The Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon is a version of the Christian Bible used in the two Oriental Orthodox Churches of the Ethiopian and Eritrean traditions: the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. At 81 books, it is the largest and most varied biblical canon in traditional Christendom.
Western scholars have classified the books of the canon into two categories—the narrower canon, which consists mostly of books familiar to the West, and the broader canon, which includes nine additional books.
It is not known to exist at this time as one published compilation. Some books, though considered canonical, are nonetheless difficult to locate and are not even widely available in the churches' home countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea.Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (2003). "The Bible." Available online at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's website. Retrieved 24 February 2012..
Narrower canon Old Testament
The Orthodox Tewahedo narrower Old Testament canon contains the entire established Hebrew protocanon. Moreover, with the exception of the first two books of Maccabees, the Orthodox Tewahedo canon also contains the entire Catholic deuterocanon. In addition to this, the Orthodox Tewahedo Old Testament includes the Prayer of Manasseh, 3 Ezra, and 4 Ezra, which also appear in the canons of other Christian traditions. Unique to the Orthodox Tewahedo canon are the Paralipomena of Jeremiah (4 Baruch), Jubilees, Enoch, and the three books of Meqabyan.
The canon includes not only the Book of Baruch (with the Letter of Jeremiah) but also 4 Baruch. Additionally, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Books of Ethiopian Maccabees (Meqabyan) are also part of the canon; while they share a common name they are completely different from the books of Maccabees that are known or have been canonized in other traditions. Finally, within the Orthodox Tewahedo tradition, 3 Ezra is called Second Ezra, 4 Ezra is called Ezra Sutu'el, and the Prayer of Manasseh is incorporated into the Second Book of Chronicles.
New Testament The Orthodox Tewahedo narrower canon includes all of the 27 books of the New Testament.
Broader canon
The broader canon adds to the 81 books of the Tewahedo bible the following:G. A. Mikre-Sellassie (1993), "The Bible and its Canon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church", The Bible Translator, 44(1): 111–123.
Josippon (1 book) Sinodos (4 books) Books of Covenant (2 books) Ethiopic Clement (1 book)An epistle traditionally attributed as written by the apostle Peter to Clement. It should not be confused with 1 Clement or 2 Clement. Didascalia (Didesqelya) (1 book)A book of Church order in 43 chapters, distinct from the Didascalia Apostolorum, but similar to books I–VII of the Apostolic Constitutions, where it most likely originates.
The broader canon seems to have been created by Ethiopian scholars commenting on the Fetha Negest law code, which says that the canon contains 81 books, but only lists 73. The additional eight books were those presumed to be missing from the list.
List of books in the Orthodox Tewahedo Bible
In the Old Testament List of Old Testament books in the Orthodox Tewahedo Bible:
Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth I Samuel II Samuel I Kings II Kings I Chronicles II Chronicles Book of Jubilees Book of Enoch 1 Izra (Ezra) Nehemiah 3 Izra (Greek Esdras) Izra Sutuel ("Ezra Shealtiel", ie 4 Ezra) Tobit Judith Esther 1 Meqabyan 2 Meqabyan 3 Meqabyan (sometimes called Ethiopian Maccabees, but not the same as the four Greek Books of the Maccabees) Job Psalms Messale (Proverbs ch 1–24) Tagsas (Proverbs ch 25–31) Wisdom of Solomon Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Sirach Isaiah Jeremiah Baruch Lamentations Terefermias (Letter of Jeremiah) Teref Baruch (4 Baruch) Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Amos Micah Joel Obadiah Jonah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi
In the New Testament List of New Testament books in the Orthodox Tewahedo Bible.
Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John James Jude Revelation
In the Church Order List of Church Order books that are part of the broader canon:
SinodosPart of the Broader Canon. Ser'ata Seyon (30 canons) Te'ezaz (71 canons) Gessew (56 canons) Abtelis (81 canons) 1 Covenant 2 Covenant Ethiopic Clement Didascalia JosipponMetzger, Bruce M. (1993) "Bible." In Metzger, Bruce M.; Coogan, Michael David. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford University Press. p. 79.
See also
Aksumite Collection, a Ge'ez manuscript with liturgical and canon law texts Book of the Cock, a work sometimes used by Ethiopian Christians Fetha Negest, a legal code used by Ethiopian Christians Kebra Nagast, an Ethiopian national epic
Footnotes
Further reading Assefa, Daniel. "The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawāhǝdo Church (EOTC)." The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity (2022): 211 ff Covenant Christian Coalition. 2022.The Complete 54-Book Apocrypha: 2022 Edition With the Deuterocanon, 1-3 Enoch, Giants, Jasher, Jubilees, Pseudepigrapha, & the Apostolic Fathers. Covenant Press.
Contantinus Siamakis, Biblical Canon of the Orthodox Christian Church, Studies 1, 2008
External links Biblia Aethiopica—August Dillmann et al online edition of the Ethiopic Bible What's in Your Bible? —a chart comparing Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic, Syriac, Ethiopic, and Protestant canons (Bible Study Magazine Nov–Dec 08.)