Sotheby's is proud to offer Codex Sassoon: The Earliest Most Complete Hebrew Bible during this year's marquee New York Sales.

The Bible is one of the world’s greatest treasures and holds powerful resonance for the three monotheistic religions and their billions of adherents. For thousands of years its sacred words have been closely studied, analyzed, and meditated on. The Hebrew Bible is composed of twenty-four books divided into three parts: the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Writings. Christians call these texts the Old Testament, and Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant sects all incorporate them into their biblical canons. Muslims, too, regard the Torah and the Psalms as divinely revealed books, and many biblical stories made their way into the Qur’an and later Islamic works. Copied, printed, and translated into scores of languages the world over, the Hebrew Bible arguably constitutes the most influential book of human history and the bedrock of Western civilization. Codex Sassoon, created circa 900, is the earliest surviving example of a single codex containing all the books of the Hebrew Bible with their punctuation, vowels, and accents.

The codex is named for its prominent modern owner, David Solomon Sassoon (1880-1942), who assembled the largest and most important private collection of Hebrew manuscripts in the world and had a special affinity for Bibles in particular. Some of the most valuable and important items in his library belonged to this genre of Hebrew literature. His collection catalogue, Ohel Dawid, begins and ends with biblical material, and Codex Sassoon is its very last entry, giving pride of place to this monument of world civilization.

The Codex Sassoon will also be on view at the below locations: 

Anu – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv: Thursday, 23 March to Wednesday, 29 March

Registration and more information: https://www.anumuseum.org.il/codex-sassoon

Sotheby’s Los Angeles: Sunday, 30 April to Wednesday, 3 May

For assistance with bidding and registration, please contact:

+1 212 606 7000

enquiries@sothebys.com

For all other enquiries please contact:

Sharon Liberman Mintz

Senior Judaica Specialist

Books & Manuscripts

+1 212 606 7385

Sharon.Mintz.consultant@sothebys.com

Richard Austin

Senior Vice President

Global Head of Department

Books & Manuscripts

+1 212 894 1642

Richard.Austin@sothebys.com

Ella Hall

Assistant Vice President

Specialist

Books & Manuscripts

+1 212 606 7385

Ella.Hall@sothebys.com

Shaul Seidler-Feller

Consultant

Books & Manuscripts

+1 212 606 7385

Shaul.SeidlerFeller.consultant@sothebys.com