Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon

The Orthodox Tewahedo churches currently have the largest and most diverse biblical canon within traditional Christendom. Western scholars have classified the books of the Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon into two categories — the narrower canon, which consists mostly of books familiar to the west, and the broader canon. While the main purpose of this article is to discuss and highlight the books that are exclusive to the broader canon, it is impossible to do this without at least some discussion of the narrower canon. The Orthodox Tewahedo broader canon in its fullest form includes the narrower canon in its entirety, as well as 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. While the narrower canon has indeed been published as one compilation, there may be no real emic distinction between the broader canon and the narrower canon, especially in so far as divine inspiration and scriptural authority are concerned — and more especially among clerics who may have a greater access to all of the writings. The idea of two such classifications may be nothing more than etic taxonomic conjecture.

Narrower biblical canon

Old Testament

The Orthodox Tewahedo narrower Old Testament canon contains the entire 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 books of Lamentations, Jeremiah, and Baruch, as well as the Letter of Jeremiah and 4 Baruch, are all considered canonical by the Orthodox Tewahedo churches. However, it is not always clear as to how these writings are arranged or divided. In some lists, they may simply fall under the title "Jeremiah," while in others, they are divided various ways into separate books. Moreover, the book of Proverbs is divided into two books — Messale (Prov. 1–24) and Tägsas (Prov. 25–31). Additionally, while the books of Jubilees and Enoch are fairly well-known among western scholars, 1, 2, and 3 Meqabyan are not. The three books of Meqabyan are often called the "Ethiopian Maccabees," but are completely different from the books of Maccabees that are known and/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 New Testament canon consists of the entire 27 book Christian protocanon, which is almost universally accepted across Christendom.

Broader biblical canon

Ethiopian Orthodox monk from Debre Damo Monastery with an illuminated Bible

In addition to the nine books discussed below, all of the aforementioned books of the narrower canon are also by definition part of the broader canon.

Old Testament

The Orthodox Tewahedo broader Old Testament has one additional book: the Ethiopic version of the Book of Joseph ben Gurion or Yosëf wäldä Koryon, elsewhere called Josippon, or referred to by its author, Pseudo-Josephus, categorizing its authorship as pseudepigraphaphical. The book is a history of the Jewish people thought to be based upon the writings of Josephus, in eight parts.

New Testament

The Orthodox Tewahedo broader New Testament canon has eight additional books. These are the four books of Sinodos, the two divisions of the Book of the Covenant, Ethiopic Clement, and the Ethiopic Didascalia. Most of the literature herein would either be considered part of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers or part of the Ancient Church Orders.

Sinodos

The Ethiopic canonical Sinodos are four books of church order traditionally attributed to the Apostles. They are as follows: Ser`atä Seyon (30 canons), Te'ezaz (71 canons), Gessew (56 canons), and Abtelis (81 canons). Much of the material contained within these books, with the exception of Ser`atä Seyon, is traditionally considered to be of Clementine origin. Other non-canonical parts of the Sinodos are included with these four books within the Ethiopic MSS.

The Book of the Covenant

Ethiopian Iyesus

The Book of the Covenant, or Mäshafä Kidan, is counted in two parts. Part one has sixty sections and is mostly about church order. Part two is the sixty-first section, and is a discourse of Jesus Christ to his disciples in Galilee following his resurrection.

Ethiopic Clement

The Ethiopic canonical book of Clement, or Qälëmentos, is distinct from the well known Epistles of Saint Clement—1 Clement and 2 Clement—as well as the aforementioned Clementine Sinodos and any other Clementine literature known in other traditions. It is a uniquely Ethiopic book in seven parts, purportedly by Peter to Clement of Rome.

Ethiopic Didascalia

The Ethiopic Didascalia, or Didesqelya, is 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 finds its origins.

List of books in the Orthodox Tewahedo Bible

Old Testament

1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy
6. Joshua
7. Judges
8. Ruth
9. I and II Samuel
10. I and II Kings
11. I Chronicles
12. II Chronicles (incl. the Prayer of Manasseh)
13. Jubilees
14. Enoch
15. I Ezra
16. II Ezra
17. Ezra Sutuel
18. Tobit
19. Judith
20. Esther
21. I, II and III Meqabyan (Similarly named, but not the same as the four Greek Books of the Maccabees. )
22. Job
23. Psalms
24. Messalë (Proverbs ch 1–24)
25. Tägsas ("Reproof"; Proverbs ch 25–31)
26. Wisdom of Solomon
27. Ecclesiastes
28. Song of Songs
29. Isaiah
30. Jeremiah (incl. Lamentations, Letter of Jeremiah, Baruch and 4 Baruch)
31. Ezekiel
32. Daniel
33. Hosea
34. Amos
35. Micah
36. Joel
37. Obadiah
38. Jonah
39. Nahum (or Nahium)
40. Habakkuk
41. Zephaniah
42. Haggai
43. Zechariah
44. Malachi
45. Sirach
46. Josippon

New Testament

1. Matthew
2. Mark
3. Luke
4. John
5. Acts
6. Romans
7. I Corinthians
8. II Corinthians
9. Galatians
10. Ephesians
11. Philippians
12. Colossians
13. I Thessalonians
14. II Thessalonians
15. I Timothy
16. II Timothy
17. Titus
18. Philemon
19. Hebrews
20. I Peter
21. II Peter
22. I John
23. II John
24. III John
25. James
26. Jude
27. Revelation
28. Sinodos
    • Ser`atä Seyon (30 canons)
    • Te'ezaz (71 canons)
    • Gessew (56 canons)
    • Abtelis (81 canons)
29. I-II Covenant
30. Ethiopic Clement
31. Ethiopic Didascalia

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.)
• Contantinus Siamakis, Biblical Canon of the Orthodox Christian Church, Studies 1, 2008