"Codex Sassoon", the oldest complete Bible written in Hebrew that has been preserved almost intact to this day, will be on display to the general public in Israel starting Thursday and for one week only at the “Anu Museum of the Jewish People” in Tel Aviv in advance of its expected sale during a Sotheby's auction in New York this coming May.
Its presentation to the public for only one week is a rare opportunity like no other to witness a very important historical item. The codex will be exhibited at the museum on March 23-29, 2023. Entry to the exhibition will be free, and the museum's operating hours will be extended for the exhibit.
Sotheby’s to Auction Off the Codex Sassoon, the Oldest Surviving Hebrew Bible - https://t.co/xG9UVjaoAk @Sothebys #codexsassoon @deadseascroll #aleppocodex @jacobsafra #syria #lebanon @Sothebys @ChristiesInc @HeritageAuction @phillipsauction @bonhams1793 @DoyleAuctions…
— The Jewish Voice (@JewishVoice) March 22, 2023
Although over the generations experts and scholars recognized the importance of the Sassoon Codex, it was not accessible to the public. Estimated to be worth 30-50 million dollars, Codex Sassoon which will be up for sale for the first time in 30 years, is expected to be the most valuable book, manuscript and historical document ever put up for auction, even exceeeding the $43.2 million an original copy of the U.S. Constitution fetched at a Sotheby's auction in late 2021.
The auction itself will take place in New York in May of this year, alongside Sotheby's annual sale of modern and contemporary art, one of the most important annual events in its field. Sotheby's recently set a new price record for historical manuscripts; with the sale of one of the original copies of the US Constitution for a record price of 43 million dollars in November 2021.
The oldest most complete #Hebrew #Bible is on display in the #Israeli city of #TelAviv before its sale at an #auction .
— ShowMedia (@ShowMedia100) March 23, 2023
The Codex Sassoon is thought to have been created about 1,100 years ago by a scribe in #Egypt or the #Levant. https://t.co/nAOf5GIoEv
Codex Sassoon is the earliest and most complete codex of the Bible that exists. In the centuries preceding the appearance of the first codices, the Bible was copied on scrolls. The earliest of these are the Dead Sea Scrolls, created between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD. These early biblical texts were copied without division into chapters and without punctuation marks, punctuation, or flavors that would clarify how they should be read.
The tradition of reading the bible in Judaism was passed down orally from generation to generation until the early Middle Ages. Codex Sassoon is named after its most famous owner, David Suleiman Sasson 1880-1942, who owned the most impressive private collection of Hebrew and Jewish manuscripts in the world. Sasson had a special fondness for Bible books, which were some of the most valuable and important items in his library. The catalog of his collection, called "David's Tent", begins and ends with biblical texts.
The ‘Codex Sassoon,’ the oldest most complete Hebrew Bible is on display in Israel’s Museum of the Jewish People: ANU before its sale at an auction pic.twitter.com/vfar8GvNrm
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 23, 2023
Codex Sassoon, known as "Sassoon 1053", is the last item in it. A place of honor for this significant item in medieval Jewish culture. The codex came to an auction at the hands of the renowned collector Jacob Safra.
During the decades that the codex was in his possession, thorough scientific tests were conducted on it, which included carbon dating, and established that it originated in the late 9th or early 10th century AD.
