Fact check: Which biblical books are included in the Ethiopian Bible but not in the King James Version?

1. Why the Ethiopian canon looks so different — a short, revealing history

The Ethiopian canon’s distinctiveness results from different historical processes of transmission and community recognition, producing a body of scriptures far larger than the 66-book Protestant KJV. Modern descriptions of the Ethiopian collection portray it as including a 70-book apocrypha and additional writings that circulated in Ethiopian Christianity for centuries ^[1]. Scholarly surveys about canonical variation emphasize that the Protestant canon deliberately excluded certain Old Testament books — often called deuterocanonical or apocryphal — such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), 1–2 Maccabees, and Baruch, which remain in Catholic and many Orthodox traditions but were largely rejected by Reformers and the translators behind the KJV ^{[3] [2]}.

2. Which named books appear in the Ethiopian corpus but not in the KJV — specifics that matter

Recent compilations and published collections assert that the Ethiopian Bible includes the Book of Jubilees, 1 Enoch and 2 Enoch, the book called Jasher, Esdras, and extra gospels like the Gospel of Thomas, alongside the deuterocanonical Old Testament works absent from the KJV ^[1]. These titles signal both an expanded Old Testament and a reception of some early Jewish and Christian writings that other major canons marginalized or omitted. The listing in available modern editions claims a total corpus beyond the KJV’s 66, often described in popular editions as a 70-book set ^[1].

3. How mainstream scholarship and popular sources frame these differences

Academic treatments and popular compilations approach the Ethiopian canon differently: scholarly overviews typically situate the deuterocanonical books in discussions of Catholic-Protestant divergence, noting the seven traditional deuterocanonical books and additions to Daniel and Esther that Protestants like those who produced the KJV excluded ^{[3] [4]}. Popular or commercial editions of “Complete Ethiopian Bible” collections go further, advertising inclusion of less widely accepted texts — Jubilees, Enochic writings, Jasher, Esdras, and extra gospels — which they present as “lost” or “apocryphal” material now reclaimed in Ethiopian compilations ^{[1] [5]}.

4. Credibility and limits of the available summaries — what to trust and what’s missing

The available analyses show variance in reliability: one cited source is unavailable ^[6], another is a commercial listing that may emphasize marketable claims ^[5], and a third is a compilation that enumerates many extra books ^[1]. Scholarly discussions about canonical formation (summarized in sources about removed books) are more cautious, focusing on the mainstream deuterocanonical set and on criteria used historically to include or exclude texts ^{[2] [3]}. Readers should therefore treat commercial compilations of the “Ethiopian Bible” as useful but not definitive evidence of exact canonical boundaries, and balance them with academic studies of Ethiopian manuscript traditions.

5. Where the disagreements and interpretive choices really lie

Differences stem from competing historical criteria — language, liturgical usage, apostolic attribution, and ecclesiastical acceptance — that produced diverging lists in communities from Alexandria to Ethiopia to the Reformation churches. The Protestant KJV canon reflects Reformation-era decisions to exclude the deuterocanonical books and other early Christian writings; by contrast, Ethiopian Christianity preserved a broader corpus including Jewish pseudepigrapha and some early Christian literature ^{[2] [1]}. This explains why the Ethiopian collection contains both the familiar deuterocanonical books and more unusual texts such as multiple Enoch traditions and Jubilees.

6. What this means for readers, students, and researchers today

For lay readers and scholars, the practical implication is that “the Ethiopian Bible” denotes a significantly larger, historically rooted canon with content overlapping Catholic and Orthodox deuterocanonical works and extending into less canonical literature recognized in Ethiopian tradition. Those investigating specific texts should consult critical editions or academic surveys of Ethiopian manuscripts rather than relying solely on commercial compilations; the existing summaries flag important differences but vary in rigor ^{[1] [3]}. The most reliable approach combines philological study of Ge’ez manuscripts with secondary scholarship on canon formation to verify exactly which books appear in particular Ethiopian editions.

7. Bottom line: a cautious, evidence-based catalogue of differences

Based on the available analyses, the Ethiopian canon includes texts not in the KJV such as Jubilees, 1 and 2 Enoch, Jasher, Esdras, the Gospel of Thomas, plus the deuterocanonical Old Testament books (e.g., Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, 1–2 Maccabees, Baruch and additions) that were excluded from the Protestant canon ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Given variation among manuscripts and editions, any definitive list requires checking a specific Ethiopian manuscript or printed edition, and readers should use scholarly editions for authoritative verification rather than single commercial or summary sources.