Israeli archaeological exhibit to be part of new Museum of the Bible

The Museum of the Bible, set to open in Washington, D.C., in 2017, will house a large collection from the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The authority, which oversees archaeological digs in Israel, will have a 4,000 square-foot exhibit space in the museum to show pieces from its collection of 2 million artifacts. The exhibit will be part of a space of 20,000 square feet dedicated to visiting collections.

“The Israel Antiquities Authority is thrilled and proud to partner with the Museum of the Bible on this landmark project,” said Israel Hasson, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in a news release Tuesday announcing the exhibition. “Making the archaeological heritage of the Land of Israel and the vital archaeological work conducted by the IAA available and accessible to people around the world is our mission.”

In tandem, the Museum of the Bible is supervising an archaeological dig at Tel Shimron, a large excavation site in northern Israel.

The Museum of the Bible’s collection will comprise 40,000 objects, including cuneiform tablets, Torah scrolls and rare printed Bibles. The museum’s board chairman is Steve Green, the president of Hobby Lobby, a craft store chain that won the right in court last year not to provide contraception as part of employees’ health care plans due to religious objections.