The world’s oldest known stone inscription of the 10 Commandments, a “national treasure” of Israel, sold for $US850,000 in the US this week.
The square tablet of white marble has 20 lines of letters in Samaritan script, derived from Hebrew and Aramaic, chiseled upon it.
It features an introductory dedication and invocation and then lists nine of the 10 Commandments contained in the Biblical Book of Exodus, omitting the commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain and adding one attributed to members of the Samaritan sect which exhorts worshippers to “raise a temple” on the Samaritan’s holy mountain of Mount Gerazim, located near the West Bank city of Nablus.
Scholars believe the tablet was carved in the late Roman or Byzantine era, about 300 to 500 AD, to adorn the entrance or worship space of a synagogue in or around the modern city of Yavneh in western Israel. It is believed the synagogue was destroyed either by the Romans in the mid-400s, the Byzantines in the 500s or by Muslims or Crusaders in the period up to the 12th century.
Auction house Heritage Auctions, which said the tablet sold in Beverly Hills on Wednesday night, added that although officially deemed a “national treasure” of Israel, the Israeli Antiquities Authority approved export of the tablet to the US in 2005 on the condition it be displayed in a public museum.
David Michaels, director of ancient coins and antiquities at the auction house, said that condition remains in effect.
“The sale of this tablet does not mean it will be hidden away from the public. The new owner is under obligation to display the tablet for the benefit of the public.”
The new owner did not wish to be identified, according to the auction house.
