NYPost: France’s National Library has filed suit against a Brooklyn artifacts dealer, demanding the return of a stolen 13th-century Hebrew manuscript he purchased at auction in New York.? The lawsuit against Yosef Goldman is the latest twist in a bizarre saga that reads like an imitation of “The Maltese Falcon” and “The Thomas Crown Affair” – with a smattering of “The Da Vinci Code” tossed in.

The centuries-old book, known as “Hebrew 52” among international art experts, vanished from the Biblioth�que Nationale de France – the equivalent of America’s Library of Congress – located just steps from the Louvre Museum.

The manuscript contains the Old Testament, comprising the Five Books of Moses, plus five additional scrolls, and was in the French government’s possession since 1668, the lawsuit claims.

Authorities aren’t sure when the theft took place, but are certain the book sold for $358,000 at the famed Christie’s auction house on May 19, 2000.

In 2004, French authorities zeroed in on the library’s own chief curator of manuscripts, Michel Garel. He was convicted of swiping the book and fined $500,000 but is appealing the ruling.

Now, the library is trying to regain the document itself, which may have been damaged and altered during the theft, according to the suit.

“The purpose of the lawsuit brought by the French Ministry of Culture and the French National Library against Mr. Yosef Goldman to recover the possession of a Hebrew manuscript is to maintain the integrity of our large and important collection of Hebrew books, manuscripts and other documents,” the library’s president, Jean-No�l Jeanneney, said in a statement.

But Goldman, who claims he already passed the manuscript on to a collector, maintains he’s ready to work out a deal – but it’s Christie’s that’s gumming up the works.

“I, on behalf of Mr. Goldman, communicated with Christie’s in November 2005 and offered Mr. Goldman’s assistance in securing the manuscript if Christie’s agreed to refund the purchase price,” said Goldman’s lawyer, Nathaniel Lewin. “Christie’s has refused to do so.”

Christie’s denies it knew the item was stolen when it agreed to auction it, but declined to speak in detail about the negotiations.

“Christie’s is working closely with the Biblioth�que Nationale de France in an effort to secure the manuscript’s return to France,” said Christie’s vice president Toby Usnik.