More on the MOTB's "oldest Jewish book"

EXHIBITION: Museum of the Bible unveils world’s ‘oldest Jewish book’ in new exhibit. The handwritten manuscript of prayers and poems dates back 1,300 years and originates with Jews who lived in a Buddhist civilization in what is now Afghanistan (Asaf Elia-Shalev, JTA).

Anchoring the scholarly discussion surrounding the book is a 2019 laboratory test that used carbon dating to estimate the book’s age at 1,300 years, astonishing researchers at the museum. Far more ancient written Hebrew texts had been discovered, but only on scrolls, most famously the roughly 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls that are displayed prominently in Israel. The carbon dating indicated that this was the earliest intact Hebrew codex by more than a century.

The relationship of this codex to the "Hebrew siddur" codex first announced by the Museum of the Bible in 2013, is not addressed in this article either. I think they must be two different manuscripts: the Hebrew siddur was C-14 dated to the mid-ninth-century CE and its layout looks different from the one now on display. And other details vary. But it would be helpful if the Museum of the Bible, or somebody, would take up the question.

UPDATE AND CORRECTION (1 October): No, just one manuscript. See here.

Background here and links.

Also, the article mentions a book on the codex to be published by Brill. It is already listed on the Brill website:

The Afghan Liturgical Quire: Its Codicology, Texts and History

Series: Études sur le judaïsme médiéval

Volume Editor: Rahel Fronda

The Afghan Liturgical Quire: Its Codicology, Texts and History is a diplomatic edition that explores one manuscript’s material and textual evidence, as well as its history and wider cultural milieu. The volume not only includes essays by twelve world-leading scholars in their respective fields of study but also ample documentary material (photos, letters and reports). Scholars and professionals ranging from the fields of medieval manuscript studies to Jewish liturgy and history of Afghanistan to the fields of manuscript trade are among the possible audience.

E-Book (PDF)
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-72106-7
Publication: 15 Apr 2025
EUR €150.00

Hardback
Availability: Not Yet Published
ISBN: 978-90-04-72105-0
Publication: 15 Apr 2025
EUR €150.00

Cross-file under Forthcoming Book.

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