World's oldest Hebrew Bible could fetch $50 million at auction

www.cnn.com...

ONLY fifty million? For a manuscript "no one" can read?

I jest. I found this from a newspaper article, which I haven't read yet as I just went for a link to this and posted it. The article is long so I'd bet there's a lot more to this story.

Not a religious scholar here so saying I'd never heard of this means nothing but this is a big deal if it gets into the right hands. I'd hope that whomever gets it will at the very least, allow the scholars and such to examine it. So much more to be learned in this world and while this isn't a new find it might have new information that has never been seen.

Hebrew Bible more than 1,000 years old and described as "one of the most important and singular texts in human history" will go on show later this month, before going under the hammer. The Codex Sassoon, dating to the late 9th to early 10th, is believed to be the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible. It will be on show at Sotheby's in London from February 22-28, followed by an exhibition tour to Israel and the US. It will go up for auction in New York in May, where it is expected to fetch between $30 million and $50 million.

The Hebrew Bible is the foundation of the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Sharon Mintz, Sotheby's senior Judaica specialist, books and manuscripts, told CNN Wednesday that "this is the most important document to come to auction ever."

Scholars have long been aware of the codex named after renowned Judaica collector David Sassoon (1880-1942), but it has remained largely out of public view, Sotheby's said in a press release Wednesday.

This is believed to be the very first codex, or manuscript in book form, of the Hebrew Bible. In the centuries prior to its writing there were only portions or sections of biblical texts in scroll form -- which came to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. But these contained no verses, chapters or punctuation, Sotheby's said.

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

There seems to be a lot of speculation, and it's interesting the last owner was alive in the 20th century.

I have some concerns as your quote states: "The Hebrew Bible is the foundation of the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam."

Which is not untrue, but also is not a reference to this current text up for auction.
It will be interesting to see what it goes for, and more interesting that if this is the big deal the author paints it as, that it wasn't gifted to a museum.

LOL. It's another fabrication. The bible is a fiction book which was written during the middle ages to brainwash the populations. After 300 years of digging in the Middle East, there still is no archaeological record of any Hebrews, any Israel, any "Jews", any Abraham, any Moses, any King David or Solomon. Lies, Lies and More Lies. Moreover, during the last 50 years, bible scholars themselves have been exposing al the lies and fake/stolen myths from the bible. No one with a bit of self respect takes that "book" seriously anymore.

Then, you have no idea who the Sassoon family is, right?....

in my world
i know
that
the
world
is
full
of
trickery

knee jerk time, I will go back and read, but here you are..Religious artifacts are all PRICELESS, there is no proper market or aftermarket for them…In the world of antiquity something having religious theme (especially a 'Christian' one) decreases its value considerably…now ill read it, If the Gutenberg wasn't a bible it would be worth 100 times what it is.

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

Why can no one read it if it's written in Hebrew?

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

Why can no one read it if it's written in Hebrew?

Doesn't matter. Crap is crap. But, there is no "Hebrew alphabet". What you call "Hebrew" (you simply repeat what you've heard around without questioning it) is actually an Akkadian Aramaic alphabet, which was an adaptation of the Phoenician alphabet that was achieved in Mesopotamia to replace the ancient cuneiform.

There is no record of any Hebrew people, or Hebrew alphabet, or the word "Hebrew" anywhere. This word only appears in the European middle ages, in the form of written documents. So calling this alphabet "Hebrew", is like referring to English as the common language of the people who lived in Middle Earth (a fantasy land from the Tolkien books). Don't be fooled.

Then, the famous "Paleo-Hebrew" is another LIE from academia as well. What they call "Paleo-Hebrew" is directly Phoenician alphabet.

a reply to: ltrz2025

Dont know about that, but the book in question appears to be written in ancient Hebrew, aka biblical Hebrew or classical Hebrew.

So it can be read just fine, same as most other Canaanite branches of the semitic languages.

a reply to: andy06shake

Saying that this was written "in Hebrew", is literally like saying that we are communicating in the language of Frodo Baggings. Fictional people don't create real languages. Anyway, smart people who know how the world operates will understand this.

a reply to: ltrz2025

Take it up with the title of the thread ltrz2025.

For all intents and purpose, the book is indeed written in Hebrew.

Thus it can be read just fine as far as i can establish.

en.wikipedia.org...

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher
It is part of the broader psychological operation. Articles like this one from 2022 come to mind...

Israeli rabbis already in meetings with messiah

We can already see the stupidity of evil in the "doublespeak". It's written in Hebrew, but no one can read it? They really can't help it, hahaha! Then there's the Sassoon problem. Sigh.

#Discernment is a Holy Gift.

originally posted by: ltrz2025
The bible is a fiction book

If you hate God and religion so much, why are you in every religious thread spewing your lies? Lies which you have no proof for.

Maybe you should look into the stuff and maybe a little will rub off on you and you wouldn't be such a pathetic, sad little person.

originally posted by: ltrz2025
Saying that this was written "in Hebrew", is literally like saying that we are communicating in the language of Frodo Baggings.

What is your native language? You can't even spell "Frodo Baggins" name correctly, Mr. Language Expert.

a reply to: TrulyColorBlind

I see some comment in your cognitive dissonance friend! Although, don't see no arguments, only your personal (hurt) feelings about some threads where I participated like 2 months ago. Seems like my words really had a big impact in you, glad to know that. But regarding your hurt feelings, I really don't care about that, can't do much about it.

Then, I love God, and God's Love is ALL there is. Now, if you decide to put your "faith" in that man-written book of lies and stolen myths, it's your choice and I respect it, but don't share it. You won't see me go all Karen-like because you choose to believe in a lying piece of paper. But well, I guess I don't want to disturb you too much. If I say that Santa Claus is real, are you happy now?...



Much love.

PS: Thanks for correcting my typo, very nice of you buddy

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

As the article points out, it is the annotations in this book that are of interest. I suspect the text itself is similar to present bibles, though there could be a few surprises.

a reply to: andy06shake

I meant that in jest, hence the quotes around no one. Truth is, though, that most people can't read this. I sure as hell don't speak nor read Hebrew and I'd bet the language has changed a lot in a thousand years.

According to the wiki entry,

en.wikipedia.org...

color images are available in the National Library of Israel site.

a reply to: TheSpanishArcher

I was not haveing a pop at you TheSpanishArcher, just pointing out it can probably be read.

The truth is they can translate ancient Hebrew so if there is anything of interest in there, as I'm sure there will be for some people, considering the additional pages, the information will become available.

Languages do indeed change over time, ever tried to read say the likes of Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan English?

A lot less than that 1000 years as well and some of it is gobbledygook.

Go back even further to the likes of old English and its just about completely illegible.

Then there is the semantic drift to consider, the definition of words changes over time.