Strata: Special Collections

Monotheism, the belief in one God, is the link that binds Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The incorporeality of that God is a basic tenet of this belief and led to the proscription of figural representations of the divine. Three Faces of Monotheism investigates the symbols used by each of these three world religions to unite and identify their own adherents in the absence of other divine imagery.

The exhibition presents various artifacts from the Roman period to the 13th century A.D., including architectural elements, jewelry, ritual objects and more, which bear Jewish, Christian or Islamic religious symbols and reveal how these three faiths defined and represented their belief in the One God, both internally and to the outside world.

The mission of the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, founded by the late Dr. Elie Borowski, is to provide exhibitions and programs, where people of all faiths are welcome to learn and understand the shared history of the region. The catalog for Three Faces of Monotheism has been published in Hebrew, Arabic and English, and the entire exhibition is being presented trilingually.