1,500-Year-Old Ten Commandments Tablet Sells for $5 Million at Auction

The ancient marble artifact, believed to be the oldest known complete tablet of its kind, exceeded expectations at Sotheby’s in New York.

The 52-kilogram marble tablet, inscribed in ancient Hebrew, dates back to between 300 and 800 CE, according to Sotheby’s.
Discovered in 1913 during railway construction in southern Israel, it was used as a paving stone for decades before its historical significance was recognized in the 1940s.
The auction house estimated the tablet's value at $1–2 million, but it sold for $5.04 million, significantly surpassing expectations.
The tablet features 20 lines of text corresponding to the biblical Ten Commandments but omits the prohibition against misusing God's name, replacing it with a Samaritan-specific commandment.
Experts have raised questions about the artifact's provenance and precise dating, though it remains a significant piece of religious and cultural history.