Don’t fold the page corners of this Bible – because it’s worth a cool £30 million.
The ancient Hebrew text, carbon dated to the late ninth or early tenth century, became the second most expensive historical document sold.
A four-minute head-to-head between rival bidders at Sotheby’s in New York ended with what’s known as the Codex Sassoon Bible being bought on behalf of the American Friends of ANU, which gifted it to the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.
The book is believed to be the earliest and most comprehensive copy of its kind, being made up of 24 books divided into three parts, including the canonical Hebrew Scriptures of the Torah, the Nevi’im and the Ketuvim.
Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts, Richard Austin, described it as “one of the most important and singular texts in human history”.
It’s price for a document has only been surpassed by the 2021 sale of the US Constitution for £35 million.
