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British Library releases digital copies of ancient religious texts to the public

The collection includes scans of the London Codex, which is over a thousand years old

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The British Library this week released a collection of digital scans of over 250 of the ancient religious manuscripts it holds as part of its collection, including several notable Jewish texts.

The Discovering Sacred Texts collection includes several codices — biblical texts bound in book form, rather than as a scroll — including the London Codex, which is estimated to originate from Palestine or Egypt in the 10th century.

Judging by the handwriting, it was likely penned by the same scribe — Nissi ben Daniel — as the earlier Codex Babylonicus Petropolitanu (dated 916 CE), as well as the Leningrad and Aleppo Codices.

Other Jewish texts in the collection include the Duke of Sussex’s Italian Pentateuch — so named as the renaissance manuscript was last owned by Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex in the 18th century – and the Great Rabbinic Bible, also from Italy, which, according to the archive, formed the standard text of the Old Testament for all subsequent editions including the King James Bible.

The release of the collection was sponsored by Jewish philanthropist David Dangoor, who said he was “delighted” to have been part of the effort.

“Millions of people around the world will be able to see and understand the impact of many of the documents and texts that have helped shape the cultures of the world we live in today,” he added.

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