An elaborately decorated bible written more than 700 years ago is on display at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.
The Shem Tov Bible was created in Spain by its namesake, Rabbi Shem Tov ben Abraham Ibn Gaon, a great scholar of Jewish law and mysticism and reflects a history of Kabbalah, Masorah (the tradition of biblical transmission) and Jewish art.
Following its completion in 1312, Ibn Gaon set out on a two-year journey, settling in Israel in 1315 until his death around 1330.
The Shem Tov Bible. Ibn Gaon finished the manuscript in his hometown of Soria, Spain, in the year 1312.
Photo credit: Ardon Bar-Hama
The manuscript changed hands but remained in the Middle East for several centuries. In the 17th century, it moved to North Africa where mystical powers were attributed to it, including being brought to women in childbirth to assure an easy labour.
In the early 20th century, the collector David Solomon Sassoon bought the Bible, and had it re-bound. In 1984, it was sold to the owners of a prominent European Judaica collection before being purchased by Swiss collector Jaqui Safra in 1994.
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Three decades later, in 2024, the manuscript came up for auction at Sotheby’s. It was purchased by Terri and Andrew Herenstein, who have made it available, on long-term loan, to the National Library of Israel.
Sallai Meridor, the Library’s chairman, said: “Receiving this manuscript, especially at the time of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Torah, is profoundly significant. Having travelled from Spain to Jerusalem, Baghdad, Tripoli, London and Geneva, the Shem Tov Bible has come full circle and is now back home, returning to the very place where Rabbi Shem Tov ben Abraham Ibn Gaon lived and intended for it to be, in the land of Israel, and now in Jerusalem. We are grateful to the Herenstein family for turning what might otherwise have been a dream into a reality.”
Presentation of the Shem Tov Bible at the National Library of Israel.
Photo credit: NLI
The Herenstein family said: “The Shem Tov Bible stands as a unique cultural artifact, embodying the scholarship, calligraphic precision, and artistic excellence that characterized the best of medieval Jewish bookmaking.”
Dr. Chaim Neria, curator of the Library’s Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection added that the Shem Tov Bible, also known as the Sefer HaYashar, “represents the pinnacle of biblical and kabbalistic scholarship in the medieval period” and that a significant aspect of the manuscript is “its observance of the Sefer Tagei, a traditional guide outlining the scribal practices required for writing sacred texts.
“The surrounding notations reference earlier, now-lost documents, specifically the Hilleli Codex of 600 CE. The Shem Tov Bible thus allows modern scholars to study traditions that have all but vanished from the historical record.”
The National Library of Israel describes the Bible as “an artistic masterpiece”, complete with design features including gothic arches, birds and beasts, gilded frames surrounding biblical verses and illuminated marginal markers.
- The Shem Tov Bible went on display as part of the “A Treasury of Words” exhibition in the William Davidson Permanent Exhibition Gallery at the National Library of Israel, on May 8, 2025
