About the Exhibition
September 24, 2024 – January 12, 2025
Location: Floor 5
Cost: Included with general admission
Time: ~ 30 minutes
Please Note: The exhibit will be closed Sunday, September 29, 2024, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. EDT for a private event. We apologize for any inconvenience.
After 1,300 years of untold travels along the Silk Roads, the earliest intact Hebrew book will be revealed to the world for the first time this September, only at Museum of the Bible.
Afghan Jews and Museum of the Bible staff at Congregation Anshei Shalom at Jamaica Estates, celebrating Purim and discussing the Afghan Liturgical Quire while holding a replica, March 6, 2023.
From Scrolls to Codices
Explore the Jewish adoption of the codex, or book, form. This change made it possible for observant Jews to study Hebrew texts on their own time, in their own spaces, or even on the road.
“You have captured My heart and will be safely protected.”
— From a poem for Sukkot in the Afghan Liturgical Quire
Front cover of the Afghan Liturgical Quire, the oldest Hebrew book containing Sabbath morning prayers, poetry, and a partial Haggadah.
A Mysterious Discovery
The earliest known example of a Hebrew codex, the Afghan Liturgical Quire (ALQ), survived hundreds of years and traveled thousands of miles from one land to another. This codex, created in the 700s, is one of precious few Hebrew manuscripts that survives from the “Silent Period” (AD 200–900).
The Afghan Liturgical Quire seen from the “head,” revealing the manuscript is a single gathering of parchment, or a single “quire.”
An Unlikely Collaboration
From the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan, where Buddhism flourished along the Silk Roads, this sacred book began its journey toward an unexpected multicultural partnership. When it finally came to light, Muslims, Jews, and Christians collaborated on a human rights-based approach to ensure access to the ALQ.
Come and see this extraordinary artifact for yourself and explore the mysteries of the oldest Hebrew book ever discovered in Sacred Words: Revealing the Earliest Hebrew Book.