Biblical Ten Commandments Sold For $850,000 At Beverly Hills Auction

A 1,500-year-old stone inscription of the Ten Commandments was sold at a Beverly Hills auction for $850,000 on Wednesday, the Telegraph is reporting.

The historic tablet, described as the “national treasure of Israel,” was sold by Rabbi Shaul Deutsch, the founder of the Living Torah Museum in Brooklyn, New York. The rabbi sold 20 lines of chiseled Samaritan script to an anonymous buyer. The transaction was brokered by Heritage Auctions, a Dallas-based dealer in ancient coins and antiquities.

David Michaels, the director of the auction house, revealed that the tablet, which weighs over 115 pounds, was legally approved by the Israeli Antiquities Authorities to be brought into the United States in 2005 before it was sold to the rabbi. He revealed the only condition for the sale was for the tablet to still be displayed in a museum and not be kept away from those who wanted to see it.

The sale of the 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 earliest known stone inscription of the Ten Commandments is being auctioned with an opening bid of $250,000 https://t.co/UCIDgNIJAK pic.twitter.com/cIjVXMxQ4I

— CNN (@CNN) November 15, 2016

The Ten Commandments tablet was first discovered in 1913 during the building of a railroad station close to Yavneh in Western Israel. According to Michaels, the momentous tablet is a cornerstone for fundamental principles pertaining to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

“The tablet’s significance is testament to the deep root and enduring power of the commandment that still form the basis of the three of the world’s great religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Its surface is worn, battered and encrusted in places, but running a gloved finger over it does produce, in some people, a particular thrill of touching a piece of Bible history.”

After the discovery of the engraved stone in western Israel, it was purchased by a construction worker who placed it in a courtyard until 1943, when it was purchased by archaeologist Y. Kaplan, who kept it for 50 years until his death in 2000. The tablet then became the property of Rabbi Deutsch in the 1990s, and he was encouraged to display it publicly via an agreement reached with the Israel Antiquities Authority.

He later bought it off them with a legal settlement.

The rabbi revealed he was selling the famous chiseled stone and over 50 other biblical artifacts from his collection because he was trying to raise money to renovate his Living Torah Museum. Deutsch’s plan is to transform the museum using his sales and attract younger visitors.

Thou shalt not covet: Earliest known chiselled inscription of Ten Commandments sells at auction for $850,000 https://t.co/z8xdbcZ1Xs

— Telegraph Breaking News (@TelegraphNews) November 17, 2016

“We hope a museum, library, institute of higher learning, or similar public facility will be able to acquire it, perhaps with the help of a generous patron or donor with an interest in Biblical history or a desire to put people in closer touch with their Biblical heritage.”

Surprisingly the tablet only lists nine of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus, leaving out “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” substituting it with another commandment used by a Samaritan sect. The sect called on worshipers to “raise a temple” on Mount Gerizim, the consecrated mountain of the Samaritans, found near the West Bank city of Nablus.

Michaels said the haven for the tablet was either destroyed by the Romans between 400 and 600 A.D. or by 11th-century Crusaders. He said the stone had spent hundreds of years buried underneath the rubble until it was discovered during the building of a train station near Yavneh.

The director of Heritage Auctions said the stone was sold to a man who had no idea of what he had, which is why he set the stone near his inner courtyard. Michaels said the tablet was buried facing up, which may have accounted for the blurred inscriptions of the commandments.

“Some of the letters of the central part of the inscription are blurred—but still readable under proper lighting—either from the conditions of its burial or foot traffic while it was resting in the courtyard.”

[Featured Image by John Said/iStockPhoto]