1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible sells for $38.1 million
The Codex Sassoon is over 1,000 years old and is considered the world’s oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible, which is the Old Testament in Christian Bibles. Dated to around the 9th Century, the ancient Bible recently sold for $38.1 million at a Sotheby auction in New York City on May 17, 2023, the New York Post reports. The Bible is composed of 792 pages written on animal skins and is almost fully intact as it is only missing 12 pages. According to the New York Post, it set the record for the most expensive manuscript ever auctioned. It was purchased by American Friends of ANU, with a large donation from former US ambassador Alfred Moses, on behalf of the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, where it will be put on permanent display. READ: World’s oldest, most complete Hebrew Bible sold for $38.1M at auction