Rare medieval Bible returns to Israel for public exhibit after centuries-long journey
Israeli officials recently put a unique 14th-century Bible on display just a year after it was bought for a seven-figure sum.
The National Library of Israel announced its display of the Shem Tov Bible in a recent press release. The library began exhibiting the centuries-old book on loan from its owner on May 8.
The Jewish book, which has been called a "monumental work of biblical, artistic, Masoretic and kabbalistic scholarship," dates back to medieval Spain. It was sold at a Sotheby's auction for $6.9 million in 2024, a representative confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The Bible was created by a Kabbalist rabbi named Shem Tov ben Abraham Ibn Gaon, who completed it in 1312 in Spain. After finishing the book, he took it on a two-year-long journey to modern-day Israel.
He studied Judaism for the rest of his life until his death in 1330. The Bible soon began changing hands, but it remained in the Middle East before being moved to North Africa in the 17th century.
"In the 17th century, it moved to North Africa where mystical powers were attributed to it, including being brought to women in childbirth to assure an easy labor," the press release noted.
Pictures of the medieval Bible show intricate artwork that was inspired by the Islamic and Christian art of its day.
"These motifs were inspired by the Islamic and Christian visual languages of the period, adapted to the long-standing Jewish tradition of beautifying ritual objects."
"Its design features include arcades, gothic arches, birds and beasts, gilded frames surrounding biblical verses, illuminated marginal markers, and more," the statement explained.
"These motifs were inspired by the Islamic and Christian visual languages of the period, adapted to the long-standing Jewish tradition of beautifying ritual objects."
Sallai Meridor, chairman of the National Library of Israel, called the display of the manuscript "profoundly significant."
"Having traveled from Spain to Jerusalem, Baghdad, Tripoli, London and Geneva, the Shem Tov Bible has come full circle and is now back home, returning to the very place where Rabbi Shem Tov ben Abraham Ibn Gaon lived and intended for it to be, in the land of Israel, and now in Jerusalem," the official said.
Meridor also thanked the owners of the Bible, the Herenstein family, who in turn said the book "characterized the best of medieval Jewish bookmaking."
The family's statement read, "We are delighted to know that the Shem Tov Bible is incorporated into the Library's permanent exhibition of its greatest treasures, and equally delighted that the manuscript will be digitized to the highest standard, making it available worldwide, for study, research or to simply enjoy its beauty."
National Library of Israel curator Chaim Neria also noted that the Bible allows scholars to study Jewish traditions "that have all but vanished from the historical record."
"A significant aspect of the codex is its observance of the Sefer Tagei, a traditional guide outlining the scribal practices required for writing sacred texts," the historian said.
Neria added, "The surrounding notations reference earlier, now-lost documents, specifically the Hilleli Codex of 600 CE."
The Shem Tov Bible is one of many recently publicized Jewish historical finds in the last year.
Last fall, the 16th-century Di Gara text was returned to a Jewish seminary after mysteriously ending up on an online marketplace.
Earlier this year, a 1,600-year-old mikveh was uncovered in Italy – making it the oldest of its kind in Europe.
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