Jerusalem - A rare and ornate Hebrew Bible from 14th-century Spain, blending Jewish, Christian artistic traditions, has been sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for $6.9 million (£5.3m). Known as the Shem Tov Bible, the 800-page manuscript, completed in 1312 by Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon, is hailed as both a “tour de force of biblical and kabbalistic scholarship” and a “precious witness to the medieval tradition of Sephardic book art.”

This manuscript, which incorporates mystical and talismanic elements, has a rich history spanning seven centuries, having survived wars and upheavals in Jerusalem, Baghdad, Tripoli, London, and Geneva before returning to public attention. After the auction, it was purchased by private individuals who are committed to making it available to the public.

Sharon Liberman Mintz, Sotheby’s international senior Judaica specialist for books and manuscripts, described the Shem Tov Bible as “unique” due to its mix of profound scholarship, mystical lettering, and inter-cultural artistic influences.

One of the Bible's most distinctive features is the anomalous letters — roughly 2,000 smaller or larger letters carefully marked throughout the text, believed to hold secret meanings in Jewish mysticism, or Kabbalah. Additionally, the Bible frequently cites the legendary Hilleli codex, a lost ancient Hebrew Bible that has attained near-mythical status among scholars.

Liberman Mintz highlighted the Shem Tov Bible’s artistic diversity, noting that it blends architectural and artistic traditions from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. “This was written in Christian Spain in 1312, but the Christians and the Jews are living with all this Islamicate mudéjar [Moorish] architecture and they’re seeing all of the cultural aesthetics of Islamic Spain around them still,” she explained. The manuscript showcases intricate Jewish scribal penmanship, Islamic archways, and European gothic architectural features.

Despite the Bible’s artistic and scholarly significance, it also holds a deep cultural and mystical significance. In the 1860s, it was referenced as a **talisman**, believed to aid women in difficult labor. Owners were reportedly reluctant to part with it due to its purported mystical powers, with a belief that it could alleviate childbirth pains when present in the home.

The manuscript's survival through centuries of tumultuous events is seen as almost miraculous. Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon, who completed the Bible in 1312 in Soria, Spain, managed to take the manuscript to the Holy Land before his death around 1330 in Safed. In doing so, he ensured its escape from the 1391 riots and the 1492 expulsion of Jews from Spain.

Liberman Mintz noted the Bible’s extraordinary journey after it left Spain by 1315, highlighting how it survived the violent upheavals that affected Jewish communities across the Middle East and Europe. “It escapes the riots and massacres of 1391 and then the expulsion from Spain in 1492, when many books were lost,” she said, including the Hilleli codex.

The Shem Tov Bible continued its travels, finding refuge in Israel, where it endured crusader invasions, and later reached Baghdad, a city frequently embroiled in political instability. From Baghdad, the manuscript traveled to Tripoli and eventually to London during the Second World War, where it likely remained in Letchworth, surviving yet another period of great conflict. “It’s had a miraculous journey of survival,” Liberman Mintz remarked.

The Bible was cherished by David Solomon Sassoon, the world’s foremost collector of Hebrew manuscripts, who acquired it in the early 20th century. Before his death in 1942, Sassoon urged his son to “speak to the Shem Tov Bible” and promise it would not be forgotten, a testament to the manuscript’s immense emotional and spiritual value.

Now, after centuries in private collections, the Shem Tov Bible will be made accessible to a wider audience. “It was bought by private individuals who, understanding its supreme importance, are looking forward to making it available to the public,” said Liberman Mintz. She emphasized that the buyers recognized the need to share this treasure rather than keep it hidden away in a small library.

For scholars, historians, and art enthusiasts alike, the Shem Tov Bible stands as a rare intersection of profound scholarship, interfaith artistic collaboration, and mystical significance, its survival through seven centuries an enduring testament to its importance.