The oldest Jewish Bible in the world is auctioned and its price is sky-high in millions of dollars

The oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible will be auctioned for an astronomical amount, Sotheby's

auction house announced hours ago .

The

, by the last name of its best-known owner,

(died 1942), dates to AD 900 and represents "the most complete Hebrew Bible (...) valued between 30 and $50 million, one of the most expensive manuscripts ever sold,"

, head of ancient books and manuscripts at Sotheby's,

told AFP .

The sale will take place in May

, during the classic spring season of auctions for contemporary, modern and impressionist art paintings organized by industry giants in New York.

The Codex Sassoon auction will take place in May, and prior to them the specimen will be exhibited in various cities in the United States and Israel.

Photo: AP

Regarding possible buyers, Austin considers that the list is "a bottomless pit."

Hard to find a text that has had more influence than the Bible in the history of humanity."

The Codex Sassoon was subjected to the carbon 14 test to find out its age: it is from the year 900. Photo: EFE

The codex - authenticated by the

and which is in an exceptional state of preservation - is only missing a few pages and comprises 24 books of the Hebrew Bible from the famous

dating from the third century BC.

In 2021, Sotheby's held an auction that, to this day, is considered

.

It was billionaire investor Kenneth Griffin who broke the record by paying $43.2 million to buy the first edition of the

.

Prior to that, in 1994,

had acquired the Hammer Codex - a collection of scientific writings and drawings by the painter Leonardo da Vinci - for USD 30.8 million.

Toni Yori of Sotheby's with the Codex Sassoon in her hands.

Photo: EFE

The Sassoon Manuscript in its margins contains numerous inscriptions,

made by the previous owners or even by communities that used it to pray.

Sotheby's has expressed that this document is a

and a "benchmark in the history of humanity."

For historians, the Codex Sassoon is the key link in the history of Judaism.

Photo: AP

While it waits to be auctioned, the codex, or manuscript, will be exhibited to the public at Sotheby's London and, later, it will travel to

.

It will be the first time in 40 years that people will be able to access it.

The Hebrew Bible consists of 24 different books organized into three parts -

- and begins with Genesis to conclude with the chronicles.

It is considered the basis of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

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