By Gabriella Ogbu
A stone tablet engraved with the Ten Commandments sold for $5 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Wednesday, despite questions surrounding its authenticity.
The 115-pound (52-kilogram) slab, allegedly discovered in 1913 during rail line excavations in modern-day Israel, surpassed the auction house’s initial estimate of $1-2 million.
The tablet, featuring Paleo-Hebrew script and dated between 300 and 800 CE, contains only nine of the Ten Commandments, raising doubts about its origin and historical significance.
Experts have questioned the accuracy of its claimed discovery and dating, noting that no one has verified it as the original Biblical tablet.
Despite these concerns, bidding quickly surged to $4.2 million, with the final sale price reaching $5 million, including fees.
Sharon Liberman Mintz, Sotheby’s Judaica specialist, was involved in the auction.