Holy Scriptures
መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ - Ethiopic Bible
EthiopicBible.com is a specialized online resource dedicated to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) Bible. It serves as a digital reader and study tool for the unique biblical canon used in Ethiopian Christianity.
Old Testament
This magisterial codex contains the vast majority of the Ethiopian Old Testament canon and was produced in 1588–1589 CE for Empress Māryām Śenā, the wife of King Sarsa Dengel. The work involved at least ten scribes and was reportedly translated from Hebrew to Ge'ez by Jacob the Israelite, serving as a crucial post-medieval witness due to its rare, precise dating. Scholars note that the text demonstrates a revision based on Arabic versions, evidenced by unique features like numbered chapters and specific formulaic invocations that were unprecedented in the culture at the time. Although the manuscript is nearly pristine, one missing bifolium resulted in the loss of most of Micah and Joel, and the Empress's name has been erased throughout much of the text. The volume also holds historical value beyond scripture, containing late-eighteenth-century property records and notes regarding its seizure from King Theodore during the 1868 Napier expedition at Magdala.
Prayers and Hymns Book
This Book of Devotion contations hymns and prayers arranged for the hours. Several coloured images are inserted towards the beginning and end of the codex, with miscellaneous common service texts and other readings in between. Images appear on f. 4r (Daniel in the lion's den, St. George and the dragon, Virgin and child with angels and a priest, and Täklä Haymanot and the dragon) and f. 95v (the Crucifixion). According to a note on the inside front cover, William Simpson, an illustrator for the Illustrated London News, bought it from an Ethiopian during the Napier Expedition as the troops returned to Aden after the defeat of Tewodros II: “This book of Devotion, 350 or 400, years old, I bought from an Abyssinnian [sic], at the tent door, during the return march from Magdala, 1868”. The seller may have been either Waldä Giyorgis or Śarḍa Māryām; both names appear in the manuscript.
Gospel Book
This Ethiopian Gospel Book (ወንጌል Wangēl) contains colour pictures of the four evangelists. F. 2v: Matthew; f. 51v: Mark; f. 73v: Luke; f. 112v: John. Pen trials are found on ff. 1r, 3r, and 144v. Folio 72v mentions the scribe’s name Ammonius and the owner Zäbanä Krəstos. Folio 142v contains the name ዕዝል፡ዘሆሣዕና፡; ff. 142v-143v contain a chant, recorded in a secondary hand. The beginnings and chapter headings of each Gospel have been rubricated.
Testament of Patriarchs and a Homily
This manuscript is comprised of four works, the Testament of Abraham, Testament of Isaac, Testament of Jacob (ገድለ ፡ አብርሃም, ገድለ ፡ ይስሐቅ, ገድለ ፡ ያዕቆብ), and a homily attributed to Ephrem on Abraham and Sarah in Egypt (ድርሳነ ፡ ሳራ), which in the Ethiopian tradition is almost always circulate together as a unit. Both Ethiopian Christians and Jews transmit these writings, and this manuscript, preserving a recension of the texts redacted by the latter, forms a rare example of a Beta Israel scribal work. The Testaments and the accompanying homily are each spuriously ascribed, to Athanasius and Ephrem respectively, attributions that arose in Arabic, the version from which the Ge‘ez was translated. Ultimately, these texts go back to a variety of Vorlagen, the Testaments of Isaac and Jacob originating in Coptic, the homily on Abraham and Sarah in Syriac, and the Testament of Abraham, which was probably composed during the late Second Temple Period, in Greek.
Gospel of John + Various Prayers and Hymns
A personal copy containing Mystagogia [ትምሕርተ ፡ ኅቡዓት], the Gospel of John [ወንጌል ፡ ዘዮሐንስ], and various prayers and hymns. An ownership note is found on f. 4r and contains the name Abbā Walda Kirubēl; the name of the original owner has been erased and replaced with Walda Kirubēl on ff. 5r-112v; prayers for Walda Kirubēl were added in a secondary hand on ff. 26r, 32r, 59r, 76r, 93v, 103v. The following note was found on the inside back cover: "This book was taken from Theodores' camp under Magdala 14 April 1868. Presented to M. Garbios (?), with kind regards, by this finder. 9 Feb 1870."
Homilies for festivals of St Michael and other texts
This manuscript contains a humn to St. Michael; Homilies for festivals of St Michael; miracles of St. Michael; Kidan (morning prayer); discourse of Basil of Caesarea.