The Ethiopian Bible: Which Books It Includes and Why

The Ethiopian Bible is the Scripture of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and it is traditionally counted as 81 books. That number is larger than the 66 books most Protestant Bibles contain, and larger than the Catholic and Orthodox canons as well. The extra books include works many Western readers have never seen in a Bible, such as 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and 1–3 Meqabyan. The church’s classical language is Ge’ez, and its canon took shape in that world rather than in Latin or Greek. It is worth saying at the start that counts and lists vary between editions, and the exact contents are not uniform. So when someone asks how many books are in the Ethiopian Bible, the honest answer is: 81 is the traditional figure, but you will find differences in printed copies and in how communities list them.

Why does the Ethiopian canon look different from mine?

Every Christian canon grew in a particular place. The Ethiopian church has ancient roots, and its Scriptures were translated and gathered in Ge’ez. Over centuries it received a wider collection than the one that became standard in the Greek-speaking East, in Latin-speaking Europe, and later in the Protestant Reformation.

The wider collection includes books that Jewish and Christian communities elsewhere did not keep as Scripture. Among them are 1 Enoch and Jubilees, and 1–3 Meqabyan. Those Meqabyan books are not the same as 1–2 Maccabees, despite the similar sound of the name. They are distinct works.

This is not a case of one church adding books carelessly. It is a case of different churches preserving different libraries. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has kept its own received books, and it reads them as part of its life of worship and teaching.

What is the Book of Enoch, and why is it in the Ethiopian Bible?

1 Enoch is an ancient Jewish work that is not part of the Protestant or Catholic Old Testament (see who wrote the Book of Enoch for its origins). The Ethiopian church includes it. That single fact explains a lot of the curiosity around the Ethiopian Bible.

The New Testament gives an interesting detail here. Jude, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, names Enoch as the speaker of a prophecy that is found in 1 Enoch:

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones” — Jude 1:14 (BSB)

Jude does not say he is quoting a canonical book; he names Enoch as the speaker of the prophecy. This shows that the early church knew this tradition and that Jude could appeal to it. It does not by itself settle whether 1 Enoch belongs in the canon. But it does explain why the book has never been simply ignored in Christian history, and why its presence in the Ethiopian Bible is not as strange as it first sounds.

Why do most other churches not include these books?

The short answer is that most churches settled on a narrower list. Protestants hold to the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. Catholic Christians receive a larger Old Testament that includes the deuterocanonical books, and Orthodox Christians often receive more than that. The Ethiopian church receives more still.

These differences did not arise from carelessness on any side. They arose from different histories of copying, translating, and deciding which books were read aloud in worship. The Protestant Reformers asked which books had been received by the Jewish community and by the wider church as authoritative, and they concluded that the narrower list was the right one. Catholic and Orthodox Christians point to the long use of the wider books in their liturgies and in the writings of the early church. Ethiopian Christians point to their own ancient tradition and to books their church has treasured for centuries.

The translations quoted on this site follow the 66-book canon, and the book guides here are written on that basis. That can be said while honoring the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which has kept the faith of Christ across many centuries and has its own deep reasons for the books it receives.

How many books are in the Ethiopian Bible, and are the lists the same everywhere?

81 is the number you will hear most often. It is the traditional count of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. But treat that number as a traditional summary rather than a rigid table of contents.

Editions differ. Some printed Bibles group books together; some divide them differently. Some lists include works that others place in a separate section. The church’s canon is not uniform in the way a modern printed Protestant Bible is uniform.

That is not a defect. It is simply what happens when a canon is received across many centuries and in many manuscripts. If you pick up an Ethiopian Bible, expect to find the familiar books of the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, and the New Testament (listed in order here), along with books that are not in your Bible. Expect the count to be explained as 81, and expect the details to vary a little depending on which edition you are holding.

What should I do with this information?

The Ethiopian Bible is a reminder that the church is bigger than any one tradition, and that God has preserved His Word among many peoples. It should also send you back to the Scriptures you have.

Read Jude, and notice how the Holy Spirit used a line that was known in the ancient world to warn about false teachers. Read the Psalms and the Prophets and the Gospels. Pray that God would give you a love for His Word and a humble heart toward Christians who read a different table of contents than you do.

If you want to go further, talk with a pastor or a mature believer in your local church. Ask them how the canon was recognized and why it matters. A local church is the right place to work through questions like this, with prayer and with patience.

Scripture, prayer, and a local church are the ordinary means God uses to keep His people steady. The Ethiopian Bible is an interesting subject. The risen Christ is the center of it all.

Common questions

How many books are in the Ethiopian Bible?

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church traditionally counts 81 books. That number is a traditional summary rather than a fixed table of contents, and printed editions vary in how they group and list the books.

Is the Book of Enoch in the Ethiopian Bible?

Yes. 1 Enoch is included in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s received books. It is not part of the Protestant or Catholic Old Testament, though Jude 1:14 names Enoch as the speaker of a prophecy found in 1 Enoch.

Are 1-3 Meqabyan the same as 1-2 Maccabees?

No. 1-3 Meqabyan are distinct books in the Ethiopian tradition, and they are not the same works as 1-2 Maccabees. The similar sound of the names can be confusing.

Why do most other churches not include these books?

Most churches settled on a narrower canon. Protestants hold to the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments; Catholic and Orthodox Christians receive a wider Old Testament. The Ethiopian church receives more still, based on its own ancient tradition and manuscripts.