Israel 1420

     In Tiberias about 900 C.E. (Common Era) Shlomo ben Buya'a copied a manuscript of the Tanak under the supervision of Aaron ben Moses Ben-Asher, the last and most prominent member of the ben-Asher dynasty of Masoretes from Tiberias, who verified the text, and provided it with vowel points, accents and masoretic notes.
     The manuscript was brought to Jerusalem where it remained until the 11th century when it was stolen and taken to Cairo. At the end of the 14th century it was brought to Aleppo, Syria where it remained until 1947 when it disappeared during anti-Jewish riots. In 1958 it reappeared and was brought to Jerusalem where it is preserved in the Shrine of the book.
     Of the 487 leaves of the original only 295 remained when the Codex was returned to Israel. The first four and a half books (to Deuteronomy 28:17) and some of the Writings were missing. The books of the Penteteuch have been restored from the marginal quotations in the later books. The Codex is being restored and published.
     The manuscript is known as Keter Aram Zova, "The Crown of Syria."