A Hebrew Bible that is over a thousand years old is on track to break records when it goes up for auction this spring, Sotheby’s, the group auctioning it off, said on Wednesday.
They estimate the Bible will go for $30 to $50 million. If it were to bring in $50 million, it would become the most valuable historical manuscript or document ever sold at an auction. Known as the Codex Sassoon, it consists of 400 pages of parchment sheets — including all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible. Sotheby’s notes that it is missing 12 leaves. Some of the missing pages are the first ten chapters of Genesis, according to The New York Times.
“The biblical text in book format marks a critical turning point in how we perceive the history of the Divine word across thousands of years and is a transformative witness to how the Hebrew Bible has influenced the pillars of civilization – art, culture, law, politics – for centuries,” Sharon Mintz, Sotheby’s senior Judaica specialist, said.
Likely dating to the 9th century, the Bible has notes that include deeds of sale. It was eventually dedicated to a northeast Syrian synagogue. Sometime between the 13th and 14th centuries, the synagogue was destroyed, either by the Mongol Empire or the Timurid Empire. Sotheby’s says it was potentially rebound for the first time while there. Salama ibn Abi al-Fakhr was the man entrusted with the Bible and was expected to return it once the synagogue was rebuilt, the auction house says, which notes that it is still not reconstructed.
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