What role do the books of Enoch and Jubilees play in Ethiopian biblical interpretation?
Executive summary
The books of 1 Enoch and Jubilees occupy an accepted scriptural place within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo canon, influencing theology, liturgy, and biblical interpretation in ways distinct from most other Christian traditions [1] [2]. Their presence deepens emphasis on cosmic order, angelology, moral seriousness, and calendrical history, and scholars trace both works’ ancient authority and textual transmission into the Ethiopic corpus [3] [4].
1. Canonical status and liturgical presence
Ethiopian Orthodox lists traditionally include 1 Enoch (Henoch) and Jubilees (Kufale) among the church’s wider Old Testament, contributing to an eighty-one‑book canon in which these texts are treated as scripture rather than merely apocrypha [1] [5]. The official Ethiopian canon explicitly names Enoch and Jubilees as part of the Old Testament collection and the Ethiopic Bible tradition preserves full versions of both books in Geʽez manuscripts that underpin liturgical and devotional use [1] [2].
2. Theological content that reshapes interpretation
Enoch’s material—especially the Book of the Watchers—brings pronounced emphases on angelic activity, the origin of evil through heavenly rebellion, and the moral consequences of transgression, themes that Ethiopian commentators use to frame teaching on holiness and the seriousness of sin [2] [3]. Jubilees offers a redrawn chronology and a theologically ordered history—calculating time in “jubilees” and presenting a providential structure to events from creation to Moses—which reinforces a theological reading of sacred history and liturgical time within Ethiopian practice [6] [3].
3. Interpretive traditions and the andemta method
Scholars note that 1 Enoch has had a lasting interpretive role in Ethiopian exegesis, in part through indigenous traditions such as andemta—authoritative interpretive frameworks that integrate Enochic themes into readings of the Pentateuch and prophetic material [2] [5]. Jubilees’ midrashic retelling of Genesis and Exodus supplies canonicalized expansions—on chronology, angelic orders, and covenant fidelity—that Ethiopian interpreters deploy to fill narrative and legal lacunae in their liturgical and homiletic life [6] [4].
4. Textual history and preservation in Geʽez manuscripts
The most complete early manuscripts of 1 Enoch survive in Geʽez, and modern critical editions distinguish Geʽez manuscript families that preserve readings closer to earlier Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek forms, showing why these books remained authoritative in Ethiopian textual culture [2]. Jubilees, likewise, survives fully in Ethiopic and appears to have resonated with priestly and calendrical interests—evidence that the Ethiopian canon preserved texts which elsewhere existed only in fragments or translations [6] [4].
5. Practical effects: liturgy, calendar, and moral teaching
Jubilees’ fixation on sacred chronology and festival timing supports the Ethiopian church’s strong sense of liturgical time and ritual order, and Enoch’s moral and cosmic warnings have been cited in preaching and devotional literature to underline obedience and eschatological expectation without supplanting core Gospel doctrine [3]. Editions and English translations marketed to readers of the Ethiopian tradition highlight these practical roles—presenting Enoch and Jubilees as contextual frames for understanding holiness and the unfolding of salvation history [7] [3].
6. Scholarly debate and broader Christian reception
Academics acknowledge that both books enjoyed degrees of authoritative status in antiquity—attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Christian literature—and that their canonical survival in Ethiopia reflects ancient pluralism in what counted as scripture [4] [5]. Outside Ethiopia the books were largely excluded from most canons by the fifth century, a divergence that fuels scholarly discussion over why Ethiopian tradition retained them and how that retention shaped distinctive theological emphases [2] [5].
Conclusion
In Ethiopian biblical interpretation, Enoch and Jubilees function as integral scripture that informs cosmology, angelology, moral urgency, and the ordering of sacred time; their survival in Geʽez manuscripts and integration into liturgy and exegesis make them more than curiosities—they are formative texts shaping how the Ethiopian church reads the Bible and understands history, worship, and ethics [2] [6] [3].