The world's oldest known Jewish prayer book went on public display for the first time on Thursday (September 18), joining the Book of Books exhibition at Jerusalem's Bible Lands Museum. The prayer book, or siddur, is an estimated 1,200 years old, and made up of around 50 pages of Hebrew script. According to the museum, it is still in its original binding and originates from the Middle East, though research on it is ongoing. "We're very excited to have this artefact which is virtually priceless for us in Israel, in Jerusalem, at the Bible Lands Museum, as the celebration of the last month of the Book of Books exhibition here at the Bible Lands Museum," said Amanda Weiss, executive director of the Bible Lands Museum. The prayer book was purchased last year for the Oklahoma-based collection of Stephen Green, chairman of the Museum of the Bible, and owner of one of the world's largest private collections of rare biblical artefacts. Green was on hand to witness the prayer book's installation, and emphasised its historical importance. "Well, the item is a Jewish prayer book, and it's the oldest Jewish prayer book that is known, it dates to roughly the middle of the 9th century, or the first half of the 9th century. So the Jewish culture will be very interested in knowing about the roots of some of the prayers that are part of their tradition, and so it is a significant item," he said. Carbon-test dating methods have placed the book's origin in the period of the Babylonian Geonim, described by the museum as "the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the global Jewish community in the early medieval era", one of whom was the first to write an orderly liturgy that still serves as the basis for Jewish prayer services today. "The oldest Jewish prayer book in the world is one of the most important documents, it still hasn't even been fully researched, but it's come to the Book of Books exhibition by the Green family collection. It gives us an opportunity to present it and have it seen - it's never been seen before. So it's a connection to our heritage in a way that you can talk about but when you can see it through an artefact, that's really I guess the gift of a museum," said Weiss. The prayer book will remain on display in Jerusalem for the next month.

• published: 19 Sep 2014
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