What role does the Ge'ez language play in Ethiopian biblical manuscripts and translations?

1. What scholars and discoveries claim about Ge'ez’s centrality to Ethiopian scripture

Multiple recent analyses converge on the claim that Ge'ez functioned as the primary language for Ethiopian Christian scripture and ritual, forming the backbone of manuscript culture since late antiquity. One thread emphasizes newly studied Ge'ez Orit manuscripts preserved within Beta Israel communities and kesim custodians, arguing these texts reveal an early, localized textual tradition that was hidden from scholarship until recent Tel Aviv University-led work ^[1]. Another overview situates Ge'ez within a nearly 2,000-year literary history, crediting it with preserving translations, theological works, and historical chronicles across Aksumite, Zagwe, and Solomonic periods ^[2]. Institutional manuscript collections and monastery workshops continue to be cited as evidence of the language’s long-term centrality in producing and preserving biblical texts ^[4].

2. The historical timeline: early translations and the claim of antiquity

Sources consistently date the translation activity into Ge'ez to the Christianization of Aksum in the 4th century and propose that the translation process extended into the 6th century, producing an Ethiopic Bible used liturgically thereafter. One account frames this as a gradual, multi-century enterprise drawing on Greek and possibly Syriac source texts, with translators working over generations and producing a corpus that included canonical and deuterocanonical works ^[5]. Radiocarbon-supported examples like the Garima Gospels are presented as material evidence for very early, possibly complete Ge'ez Gospel books, reinforcing claims that some Ge'ez translations are among the world’s oldest Bible translations ^[3].

3. Manuscripts and emblematic artifacts that shape the narrative

Analyses foreground specific manuscripts — notably the Garima Gospels and collections housed in national and monastic archives — as exemplars of Ge'ez’s manuscript tradition. The Garima codices are highlighted as exceptionally early illustrated Gospel books with radiocarbon support, while new findings from Beta Israel holdings are framed as expanding the known corpus of Ge'ez biblical material and demonstrating diversity within Ethiopian textual traditions ^{[3] [1]}. Institutional collections, such as the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and monastic repositories, are cited for maintaining extensive Ge'ez holdings and for revealing ongoing manuscript production and conservation practices that sustain the language’s scriptural role ^[4].

4. Textual sources, canonical scope, and scholarly disagreements

Analysts agree that Ge'ez translations incorporated more than the narrow Western canon, including deuterocanonical and pseudepigraphal works such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees, which shaped Ethiopian ecclesial canons distinctly from other Christian traditions ^[5]. Debate persists over the precise manuscript ancestors used: many scholars argue Greek (possibly the Septuagint) was primary for Old Testament renderings, while some suggest Syriac influences; later revisions and editorial episodes across centuries complicate claims of a single source text ^[5]. These differing claims reflect varying methodologies and partial evidence, leaving room for competing reconstructions of how translators worked and which exemplars they followed.

5. Ge'ez today: liturgy, education, and cultural identity

Contemporary sources describe Ge'ez as an active liturgical medium, central to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s ritual life and church-based education systems, with revival efforts and thousands of students studying the language in regions like Amhara as of 2025. Although no longer a vernacular, Ge'ez functions as a locus for religious literacy, identity, and manuscript stewardship, and modern projects to study, digitize, and publish Ge'ez texts reflect institutional and scholarly investment in preserving this heritage ^{[6] [4]}. Renewed attention to Beta Israel manuscripts also demonstrates how manuscript discoveries can reshape understanding of intra-Ethiopian textual pluralism ^[1].

6. Contradictions, gaps, and where researchers disagree or are limited

The assembled analyses reveal genuine points of uncertainty: precise dating and stepwise development of Ge'ez biblical translations remain debated, with some sources presenting firm early dates and others emphasizing a protracted, multi-source translation process; the relative influence of Greek versus Syriac exemplars is disputed; and the full scope of the Ethiopic canon as originally transmitted is contested ^{[5] [3]}. Additionally, recently publicized Beta Israel texts underscore how manuscript preservation has been uneven and how prior scholarly narratives were shaped by limited access. These gaps underline the need for continued radiocarbon, codicological, and textual-critical work to move from informed claims to firmer reconstruction ^{[1] [3]}.