Codex Sassoon, oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible, purchased for $38.1 million
The Times of IsraelMay 17, 2023
On Wednesday, the Codex Sassoon, one of the world's oldest surviving nearly-complete biblical manuscripts, sold for $38.1M at the Sotheby's auction house in New York.
Thought to have been written about 1,100 years ago, US lawyer and former ambassador Alfred Moses bought it for the American Friends of ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Hebrew Bible is the foundation of the three Abrahamic faiths, which is why its value is universal. It is certainly positive news that the item didn't go to an anonymous collector who would have locked it in a vault and likely reauctioned it for a profit later. This book will finally be treated and displayed as a holy item, allowing the faithful to see it.
While it is good news that this item is headed for Israel, the huge financial value imbued in it highlights the twisted way in which principles of private ownership can deny the vast majority access to objects morally intended for public use. There is an awkward dissonance in the way lucrative collecting practices can preserve and protect heritage items while, at the same time, making their use by society as cultural objects entirely dependent on the philanthropy of the ultra-wealthy.