The Codex Sassoon,
The Earliest Most Complete Hebrew Bible,
late ninth or early tenth century,
Ink on parchment
© Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s New York
The Codex Sassoon,
The Earliest Most Complete Hebrew Bible,
late ninth or early tenth century,
Ink on parchment
© Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s New York
You will realize that I am he
John 8:21-30
Again he said to them, 'I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.'
Then the Jews said, 'Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, "Where I am going, you cannot come"?' He said to them, 'You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.'
They said to him, 'Who are you?' Jesus said to them, 'Why do I speak to you at all? I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.' They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father.
So Jesus said, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.' As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Reflection on the Hebrew Codex
Jesus is telling us today ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He’. He is referring to what was described and foretold in the Old Testament, and that he is the Messiah.
The mention of the Old Testament reminds me to share with you an exciting event that will take place at Sotheby’s in a few weeks’ time (16 May 2023). Sotheby’s will offer the Codex Sassoon for auction. This codex is more than 1,000 years old, and is the world’s earliest near-complete Hebrew Bible. Soon, it could also become the “most valuable historical document ever sold at auction,” according to a statement from Sotheby’s. In May, the auction house expects to sell it for between $30 and $50 million. Historians who have closely analysed the work say that a scribe wrote out the text on roughly 400 sheets of parchment in the late ninth or early tenth century. Eventually, the book landed at a synagogue in present-day Syria, which was then destroyed in the 13th or 14th century. Codex Sassoon contains the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible – missing only 12 leaves – and precedes the earliest entirely complete Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex, by nearly a century.
Codex Sassoon has long held a “revered and fabled place in the pantheon of surviving historic documents and is undeniably one of the most important and singular texts in human history,” says my Sotheby’s ex-colleague Richard Austin, who is Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts.
You can watch a video, see more photographs and find a more extensive write up directly on the Sotheby’s website: Go to link, click here.
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A profound reading that sheds light on trust, faith and the need of proving nothing to others, which relate to our daily lives in many ways 🙂
Interesting to-be auctioned Bible 🙂 Every thing that comes from Syria is of tremendous significance…
I always loved that Saint John Paul II referred to the Jewish people as our “elder brothers in the faith”. The Old Testament points to Christ.
Patrick I will raid my piggy-bank, lol! I hope this goes into good hands and be preserved for a further 1000 years. The situation in Israel has been on my mind a lot these past few days. We must pray for the people of Israel, Jew or non-Jew, and hope peace and justice for all will prevail.
The reading is very challenging one today. I cannot improve on Mike’s words below.
It’s amazing how old it is! Everything it must have endured and survived. I hope it lands in good hands.
The Israelites were told to only look up at the bronze serpent raised on the pole to be healed. We are asked to look up at Jesus raised on the cross. Lord, have mercy on all who don’t look to You this Easter season and ignore You in their holiday spirit. Lord, have mercy on us all. And to echo Mike’s lovely prayer below ….Come Holy Spirit be our guide and comforter.
Thank you Rona, for including Us all in your lovely prayer and for asking for guidance and mercy for everyone.
I too was taught to pray not only in singular, because if we love others as Jesus showed us and we share the same Father, others lifes and needs are as important as mine.
Thank you for teaching me something today! My prayers, like me, are often very selfish. I think it comes from a place where I feel unable to include others, I shut them out often. I feel it a little presumptuous to use the plural, yet Jesus Himself did this in the prayer He gave us. I think there is always room for personal one-to-one prayer with the Lord, but yes, I should be more confident of using the pural when sharing prayers on here. I shall be braver from now on!
This is so interesting. Is the text the same as our Old Testament?
Christians call the Hebrew Bible, or Torah, the Old Testament. We read the Old Testament and we have attached the New Testament onto it. This New Testament talks of the life, times and teachings of Jesus which we see as the culmination of the teachings of the prophets of Israel.
More could be said…..
Jesus is answering disputes over who he is. He is the one sent by the Father, not only sent but accompanied.
Here is a wonderful promise. When I am sent by Jesus I am never sent alone. He accompanies me. The Holy Spirit comforts and guides me. And not only that. All I have to do is lift Jesus up. He does the drawing of people’s souls.
Thank you Jesus for your companionship today. Come Holy Spirit, be my guide and comforter.
Thanks Mike for such a lovely positive post. You’ve raised my spirit!
Amen to that Mike. Come, Holy Spirit!
Thank you Mike. Come Holy Spirit!