The Ethiopian Bible

Christians should be in pursuit of truth (Prov 23:23, Jn 8:31-32, Jn 18:37, 1Cor 5:8, Eph 6:14, 2Tim 2:15). Sometimes people get sidetracked into following various "rabbit holes" of sensationalized, mystical, and supposedly hidden doctrines. The Bible is a revelation of truth, not an obscuring of it (2Tim 3:14-17), 2Pet 1:19-21). The word mystery only appears in the King James Version in the New Testament and not the Old, where is appears 22 times in the singular. It is almost always referring to the gospel which was not known before it was revealed (Rom 16:25-26, Col 1:26-27). Any representation of its teaching that tries to turn it into a mystical secret code that someone now can decipher is usually an error. Some people are prone to seeking a new doctrine or interpretation that overmystifies the plain teaching of scripture. This can lead to false, unscriptural doctrine (Gal 1:6-9, 1 and 2Tim, Titus). Doctrine about angels is a particular and common example. There are angels, but some teach things about them that are not scripturally sound (Col 2:18). Sometimes these mystical doctrines are not only unsupported by scripture, they openly contradict it.

The topic of Bible manuscripts and translations is a vast subject, but it can be generally simplified into two vital points - the manuscripts translated from and the method of translation. Any translation that is based on inaccurate or spurious manuscripts such as the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus should be discounted on that basis alone. Translations that were not made following important principles such as the belief that the Bible is the word of God and that each word is to be translated faithfully are essential. It may be surprising, but many modern translations do not adhere to these fundamental beliefs. Some documents should not even be called translations because they diverge so far from the text.

The Ethiopian Bible is fascinating to some, but all of the above as well as other things should be taken into consideration before giving weight to it and calling it scripture. It is often called the oldest and most complete Bible, but closer examination will bring serious doubt to this claim. There are various dates put forth for its origin, but none say it is before the fourth century AD. That is at least 200-300 years after the New Testament was completed in around 90 AD. The oldest existing copies of it are around 1000 years after that. It was not written in Hebrew or Greek as the valid manuscripts were. It was written in an extinct language called Ge'et which was not spoken widely. Although there were Jewish and Christian communities in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Bible was not widely known or considered scripture outside Ethiopia, and it was never recognized by Jews as scripture. Its history is somewhat unclear and has conflicting accounts. It is said to originate with the Towahedo culture and is sometimes called the Towahedo Bible.

The Ethiopian Bible is neither the oldest nor the most complete Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls are centuries older. Papyrus 66 is an old copy of most of the book of John. Its exact date is debated, but it is from 150-200 AD, making it possibly within 50 years of the original. Papyrus 52 is a fragment containing part of John 18. Its exact dating is also debated, but it too could be within 50-100 years of the original. The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament that dates to around 200 BC. So, why do people say it is the oldest Bible? It was the oldest illustrated Bible, but somehow that got turned into it being the oldest Bible.

It contains books called the Garima gospels. They not only contain extrabiblical material, but they are also dated to be the oldest parts, again around 400 AD. The Ethiopian Bible also contains about 15 other extrabiblical books which contain fanciful, mystical material which contradicts the Bible and does not harmonize with its character. It has 46 books in the Old Testament instead of 39, and it has 35 books in the New Testament instead of 27. It places traditions on the same level as scripture and does not adhere to the doctrine of the canon of scripture being the final authority. It contains spurious material on angels and the "missing" years of Jesus.

Probably the most famous book included in the Ethiopian Bible is Enoch, or more precisely 1Enoch. It is certain it was not written by the Enoch mentioned in Genesis 5:19-24. This would make its authorship at around 5000 years ago and before the flood. This leads us to the reference made of it in Jude 14-15. If the book of 1Enoch contains unbiblical material, especially about angels, why would Jude quote it? Citing one sentence of a book does not automatically confer approval to everything in the book. For example, when Paul was preaching on Mars Hill in Athens, he quoted two pagan poets in Acts 17:28. He was building a bridge for the Greeks by citing material they would be familiar with to make his point. This does not mean he condoned the pagan worldview of the authors he quoted. He also did this in Titus 1:12. False interpretations of Genesis 6, extrabiblical rankings, naming, and categorizing of angels, errant categorizations of people like Melchizedek, and other errors are not automatically validated by Jude's quotation. Why did Jude say that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, was the author? It was probably a widely held belief at the time that he was citing, not necessarily something he believed himself.

We need to give due diligence to examine things before we accept them and start repeating them (2Tim 2:15). If we have not validated something, we should avoid believing and repeating it until we have done so. Doctrine is a very serious matter (Gal 1:6-9, 1Tim 4:16). People who are serious about pursuing truth need to give due diligence to their efforts.