Do these "gods" still effect us today ... at a time when interest in the occult has never been greater ?
Stark lessons are drawn and highlighted for our instruction.
Names of the Principle God's of Egypt :
Amon (Amun) King of the Gods Head of a ram
Anubis God of of Mummification Head of a jackal
Bast Goddess of Protection Head of a cat
Geb Earth God Head of a goose
Hathor Sky Goddess Head of a cow
Sekmet Goddess of war and battle Head of a lioness
Horus God of of the Egyptians Head of a falcon
Heket Goddess of childbirth Head of frog
Tefnut Goddess of of the rain Head of lioness
Thoth God of wisdom Head of an ibis bird
Sebek God of swift action Head of a crocodile
Tour 6: "Keep Your Eye's on the Prize"
Fascinating discussion of Eph 6 : 14 - 18 and the "spiritual suit of armour".
The first part of the presentation focuses on the literal armour of a Roman soldier and how
his very life depended on its good maintenance and effective use.
This is paralleled with our "spiritual armour" and how we can successfully quench
"Satan's burning missiles" by fully availing ourselves of all the protection God affords us.
The second section turns attention to Greek and Roman athletes and how total focus was
essential if victory in the games was to be achieved.
Again a modern parallel is drawn, emphasizing the need for a "simple eye" and a life centered
around spiritual things.
Excellent!
Osirus : God of the Underworld
Bast : The Cat God
Tour 7 : " Example's of Loyal Obedience"
Was Jehovah cruel in decreeing the extermination of the Canaanite's?
This tour takes a close look at the British Museums collection of Canaanite artifacts and it soon becomes apparent that this was probably the most depraved race of people ever to walk the earth.
However, Jehovah initially sent Abraham to live amongst these people.
How much of a sacrifice did this involve ?
See evidence of Ur's prosperity, which Abraham and Sarah left behind.
How did Abraham protect himself and his family from spiritual contamination?
Can we say that it was Abraham's absolute obedience to theocratic direction and humility that were probably the main reasons why he could have the inestimable privilege of being called "God's friend" ?
A thought provoking tour indeed !
Section 3 : Pictures and Charts
Interesting selection of pictures (jpeg format) illustrating and showcasing the museum ,
its history and fascinating exhibits.
If you enjoy exploring the past and having your faith strengthened by seeing the evidence confirm the unfailing accuracy of the Bible, then you will love ...
"The British Museum and the Bible"
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Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf discovered Codex Sinaiticus in a waste paper basket at the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Catherine's near Mount Sinai
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