The Aleppo Codex

The Aleppo Codex Latest

Feb 27 Blog

The Aleppo Codex

The world’s oldest Hebrew Bible, the Aleppo Codex, is missing pages—and not just a couple leaves, but four of the Five Books of Moses! What happened to them?

Oct 3 Blog

What Is the Oldest Hebrew Bible?

By: Jennifer Drummond

The oldest Hebrew Bible texts are the Dead Sea Scrolls (c. 250 B.C.E.–115 C.E.), but the most nearly complete copies of the Hebrew Bible are codices from a thousand years ago. What happened in the period between these two discoveries? The Ashkar-Gilson Manuscript fills the gap in our knowledge of this interim period.

Aug 29 Blog

Comparing Ancient Biblical Manuscripts

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Until it was damaged and partially lost, the Aleppo Codex was considered to be the “crown” of ancient Biblical manuscripts, and was the version of the Hebrew Bible that was ultimately considered the most authoritative text in Judaism. Its loss was an enormous blow to Jewish scholarship. However, another complete codex still exists: The Leningrad Codex. How does it compare to its more distinguished cousin?

May 9 Blog

Errors in the Masoretes’ “Original” Hebrew Manuscripts of the Bible?

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The Hebrew Bible today differs from the Bible manuscripts of the first millennium B.C.E. How do we identify alterations? Learn why critical editions of the Bible are essential.

Feb 2 Blog

The Aleppo Codex Online

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Throughout its long history, the Aleppo Codex has been carefully and jealously guarded. Today, however, the Aleppo Codex online project has placed the Aleppo Codex among the ranks of other ancient Biblical manuscripts that have been made available to all via the web.

Sep 30 Blog

Why Did Early Christians Prefer the Codex to the Bookroll?

By: Marek Dospěl

Evidence shows that preserved early Christian manuscripts are more often codices than the then-established bookrolls. Why?

Oct 10 Blog

Steps to a New Edition of the Hebrew Bible

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Gary A. Rendsburg reviews Steps to a New Edition of the Hebrew Bible by Ronald Hendel.

May 25 Blog

Israel’s Treasures Online

By: Megan Sauter

Thanks to the Israel Antiquities Authority, all of the artifacts in the Rockefeller Museum’s collection are being digitized.

May 30 Blog

A Sefer Torah in the Bologna Library May Be the Oldest Known Torah Scroll

By: Noah Wiener

Italian scholar Mauro Perani dated a Sefer Torah scroll from the University of Bologna Library to the 12–13th centuries C.E., making the manuscript the world’s oldest extant Sefer Torah

Aug 17 Blog

A Jewel from the Crown

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

It was celebrated as the “Crown of Aleppo.” The Aleppo Codex, a thousand- year-old copy of the Hebrew Bible, was created in about 930 C.E. and edited by Aharon Ben Asher, who was one of the Jewish sages in Tiberias known as the Masoretes.* With Ben Asher’s additions of vowel and vocalization markings, it became the textus receptus, or authoritative version of the Hebrew Bible—relied on by no less than Maimonides, the 12th-century expert on Jewish law and author of the Mishneh Torah.

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