Which apocryphal/deuterocanonical books like 1 Enoch and Jubilees are in the Ethiopian canon and absent from the KJV?
Executive summary
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo canon includes a number of ancient writings—most notably 1 Enoch and Jubilees—that are not part of the Protestant canon embodied in the King James Version (KJV), and scholars commonly count the Ethiopic canon at roughly 81 books (with some traditions extending to 84–88) versus the KJV’s 66 books [1] [2]. Those additional texts range from Jewish pseudepigrapha like 1 Enoch and Jubilees to uniquely Ethiopic compositions such as the three Meqabyan books and several apocryphal Ecclesiastical works [1] [3] [4].
1. The headline extras: 1 Enoch and Jubilees are canonical in Ethiopia but absent from the KJV
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church treats the Book of 1 Enoch (an early Jewish apocalypse) and the Book of Jubilees (a retelling of Genesis–Exodus history) as part of its Old Testament canon, while both are regarded as non‑canonical or pseudepigraphal in Protestant traditions and therefore absent from the 66‑book KJV Bible [1] [5] [4].
2. The “Meqabyan” trilogy — Ethiopian Maccabees that are not the same as western Maccabees
The canon includes three books called 1–3 Meqabyan (sometimes rendered “Ethiopian Maccabees”), which are distinct in content and origin from the Greek 1–4 Maccabees familiar in Catholic and Orthodox lists; these Meqabyan books are not found in the KJV Protestant canon [1] [6].
3. Baruch, Jeremiah-related books, and extra Ezra/Esdras writings
Ethiopic lists commonly include Baruch (and associated material such as the Letter of Jeremiah and 4 Baruch) and additional Esdras material—items that appear in some Eastern and Western traditions but do not belong to the Protestant KJV Old Testament [3] [6].
4. Church order and apostolic works treated as scripture in Ethiopia
Beyond narrative and prophetic books, the broader Ethiopic tradition sometimes counts works of church order and early Christian instruction—such as the Ethiopic Didascalia and an Ethiopic Clement—that are canonical in some Ethiopian lists yet absent from the KJV and Western canons [6] [3].
5. How many “extra” books and why counts differ
Sources vary: many contemporary descriptions put the core Ethiopian canon at 81 books (46 Old Testament, 35 New Testament), while other treatments give totals from 81 up to the 84–88 range because local lists and the “broader canon” can include additional liturgical or juridical works; by contrast the KJV follows the Protestant 66‑book canon established in Reformation-era practice [3] [2] [4].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas in the sources
Descriptions emphasizing uniqueness and antiquity—such as those from Ethiopian heritage and tourism sites—stress the Ethiopian canon’s age and breadth and may frame omissions in Western Bibles as losses [4] [2], while Protestant‑oriented commentators (e.g., GotQuestions) explain the difference as a result of historical development and the Reformation preference for the Hebrew‑Bible Old Testament boundary [1]. The Ethiopian Orthodox institutional site catalogs its own canonical list and highlights Septuagint influence and local tradition as drivers of inclusion [3].
7. What can be said authoritatively and what remains unsettled
It can be stated with confidence from the cited materials that 1 Enoch, Jubilees, the three Meqabyan books, Baruch/Letter of Jeremiah/4 Baruch, extra Esdras material, and certain Ethiopic ecclesiastical texts appear in Ethiopian canonical lists and are not part of the KJV Protestant canon [1] [3] [6] [4]. Precise totals and the boundaries of a “broader” versus “narrower” Ethiopic canon vary across sources and manuscript traditions, and some canonical claims reflect liturgical practice rather than a single, universally published Ethiopic compendium [6] [3].