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A more than 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible could become the most expensive historical document or manuscript ever to be auctioned when it's sold in May.
The Codex Sassoon, one of only two manuscripts containing all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, will be sold at the Sotheby's in New York with an estimated price of $30-$50 million.
It is the oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible known to experts. Since resurfacing in 1929, the Bible has been in private collections,.
The manuscript, which bridges the Dead Sea Scrolls from the third century B.C. and the modern form of the Hebrew Bible, will be auctioned for the first time in more than 30 years.
"[It] is undeniably one of the most important and singular texts in human history," said Richard Austin, Sotheby's global head of books and manuscripts"
If it reaches the estimated $50 million price, The Codex Sassoon would become the most expensive historical document or manuscript to ever be auctioned.
The current record belongs to one of the first prints of the American Constitution that was sold for $43 million in 2021.
The manuscript is named after its previous owner, David Solomon Sassoon, who owned the most outstanding private collection of ancient Jewish texts in the world.
The codex's current owner is the Swiss financier and collector Jacqui Safra.
The Codex Sassoon, which dates back to the late ninth-early tenth century, is missing about five leaves, including the first 10 chapters of Genesis.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, which date from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D., are the earliest known Hebrew biblical manuscripts.
However, scholars say they were followed by 700 years in which the Hebrew Bible was preserved and transmitted orally.
"You have seven centuries of nothing, and then you have this entire authoritative, standardized, accurate text of the Hebrew Bible," Sharon Liberman Mintz, Sotheby's auction house's senior Judaica stated.
A more than 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible could become the most expensive historical document or manuscript ever to be auctioned when it's sold in May.
The Codex Sassoon, one of only two manuscripts containing all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, will be sold at the Sotheby's in New York with an estimated price of $30-$50 million.
It is the oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible known to experts. Since resurfacing in 1929, the Bible has been in private collections,.
The manuscript, which bridges the Dead Sea Scrolls from the third century B.C. and the modern form of the Hebrew Bible, will be auctioned for the first time in more than 30 years.
"[It] is undeniably one of the most important and singular texts in human history," said Richard Austin, Sotheby's global head of books and manuscripts"
If it reaches the estimated $50 million price, The Codex Sassoon would become the most expensive historical document or manuscript to ever be auctioned.
The current record belongs to one of the first prints of the American Constitution that was sold for $43 million in 2021.
The manuscript is named after its previous owner, David Solomon Sassoon, who owned the most outstanding private collection of ancient Jewish texts in the world.
The codex's current owner is the Swiss financier and collector Jacqui Safra.
The Codex Sassoon, which dates back to the late ninth-early tenth century, is missing about five leaves, including the first 10 chapters of Genesis.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, which date from the third century B.C. to the first century A.D., are the earliest known Hebrew biblical manuscripts.
However, scholars say they were followed by 700 years in which the Hebrew Bible was preserved and transmitted orally.
"You have seven centuries of nothing, and then you have this entire authoritative, standardized, accurate text of the Hebrew Bible," Sharon Liberman Mintz, Sotheby's auction house's senior Judaica stated.
