Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon

Part of  a series on
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodox churches
Coptic Syriac Armenian Indian Cilicia Orthodox Tewahedo Ethiopian Eritrean
Independent churches Coptic: British Syriac: Malabar Independent
Autonomous churches Coptic: French Coptic Orthodox Church Armenian: Constantinople, Jerusalem Syriac: Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
History and theology History of Oriental Orthodoxy: Coptic history Tewahedo history Syriac history Saint Thomas Christians Ecumenical Councils: Nicaea I Constantinople I Ephesus I Ephesus II Ephesus III Dvin I Dvin II Dvin III Dvin IV Manzikert Capharthutha Shirakavan Hromkla Theology: Miaphysitism Non-Chalcedonian Christianity
Liturgy and practices Anaphora & Rites: Alexandrian Rite Anaphora of Saint Gregory Armenian Rite West Syriac Rite Liturgy of Saint James Liturgy of Saint Basil Liturgy of Saint Cyril Malankara Rite Holy Qurobo Calendars: Armenian Coptic Ethiopian Julian Gregorian Bible: Peshitta Coptic Bible Armenian Bible Orthodox Tewahedo Bible Cross: Coptic cross Armenian Cross St. Thomas Cross Ethiopian cross
Major figures Cyril of Alexandria Mor Addai Abgar V Gregory the Illuminator Nine Saints of Ethiopia Tiridates III Mar Awgin Athanasius of Alexandria Ephrem the Syrian Ezana of Axum Frumentius Shenoute Mesrop Mashtots Dioscorus of Alexandria Severus of Antioch Abraham of Farshut Yared Simon the Tanner Gregory of Narek Nerses IV Michael the Syrian Bar Hebraeus Tekle Haymanot Giyorgis of Segla Mar Thoma I Gregorios Abdal Jaleel Geevarghese Gregorios
Related topics Abuna Catholicos Maphrian Ethiopian titles Apostolic Church-Ordinance Coptic monasticism Coptic saints Debtera Coonan Cross Oath Ethiopian chant Fast of Nineveh Coptic fasting Tewahedo fasting Timkat
Links and resources Category Media Templates WikiProject
Christianity portal
v t e

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 diverse 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.^[1][2]

Narrower canon

Old Testament

Hebrew Bible (Judaism)
Torah (Instruction) Genesis Bereshit Exodus Shemot Leviticus Wayiqra Numbers Bemidbar Deuteronomy Devarim Nevi'im (Prophets) Former Joshua Yehoshua Judges Shofetim Samuel Shemuel Kings Melakhim Latter Isaiah Yeshayahu Jeremiah Yirmeyahu Ezekiel Yekhezqel Minor  Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Ketuvim (Writings) Poetic Psalms Tehillim Proverbs Mishlei Job Iyov Five Megillot (Scrolls) Song of Songs Shir Hashirim Ruth Rut Lamentations Eikhah Ecclesiastes Qohelet Esther Ester Historical Daniel Daniyyel Ezra–Nehemiah Ezra Chronicles Divre Hayyamim
Old Testament (Christianity)
Pentateuch Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Historical Joshua Judges Ruth 1–2 Samuel 1–2 Kings 1–2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Wisdom Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Prophetic Major prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Minor prophets Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Deuterocanonical Tobit Judith Additions to Esther 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Wisdom of Solomon Sirach Baruch / Letter of Jeremiah Additions to Daniel Orthodox only 1 Esdras 2 Esdras Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151 3 Maccabees 4 Maccabees Odes Orthodox Tewahedo Enoch Jubilees 1, 2, and 3 Meqabyan Paralipomena of Baruch Josippon Broader canon
Bible portal
v t e

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 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. Additionally, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Books of Ethiopian Maccabees 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 New Testament canon consists of the entire 27 book Christian protocanon, which is almost universally accepted across Christendom.^[1]

Broader canon

The broader canon adds to the 81 books of the Tewahedo bible the following:^[3]

• Josippon (1 book)
• Sinodos (4 books)
• Book of Covenant (2 books)
• Ethiopic Clement (1 book)
• Didascalia (1 book)

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 originates. Ethiopic Clement should not be confused with 1 Clement or 2 Clement.^[2]

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.^[3]

List of books in the Orthodox Tewahedo Bible

Part of a series on the
Bible
Canons and books Tanakh Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim Old Testament (OT) New Testament (NT) Deuterocanon Antilegomena Chapters and verses Apocrypha Jewish OT NT
Authorship and development Authorship Dating Hebrew canon Old Testament canon New Testament canon Composition of the Torah Mosaic authorship Pauline epistles Petrine epistles Johannine works
Translations and manuscripts Dead Sea scrolls Masoretic Text Samaritan Pentateuch Targumim Septuagint Peshitta Vetus Latina Vulgate Gothic Bible Luther Bible English Bibles by language
Biblical studies Archeology Artifacts Dating Historicity Internal consistency People Places Names Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Rahlfs' Septuagint Novum Testamentum Graece Documentary hypothesis Synoptic problem NT textual categories Biblical criticism Historical Textual Source Form Redaction Canonical
Interpretation Hermeneutics Pesher Midrash Pardes Allegorical interpretation Historical-grammatical method Inspiration Literalism Alcohol Conspiracy theory Ethics Capital punishment Homosexuality Humor Incest Muhammad Prophecy Rape Serpents Sex Slavery Violence Warfare Women
Perspectives Gnostic Islamic Quranic Inerrancy Infallibility Criticism of the Bible Biblical authority
Outline of Bible-related topics  Bible portal
v t e

In the Old Testament

List of Old Testament books in the Orthodox Tewahedo Bible:^[4]

In the New Testament

List of New Testament books in the Orthodox Tewahedo Bible, including the broader canon:^[1]

See also

• Fetha Negest, a legal code used by Ethiopian Christians
• Book of the Cock, a work sometimes used by Ethiopian Christians

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.
• Curtin, D.P., ed. (2018). First Book of Ethiopian Maccabees. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Press.
• Harden, J.M., ed. (1920). The Ethiopian Didascalia.
• Mikre-Sellassie, Gebre-Amanuel (1993). "The Bible and Its Canon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church". The Bible Translator. 44 (1): 111–123. doi:10.1177/026009359304400102.
• Platt, Thomas Pell, ed. (1834). The Ethiopic Didascalia; or, the Ethiopic version of the Apostolical constitutions, received in the church of Abyssinia. London: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
• Wanger, Anke (2011), The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (PDF), Euclid University
• Baynes, Leslie (2012). "Enoch and Jubilees in the Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church". In F. Mason, Eric; Coblentz Bautch, Kelley; Kim Harkins, Angela; A. Machiela, Daniel (eds.). A Teacher for All Generations: Essays in Honor of James C. VanderKam (2 vol. set). Vol. 2. Leiden, Boston: BRILL. pp. 799–818 – via Academia.edu.

• 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.)

This page was last edited on 21 December 2023, at 23:26