Oldest Known Ten Commandments Tablet to Be Auctioned for Up to $2 Million

The 1,500-year-old artifact, inscribed in Paleo-Hebrew, will be sold at Sotheby’s in New York on December 18.

The tablet, known as the Yavne Tablet, dates back to 300–800 A.D. and is considered the earliest complete inscribed version of the Ten Commandments.
Discovered in 1913 during railway excavations in Israel, the artifact was initially overlooked and even used as a paving stone before being recognized as historically significant.
The tablet is inscribed in Paleo-Hebrew script and features nine of the traditional biblical commandments, with a unique instruction to worship on Mount Gerizim, reflecting Samaritan traditions.
Sotheby’s estimates the marble slab, weighing 155 pounds, will fetch between $1 million and $2 million at auction on December 18.
The artifact has been described as a tangible link to the moral codes that shaped Western civilization, making it a rare and culturally significant piece of history.