The world's oldest Jewish prayer book? Hebrew text predates earliest known copy of the Torah by four CENTURIES



The prayer book contains rare text written in an archaic form of Hebrew



It has 50 pages of Jewish blessings and has been dated back to 840 C.E

This predates the earliest Torah scrolls ever found by around 400 years

The book comes in its original binding with Babylonian vowel markings



A rare Hebrew text dating back to the 9th century has been unveiled by a collector of rare biblical artefacts - and it is believed to be the world's oldest Jewish prayer book.



The 50-page binder was found in Jerusalem and following carbon tests by experts and scholars, the book is believed to have been made around 840 C.E.

The Green Collection, which announced the finding, claims the book predates the earliest Torah scrolls ever found by around 400 years and could be an important link between the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls and medieval Judaism.



The 50-page book, pictured is beige and measures 3in by 4in. The text is written in an archaic form of Hebrew with Babylonian vowel markings. It has been dated back to the 9th Century, making it around 400 years older than the earliest Torah scroll found

WORLD'S OLDEST PRAYER BOOK

The 50-page book is beige and is 3 inches wide and 4 inches tall. The text is written in an archaic form of Hebrew with Babylonian vowel markings.

It has been dated back to the 9th Century, making it around 400 years older than the earliest Torah scroll found. The complete parchment is in its original binding.

The book's codex appears to have been created first, followed by the inside text. The inside of the book is divided into six sections that discuss topics including the End Times and the Passover Seder.

The first of these sections features a set of 100 Jewish blessings.

Dr Jerry Pattengale, executive director of the Green Scholars Initiative, a research arm of The Green Collection said: ' This find is historical evidence supporting the very fulcrum of Jewish religious life.

'This Hebrew prayer book helps fill the gap between the Dead Sea Scrolls and other discoveries of Jewish texts from the ninth and 10th centuries.'

The complete parchment is in its original binding and contains Hebrew script so archaic that its founders claim it 'incorporates Babylonian vowel pointing' - is similar to Old or Middle English when compared to the current English language.



It was this early vowel marking that researchers to date the prayer book in the times of the Geonim; Babylonian and Talmudic leaders that were around during the Middle Ages.

The book is beige in colour and measures 3 inches (10cm) wide and 4 inches (11cm) tall.



The oldest-known Torah scrolls recently dated by Italian scholars originated between the 12th and 13th centuries, which is 300 and 400 years after the latest Jewish prayer book.



Research on the prayer book - which the Green Collection claims could the Jewish equivalent of a complete, early edition of the Christian Book of Common Prayer - will be released by early 2015.



It will form part of the Brill Series on Early Jewish Texts and Manuscripts edited by Pattengale and Dr. Emanuel Tov.



The series will feature in-depth examination of some of the world’s oldest and most rare biblical texts, including portions from the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Ezekiel, Micah, Daniel and the Psalms.

The complete parchment, pictured, is in its original binding. The book's codex appears to have been created first, followed by the inside text. The inside of the book is divided into six sections that discuss topics including the End Times and the Passover Seder. The first of these sections features a set of 100 Jewish blessings

According to Pattengale, speaking to Huffington Post Religion , the book's codex appears to have been created first, followed by the inside text.

The inside of the book is divided into six sections that discuss topics including the End Times and the Passover Seder. The first of these sections features a set of 100 Jewish blessings.



Dr. Stephen Pfann, a senior scholar with the Green Scholars Initiative and president of The University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem made the initial discovery among other items from The Green Collection.