The oldest known stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament sold for a staggering $5.04 million at a Sotheby’s New York auction last Wednesday, more than double its high estimate. The anonymous buyer has announced plans to donate the artifact to an Israeli institution, securing its place in history once again.
Dating back approximately 1,500 years to the Late Roman-Byzantine era, this ancient relic is a fascinating link to the past. Yet, its significance remained overlooked for centuries, leaving it perilously close to being lost to time.
A Relic Unearthed During Railway Construction
The stone was discovered in 1913 during excavations for a railway line in what is now southern Israel. Initially dismissed, the tablet was used as paving stone outside a house for 30 years. Its inscription of the Ten Commandments, carved in Paleo-Hebrew script, endured heavy wear from foot traffic before its historical value was finally recognized in 1943 by a scholar who preserved it.
A Missing Commandment, A New Directive
The tablet features nine of the Ten Commandments found in the Book of Exodus, but with a striking omission: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.” In its place, there is a unique directive to worship on Mount Gerizim, sacred to the Samaritans.
Samaritanism, an ancient monotheistic religion related to Judaism, reveres Mount Gerizim in the modern-day West Bank as the holy dwelling place of Jehovah, instead of Mount Zion in Jerusalem. According to Sotheby’s, the original location of the tablet was likely destroyed during the Roman invasions (400–600 CE) or the Crusades in the late 11th century.
The Cornerstone of Western Morality and Law
The inscription comprises 20 lines of text, echoing verses shared by both Jewish and Christian traditions. Sotheby’s described the Ten Commandments in Exodus as the “cornerstone of morality and law” and “the founding text of Western civilization.”
Richard Austin, Sotheby’s Global Head of Books and Manuscripts, said in a press statement: “This remarkable tablet is not only a vastly important historic artifact, but a tangible link to the beliefs that helped shape Western civilization. To encounter this shared piece of cultural heritage is to journey through millennia and connect with cultures and faiths told through one of humanity’s earliest and most enduring moral codes.”
Breaking Records in the World of Artifacts
The sale of the Ten Commandments tablet is the latest in a series of historic auction milestones for Sotheby’s. Just last year, the Codex Sassoon, a Hebrew Bible over 1,000 years old, was sold for $38.1 million. Dating to the late 9th or early 10th century, it was heralded as “one of the most important and singular texts in human history.”
As the Ten Commandments tablet begins its new journey, it offers a profound glimpse into a shared cultural and spiritual heritage. Its story is a testament to resilience, discovery, and the enduring legacy of humanity’s moral foundations. The world now eagerly awaits to see how this extraordinary relic will inspire future generations.
