Robert Besser
22 May 2023, 16:17 GMT+10
LONDON, England: Sotheby's has announced that it sold the world's oldest and most complete Hebrew bible, the Codex Sassoon, for $38.1 million, one of the highest prices ever paid at auction for a book or document.
The winning bid was made through a donation by Alfred H. Moses, a former US ambassador and president of the American Jewish Committee, who will give the book to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The auction house said that the price for the book surpasses the $30.8 million paid in 1994 for Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester manuscript, but was below the some $50 million it said in February that it could sell for.
Written around the year 900, the Codex Sassoon is named after a previous owner, David Solomon Sassoon, who acquired the Bible in 1929.
The document offers a critical link bridging Jewish oral tradition to the modern Hebrew Bible, said officials.
Sotheby's noted that after its former owner, collector Jacqui Safra, had the book carbon dated, it was confirmed that it was older than the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex, two other major early Hebrew bibles.
"The Codex Sassoon had been dated to either the late 9th or early 10th century, on both scientific and paleographic grounds, and contains almost the entirety of the bible," it added.
The oldest copies of Biblical text ever found were the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in caves in 1947.
The Hebrew bible is foundational to Judaism, as well as Christianity and Islam.
Get a daily dose of Orlando Echo news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Orlando Echo.
More InformationLIVINGSTON, Kentucky: This week, railroad operator CSX said a train derailment involving 16 cars, two of which spilled molten sulfur ...
Fifty-seven journalists have been killed as of Saturday as a result of Israel's war on Gaza, which has extended to ...
TEL AVIV, Israel - Following Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's statement on Emily Hand's release, Israel's foreign minister says he summoned the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The White House says U.S. authorities have foiled a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the U.S., ...
BANGKOK, Thailand: In response to heightened Chinese activity in the South China Sea, the United States and the Philippines have ...
BEIRUT, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement on Saturday that ...
MARSHALL, Texas: In a lawsuit unsealed this week, Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton said Pfizer and its supplier Tris Pharma provided ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson said that this week, the U.S. government will begin ...
(Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports) Riding high after one of their best wins of the season, the Arizona ...
(Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports) The Toronto Maple Leafs hope that their first home game in more than ...
(Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports) MacKenzie Weegar scored with 4.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give host Calgary a ...
(Photo credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports) Ryan Johansen scored two goals, Cale Makar had a goal and an assist and ...