JTA — Police in Turkey arrested four people who allegedly attempted to sell an ancient Torah scroll, Turkish media reported.
The private broadcaster NTV reported that the Torah scroll was made of leather and its sellers claimed it was nearly 2,000 years old. The suspects, who were identified only by their initials, were arrested in the Mediterranean province of Adana, the report said.
The oldest known complete version of the Torah is the Leningrad Codex, which dates back to the early 11th century CE. Few existing Torah scrolls are older than 500 years.
One of the suspects reportedly said he and the others came to possess the scroll after buying it from an antique store. He said they brought the scroll to a geography teacher to ask what was written in it.
Police have launched an investigation into the incident and sent the scroll for inspection, NTV reported.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
