The 81 books of the Ethiopian Bible
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church keeps one of the largest biblical canons in Christianity. Where a Protestant Bible has 66 books and a Catholic Bible 73, the Ethiopian canon is traditionally counted at 81 — and it includes ancient books that almost every other Bible has left out. This is a short, plain guide to what is in it, and what you can already read here.
The books most Bibles don’t have
Alongside the books shared with other churches (Tobit, Judith, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, the longer Daniel and Esther, and more), the Ethiopian canon preserves several writings found in no other Bible used today:
- 1 Enoch (Henok) — the Book of Enoch, quoted directly in the New Testament letter of Jude (Jude 1:14–15). For centuries it survived complete only in Geʽez, long after it was lost in Greek and Hebrew.
- Jubilees (Kufale) — a retelling of Genesis and the first chapters of Exodus, likewise preserved in full only in Geʽez.
- The three books of Meqabyan — the Ethiopian books of the Maccabees, distinct from the Greek Maccabees of other canons.
- 4 Baruch (the Rest of the Words of Baruch / Paralipomena of Jeremiah), and other writings such as 2 Esdras.
Exactly how the books are grouped and counted to reach “81” varies between lists, and the Church speaks of a broader and a narrower canon — but the heart of it is this: the Geʽez tradition carried forward scripture that the rest of the world set down. (The program on this site stores these scriptures as an 83-book superset — its numbering counts some works separately and includes the broader canon’s texts.)
Why it matters that it’s in Geʽez
Because books like Enoch and Jubilees were kept by the Ethiopian Church in Geʽez when they had vanished elsewhere, the Geʽez manuscripts are not just a translation — for some of scripture, they are the oldest complete witness we have. Reading the Geʽez is, in a real sense, reading a thread of the Bible that runs unbroken from the ancient world.
What you can read here now
This project is transcribing the Geʽez Bible from the manuscripts, book by book, and putting it online to read freely — Geʽez beside a literal English translation. Complete so far:
- The Psalms — all 151, in the Geʽez (Septuagint) numbering.
- 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel — complete.
- 1 Kings — the chapters transcribed so far.
The distinctive books — Enoch, Jubilees, Meqabyan and the rest — are being transcribed and will appear here as each is finished. You can follow the work, book by book, on the progress page, and read more about how the text is made.