An extraordinary historical and religious relic will go under the hammer in New York on December 16, thanks to Sotheby’s auction house. This approximately 60-centimeter tall stone tablet, believed to have adorned the entrance of a home or synagogue between 300 and 800 BC, features ancient Hebrew inscriptions polished by passersby over centuries.
The upcoming auction, highlighted by the Aleteia portal, will present the oldest known inscription of the Ten Commandments. Starting at an expected bid of $1 million, some experts predict the final price could double that amount.
Unearthed in 1913 during a railway construction excavation in Israel, the tablet comes from a region known for its early synagogues, temples, and mosques. The Hebrew text inscribed on the stone was only recognized in 1943 by a scholar, revealing that the tablet likely decorated the entrance of a synagogue or private residence destroyed during Roman incursions between 400 and 600 AD, or possibly during the Crusades in the 11th century.
Experts date the tablet's creation to the Roman-Byzantine period, within the broad timeframe of 300 to 800 BC. The original tablets, which Moses brought down from Mount Sinai, are believed to have been created between the 16th and 13th centuries BC, though their fate remains uncertain, aside from speculation from some Hollywood directors.
Notably, the Ten Commandments inscribed on this tablet are presented in twenty lines, similar to the Jewish and Christian traditions. Interestingly, it contains only nine commandments, omitting the directive to not take God's name in vain. Instead, it instructs pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, a sacred site for Samaritans, leaving researchers puzzled over this alteration.