Last Friday, I had the unforgettable opportunity to visit the exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls, hosted by the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. An advertisement I read says it all, “2,000 years in a cave - 105 days in Seattle”. The exhibit runs September 23, 2006 through January 7, 2007. It is housed in 12,000 square feet of switch-backed corridors which are lined with hundreds of historical artifacts and photos documenting the scrolls, from their creation to their discovery and subsequent restoration and interpretation. The tour begins with a short video detailing some of the main historical events, with commentary from respected archaeologists and history experts. Then you are handed a cell-phone-shaped audio device on which you enter the numbers corresponding to each photo or artifact you encounter on the tour. Dubbed “a self-guided audio tour”, it works pretty well and beats straining to hear the traditional human tour guide. Of course no other personal electronic devices are allowed. The scrolls themselves are situated at the very end of the tour in a dimly lit room. People speak in hushed tones as they make their way from one climate-controlled glass case to the next. The scroll fragments are periodically lit with special fiber optic lighting to slow the aging process and possible fading from exposure to light. Segments from various books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the books of Psalms, along with the sectarian scrolls outlining the importance of specific ways of life for the Essenes, the people who wrote the scrolls are displayed along with their English translation. It was an incredible experience for me to be able to see parts of the Bible that physically predate modern versions of our English Bible, the 1611 KJV Bible, even the original Greek language Masoretic Text and Textus Receptus from which the KJV was translated! If you find yourself near Seattle, I highly recommend the tour. Very educational and inspiring.