Facts about The Ethiopian Bible
- 07
Ethiopian Orthodox monks hand-copied the entire Bible onto parchment using natural inks derived from plants and minerals, with some manuscripts taking over a decade to complete.
- 06
The Ethiopian Bible's Ethiopic text uses a unique script called Ge'ez fidel, which arranges 33 consonants with 7 vowel modifications creating 231 distinct characters per consonant.
- 05
Included in the Ethiopian Bible is the Book of Jubilees, a text largely absent from other Christian canons but considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
- 04
Preserved copies of the Ethiopian Bible rank among the oldest illustrated Christian manuscripts in existence, reflecting centuries of monastic scribal tradition.
- 03
Among the books included in the Ethiopian Bible is the Book of Enoch, a text excluded from most other Christian and Jewish biblical canons.
- 02
Ge'ez, the ancient Semitic liturgical language in which the Ethiopian Bible is written, is no longer spoken as a native tongue but remains central to Ethiopian Orthodox worship.
- 01
Unique among Christian biblical canons, the Ethiopian Bible used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church contains 81 books, more than any other tradition.