Selected Exhibits from the First Temple Period

Jerusalem is the City of David
	King David chose Jerusalem as his capital city, strengthening and fortifying it, and building a citadel on the ruins of its Jebusite fortress. The city covered a small area on a ridge to the south of Mount Moriah (where Abraham had erected an altar for the sacrifice of his son, Isaac).
	Diorama of the City of David

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
	Israel was a thriving commercial power in the days of King Solomon. Horses and chariots, gold and other treasure reached him from faraway lands. Craftsmen from abroad brought their skills to the construction of the royal palace and the temple. Foreign rulers came to meet the king who was said to be the wisest of men: …the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon… she came to test him with hard questions (I Kings 10:1).
	Reproduction of an Ethiopian Manuscript, detecting Queen Sheba’s visit to Jerusalem

''And the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir''
	King Hezekiah of Judah (727-698 BCE) anticipated an Assyrian siege of Jerusalem by securing the city's water supply. A tunnel was hewn through solid rock, bringing water from the Gihon spring, the city's primary source, to an inner-city reservoir called Siloam. Outside access to the spring was then blocked.
	The model shows the use of the Gihon spring at different historical periods, culminating with Hezekiah's tunnel.
The Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
	In the year 701 BCE, the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, despatched his top general to conquer Jerusalem. The prophet Isaiah prayed for the nation and encouraged King Hezekiah, assuring him that the Assyrians would not be able to take the city. The siege was suddenly lifted and Jerusalem was spared destruction.
	Jerusalem under Assyrian siege