The Shem Tov Bible, a rare and intricately decorated Hebrew manuscript, was bought at auction for nearly $7 million on September 10, The Jewish Chronicle reported on Sunday.
After being put up for auction at Sotheby's in New York with an estimated price between $5 million and $7 million, the ancient mystical Jewish tome was bought for $6.9 million and will soon be open for public view.
The ornate and mystical text features gilded and colorful pages that blend Jewish, Christian, and Islamic artistic traditions. The ancient Hebrew manuscript, the work of Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon, was completed in 1312, prior to the Spanish Inquisition.
Hailing from Spain’s Golden Age, this manuscript is renowned for its artistic and historical value. Additionally, it is distinguished by its kabbalistic elements, with unique letters and crowns (tagei) containing hidden mystical meanings. This manuscript is one of only four known copies of the Sefer Tagei and is highly valued for its artistic and mythical significance.
Moreover, it is one of the few manuscripts linked to the Codex Hilleli, believed to date from around 600 CE, and is noted for its close transmission of the ancient Hebrew text.
While frequently citing the legendary and lost Hebrew Codex Hilleli, the Shem Tov Bible also features around 2,000 specially marked “anomalous” letters, which are either smaller or larger than the standard size, and hold secret meanings according to Kabbalah, the Jewish mysticism.
Artistic and cultural significance
“This was written in Christian Spain in 1312, but the Christians and the Jews are living with all this Islamicate mudéjar [Moorish] architecture, and they’re seeing all of the cultural aesthetics of Islamic Spain around them still,” Sotheby’s International Senior Juaica Specialist for Books and Manuscripts Sharon Liberman Mintz told the Guardian, explaining that the book had more than just religious significance, but also an artistic and cultural significance.
After surviving countless wars and religious upheavals, the Jewish text was thought to have been lost. However, in the 19th century, the book was rediscovered in Tripoli, and in 1909 it was acquired by David Sassoon, a renowned collector of Hebrew manuscripts.
Until the 1980s, the book was not available for auction, however, following Sassoon’s death in 1942, the book began exchanging owners, until “it was bought by private individuals who, understanding its supreme importance, are looking forward to making it available to the public,” said Mintz.
Both highlighting its mystic background and explaining why the owners were hesitant to part with the book, the Guardian quoted a reference to this Bible from the late 1860s: “Because, aside from being a truly precious object, it is a tried and true talisman, for a woman experiencing a difficult labor will be saved from her birth pains when the book enters her home.”
Joanie Margulies contributed to this report.