NEW YORK CITY — Before Sotheby’s began its Modern Day auction on Wednesday, May 17, it offered — in a single-lot sale — the Codex Sassoon, the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible known to exist, for $38,126,000. Dated to the late Ninth or early Tenth Century, the tome is a foundational cornerstone to civilizations and communities around the globe. The book took its name from its prominent modern owner, David Solomon Sassoon (1880-1942), who assembled the most significant private collection of Judaica and Hebraica manuscripts in the world.

After being away from public view for more than 40 years, it was being sold by the renowned private collector, Jacqui Safra and had been estimated at $30/50 million. It inspired a 5-minute bidding battle between two determined phone bidders before selling to Ambassador Alfred H. Moses of Washington DC and the Moses family on behalf of the American Friends of ANU and was gifted to ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.

“The Hebrew Bible is the most influential book in history and constitutes the bedrock of Western civilization. I rejoice in knowing that it belongs to the Jewish People. It was my mission, realizing the historic significance of Codex Sassoon, to see that it resides in a place with global access to all people,” says Ambassador Moses. “In my heart and mind that place was the land of Israel, the cradle of Judaism, where the Hebrew Bible was originated. In Israel at ANU, it will be preserved for generations to come as the centerpiece and gem of the entire and extensive display and presence of the Jewish story.”

The result is a new world record for Judaica, upsetting the previous record of $9.3 million, which Sotheby’s achieved for the Bomberg Sixteenth Century Babylonian Talmud in 2016. For more information, www.sothebys.com.