Oldest copy of Old Testament recognized as world treasure

Despite missing 190 pages, the oldest surviving copy of the Old Testament has been recognized as a world treasure.

The oldest surviving copy of the Old Testament was officially recognized as a world treasure by the United Nations Educations, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Aleppo Codex is the oldest surviving copy of the Hebrew Bible. Some experts believe all versions of the Old Testament have been derived from this version of the Bible.

On Monday, UNESCO recognized the Aleppo Codex as a world treasure.

i24 reported that the Aleppo Codex has been moved on several occasions and was ransomed by the Jews of Cairo.

Sadly, 190 pages of the text, which composed roughly 40 percent of its body, are missing, including four of five books of the Pentateuch, which is the first section of books in the Bible called the Five Books of Moses.

Five books from the last section, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel and Ezra are also missing.

The Codex was kept in Aleppo, Syria for hundreds of years until it was smuggled to Israel in 1958 and was presented to Israel's then-president Yizhak Ben Zvi, who allowed it to enter the Ben Zvi Institute in Jerusalem.

Though many historians believe the pages were lost during the Codex's constant moving, how the pages disappeared remains uncertain.

Regardless of the mystery of the lost pages, what is left of the Old Testament has had its status officially recognized and is now seen as a world treasure.

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