Geline Salac

Up for auction: Ten Commandments earliest complete stone tablet

Article (news)

Reuters Wires

The earliest, complete stone tablet of the Ten Commandments will hit the auction block at Sotheby’s New York later this month.The tablet, dating to the late Roman-Byzantine era, is approximately 1,500 years old.Sotheby’s International Senior Specialist, Judaica, Sharon Liberman Mintz, told Reuters it is “one of the most important treasures that I have ever handled.”“These stones are incredibly rare. We have a census where we have found a total of ten, but all other nine are fragments, which contain only part of the Ten Commandments,” she said.Weighing 115 pounds and measuring approximately 2 feet in height, the marble tablet was unearthed in 1913 during railway excavations along the southern coast of Israel, near the sites of early synagogues, mosques and churches. The significance of the discovery went unrecognized for decades, Sotheby’s said.The text of the Ten Commandments are inscribed on the tablet in Paleo-Hebrew script, a script that the Jewish people used from the 10th century before the Common era until the fifth century of the Common Era, Mintz said.The tablet contains only 9 of the ten commandments found in the Book of Exodus.The third commandment, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain” was omitted, replaced by a new directive to worship on Mount Gerizim, a holy site specific to the Samaritans.The stone tablet hits the auction block on December 18 in New York City and has a pre-sale estimate of $1 million to $2 million.(Production: Hussein Al Waaile, Christine Kiernan)

The tablet, dating to the late Roman-Byzantine era, is approximately 1,500 years old.

The tablet, dating to the late Roman-Byzantine era, is approximately 1,500 years old.

Up for auction: Ten Commandments earliest complete stone tablet

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

World

Up for auction: Ten Commandments earliest complete stone tablet

Reuters

Published Dec 10, 2024 07:36 AM PHT

Read More:

ten commandments

bible

stone tablet

auction

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.