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David Harris/Ben-Zvi Institute in the Shrine of the Book

OLDEST HEBREW BIBLE. Not only is the Aleppo Codex, or the Crown, the oldest surviving Hebrew Bible, but it is also considered to be the most authoritative copy. Compiled by Aaron ben Asher—a leading Masorete—around 930 C.E., the Crown lost a third of its leaves sometime between the time of the riots in 1947 and its current state in Israel. Fungal damage is visible on a surviving page at the bottom right corner.