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What are the names of the books unique to the Ethiopian Bible?
Executive summary
The Ethiopian Orthodox (Tewahedo) biblical canon contains many books not found in most Western Bibles — most commonly cited unique titles include 1 Enoch, Jubilees, the three Books of Meqabyan (Ethiopian Maccabees), and additional Esdras/Baruch material — and the full church lists 81 books (46 OT + 35 NT) in its standard canon [1]. Reporting and commercial editions vary (some claim up to 88 or “300” books); scholars and church materials warn the exact contents and counts differ by edition and tradition [2] [3].
1. Why the Ethiopian canon looks different — an institutional explanation
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church presents a formally distinct canon: their official materials list 46 Old Testament books and 35 New Testament books for a total of 81 canonical books, and they describe inclusion of writings drawn from the Septuagint plus additional texts long used in Ethiopian liturgy and teaching [1]. That institutional count explains why Ethiopia’s Bible includes writings that Protestant and Catholic traditions generally omit [1].
2. Which books are repeatedly described as “unique” to Ethiopia
Multiple sources repeatedly name a short list of works as unique or especially characteristic of the Ethiopian canon: the Book of Enoch (often “1 Enoch”), the Book of Jubilees, the Paralipomena of Jeremiah / 4 Baruch, and the three Books of Meqabyan (1–3 Meqabyan) — the last called “Ethiopian Maccabees” but noted as different from the Maccabees familiar to other traditions [4] [5] [6]. Authoritative church lists also note additions such as expanded Esther and Daniel material and extra Esdras/Baruch material [1] [6].
3. Variability in counts and extra titles — why some say 81, 85, 88 or more
Commercial compilations and some modern editions advertise larger totals (one book blurb cites an “88-book” edition that includes Enoch, Jubilees, three Meqabyan books, plus expanded Esther and Daniel), while the Ethiopian Orthodox site presents 81 books as its canonical total [2] [1]. Academic treatments point out that traditional lists and local manuscripts sometimes differ, and that extra “church order” or liturgical books can be appended, which creates discrepancies between 81, 85, 88 or even higher counts in popular descriptions [7] [2].
4. What “Meqabyan” and other similarly named books actually are
The three Books of Meqabyan are consistently singled out as distinctive: they appear under a familiar name (Maccabees) but are different in content from the Greek/Western Maccabees. Sources emphasize that while the name echoes “Maccabees,” Meqabyan texts are unique to the Ethiopian tradition and should not be conflated with the four Greek-language books called Maccabees in some other canons [4] [8].
5. Manuscript, liturgical, and translation factors that shape differences
The Ethiopian canon was transmitted chiefly in Ge’ez and shaped by use in liturgy, education, and law codes (references to the Fetha Negest and church orders are cited in scholarly discussions); that local textual history produces variant boundaries between “scripture,” “church orders,” and “pseudepigrapha” that Western readers may not expect [1] [7]. Translation projects and retail publishers sometimes compile different sets when producing “complete” Ethiopian Bibles in English, which contributes to public confusion [3] [9].
6. Competing viewpoints and caveats readers should note
Ethiopian Orthodox institutional material (the church’s canonical list) asserts an 81-book canon and lists many of the specific works cited above [1]. Commercial and popular sources sometimes inflate counts (claiming 88, 300, or 300+ books) or package additional liturgical/pseudepigraphal material as “scripture” [3] [2]. Scholarly analyses point to both genuine uniqueness and local editorial practices — readers should distinguish canonical books (per the church list) from appended or popular collections [7] [4].
7. How to verify particulars if you need exact titles
If you need a precise list for study or citation, consult the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s canonical list (which enumerates 46 OT and 35 NT books) and compare published editions that provide front-matter book lists; translation projects and the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible Project also publish English renderings of many of the Ethiopia-only books [1] [9]. Commercial “complete” volumes may include extra apocrypha or editorial supplements, so check each edition’s contents page before assuming it reflects official church canon [2] [3].
Limitations: available sources supplied here name and stress Enoch, Jubilees, 1–3 Meqabyan, Paralipomena of Jeremiah/4 Baruch, expanded Esther/Daniel and extra Esdras/Baruch material as distinctives, and give the church’s 81-book figure; more exhaustive, definitive book-by-book listings are provided by the Ethiopian Orthodox site and specialist translations cited above [1] [9].