The 5 Oldest Copies of the Torah
- Feb 6
- 3 min read
This is a list of the five oldest copies of the Torah, categorized chronologically as follows:
· oldest piece of the Torah
· oldest Torah but without the book of Ester
· oldest complete Torah
· oldest Torah scroll
· oldest Torah still in use
1. Oldest piece of the Torah: Ketef Hinnom Silver Scroll Amulets
Attribution: Tamar Hayardeni
This is the oldest Torah, but just a very small piece of it, ever found.
How old is it?
· Late 7th or early 6th century B.C.E., which is 650–587 B.C.E.
Where is it located?
· They were found in a collapsed burial chamber at The Ketef archeological site, which is outside of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City of Jerusalem is a walled city within Jerusalem and is 0.35 sq mi.
What is it?
· Two very small rolled scrolls, made of 99% pure silver, that have a portion of the Torah from the Book of Numbers. Numbers 6:24–26: "May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine upon you and grant you peace".
2. Oldest Hebrew bible, except for Ester: Dead Sea Scrolls
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This is the oldest Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, except it is missing the Book of Ester, ever found.
How old is it?
· 3rd century BCE to 1st century CE.
Where is it located?
· The 15,000 scrolls and scroll fragments are held in the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum located in Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Society had a exhibit in Washington DC to mark the 75th anniversary of its discovery.
What is it?
· The oldest Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, absent the Book of Ester, ever found. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered innocently enough in caves near the shores of the Dead Sea between 1947-1956. The initial discovery occurred in 1947 when teenage Bedouin shepherds went searching for a lost goat. One of the boys threw a rock into a cave opening, Cave 1Q. They heard something shatter inside the cave, clearly the rock broke something, and the teenagers went into the cave to investigate. There they made a discovery for the ages.
3. Oldest complete Hebrew Bible: Leningrad Codex
United States Public Domain tag:{{PD-US}}
This is the oldest complete copy of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, ever found.
How old is it?
· 1008 CE-1009 CE.
Where is it located?
· Russian National Library, Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was written in Cairo, Egypt.
What is it?
· A complete Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, The Leningrad Codex was written on parchment and contains all 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, including the Torah. The Leningrad Codex is in extraordinarily pristine condition and contains beautiful medieval Jewish art.
4. Oldest Complete Torah Scroll: University of Bologna Torah Scroll
Photo Source National Geographic News
This is the oldest complete Torah Scroll ever found.
How old is it?
· Between 1155 and 1224 CE.
Where is it located?
· University of Bologna, Italy. In 1889, the Scrolls entered the library's collection, but an Italian librarian made a mistake identifying the Scroll and moved it to archival obscurity for years. It was rediscovered in 2013 by Professor Mauro Perani in the University ‘s archives. The scroll belonged to a monastery before being moved to the university library.
What is it?
· This is the oldest complete Torah Scroll ever found.
5. Oldest Torah scroll still in use
This is the oldest Torah Scroll that is still in use.
How old is it?
· 1250.
Where is it located?
· The scroll belongs to a synagogue in the northern Italian town of Biella, Italy, nestled that dates back to the 17th-century.
What is it?
· The oldest Torah scroll still in use. The scroll has remained completely intact, without a single piece of parchment replaced, from 1250 until today.