The question of biblical accuracy is one that has been explored and debated for years. This article aims to delve into the specifics of the Ethiopian Bible, addressing its unique canon and historical context. To understand the accuracy of any Bible, it's essential to know how books were deemed authoritative, authentic, or inspired.
Books included in each testament are referred to as “canon”. Those that did not meet the requirements for inclusion were considered non-canonical.
The Old Testament Canon
The Old Testament books have been confirmed for thousands of years. The 39 books in our Bibles today have been accepted since before Jesus’ time!
Flavius Josephus, in his work "Against Apion" written in the first century A.D., said: "We have but twenty-two books containing the history of all time, books that are justly believed in; and of these, five are the books of Moses, which comprise the law and earliest traditions from the creation of mankind down to his death. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, the successor of Xerxes, the prophets who succeeded Moses wrote the history of the events that occurred in their own time, in thirteen books."
It's worth noting that Josephus says there are only 22 books, not 39. This difference arises because books like Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Judges-Ruth are now listed separately.
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You can confirm the Old Testament books by examining which books the Jews have always accepted as inspired by God.
The New Testament Canon
In a similar manner, the 27 books of the New Testament have been confirmed for nearly 2,000 years. For a book to be considered authoritative or inspired for people to read and believe, each book had to meet certain criteria.
These criteria included:
- Was the author an apostle or someone closely related to an apostle?
- Did it have transforming power?
- Was it accepted by the early Christians as inspired (i.e., would they die for it)?
- Was it free from error and contradictions?
If a book did not meet all criteria, it was not included.
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The fact that these lists were compiled from various locations underscores that this was not an effort by a controlling group. Persecutions greatly contributed to this, as Christians sought to identify genuine Scripture for preservation and dissemination.
Early Church Fathers quoted the New Testament books extensively. Here are some examples:
- Matthew: Clement of Rome (A.D. 95-97), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- Mark: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130), Hermas (A.D. unknown)
- Luke: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130), Irenaeus (A.D. 130-202)
- John: Clement of Rome (A.D. 95-97), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- Acts: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130), Hermas (A.D. unknown)
- Romans: Clement of Rome (A.D. 95-97), Ignatius (A.D. 110), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- 1 Corinthians: Clement of Rome (A.D. 95-97), Ignatius (A.D. 110), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- 2 Corinthians: Clement of Rome (A.D. 95-97), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- Galatians: Clement of Rome (A.D. 95-97), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130), Irenaeus (A.D. 130-202)
- Ephesians: Ignatius (A.D. 110), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- Philippians: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- Colossians: Ignatius (A.D. 110), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- 1 & 2 Thessalonians: Ignatius (A.D. 110), Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- 1 & 2 Timothy: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130), Irenaeus (A.D. 130-202)
- Titus: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- Philemon: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- Hebrews: Clement of Rome (A.D. 95-97), Origen (A.D. 185-234)
- James: Hermas (A.D. unknown)
- 1 & 2 Peter: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130)
- 1, 2, & 3 John: Polycarp (A.D. 110-130), Irenaeus (A.D. 130-202)
- Jude: Hermas (A.D. unknown), Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 115-140)
- Revelation: Justin Martyr (A.D. 115-140), Irenaeus (A.D. 130-202), Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 115-140), Origen (A.D. 185-234)
The Muratorian Canon (A.D. 170) is an even earlier source. By the year A.D. 170, nearly every book was accepted. Less than 100 years from the death of the Apostle John, of Irenaeus’s writings (A.D. 130-202) possibly has all of them! Origen (A.D. 185-234) possibly has all of them!
By the A.D. 300s, there was nearly universal acceptance of the New Testament canon.
How and when was the canon of the Bible put together? | GotQuestions.org
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Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
Besides canonical books, there are those referred to as the Apocrypha (meaning “hidden away”). These were composed anywhere from 300 B.C. to A.D. 100. They were added to the canon by the Roman Catholic Church at the Canon of Trent in 1546.
There are also those called the Pseudepigrapha (meaning “false name”). These are considered even less reliable than the Apocrypha, composed from 300 B.C. to A.D. 300. None of these were ever included by either ancient Jews or early Christians.
Neither Josephus (A.D. 37-100) nor Philo of Alexandria (20 B.C. - A.D. 50) considered them inspired or Scripture. None of these books were ever alluded to or quoted as Scripture.
Referencing a book does not mean it is inspired. For example, Jude makes reference to the Assumption of Moses, but that does not mean the Assumption of Moses should be canonized. Simply put, a book might be accurate but not inspired by God.
According to scholar F.F. Bruce, "The New Testament books did not become authoritative for the Church because they were formally included in a canonical list; on the contrary, the Church included them in her canon because she already regarded them as divinely inspired, recognizing their innate worth and generally apostolic authority, direct or indirect."
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Bible
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has a unique biblical canon. It includes 81 total books (46 Old Testament, 35 New Testament). The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church Bible has the same version as it is a split from the Ethiopian church.
Some of these books have only ever been found in Ethiopia. How did these books make it into Ethiopian Bibles, and why were they not included in the rest of the world for so long?
The Book of Enoch
There are actually three different books of Enoch.
- 1 Enoch: The original book of Enoch was written somewhere between 300 to 100 B.C.
- 2 Enoch: Surviving only in Old Slavonic, c. first century; English translation by Richard H.
- 3 Enoch: Surviving in Hebrew, c. century. (and this Hebrew version is not considered the original).
While the Book of Enoch is included in the Ethiopian Bible, the vast majority of Christian witnesses declare that it is not inspired / canonical / Scripture.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our Bibles are the inspired Scriptures given to us by God. The amount of evidence showing that our Bibles are identical to the original writings is absolutely overwhelming! No other writing in history has been preserved as well as the Bible!
