A 1,100-year-old world’s oldest Hebrew Bible, known as Codex Sasson, sold in New York for a whopping $38 million on Wednesday. It is one of the highest amounts paid at auction for a book or document.
According to Reuters, the winning bid for the Codex Sasson was donated by Alfred H Moses, a former US ambassador and president of the American Jewish Committee. Moreover, it is given to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Moses got the old book on behalf of the American Friends of ANU — Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, where it will be added to the collection, the auction house Sotheby’s announced in a statement.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester, which sold for $30.8 million in 1994, was the last manuscript to set sales records. Hebrew Bible is expected to sell for between $30 million and $50 million at auction, according to Sotheby’s estimates.
The Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Writings are the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible’s 24 individual books. The Hebrew Bible is the foundation of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It begins with the book of Genesis and ends with Chronicles.
Hebrew bible sold for $38 million
In a historic standalone auction today, the Codex Sassoon—the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible—sold for $38.1 million during Marquee Week at #SothebysNewYork. #AuctionUpdate pic.twitter.com/Dj3wxLpekf
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 17, 2023
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