The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Bible is among the world’s oldest bibles, written in the ancient Ge’ez script, a Semitic Ethiopian language. Known as the Garima Gospels, it is named after Abba Garima, a missionary from Constantinople in 494 AD. According to legend, the Bible was copied in a single day, as God prolonged daylight to ensure its completion. Carbon dating places its creation between 330 and 650 AD. The Bible consists of two volumes, each roughly 400 pages, likely penned by two different scribes despite the legend suggesting otherwise.
This historic manuscript is preserved in the Garima Monastery near Adwa in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Unlike the 66 books of the King James Bible, the Ethiopian Bible includes 81, 84, or 88 books, depending on how they are categorized. Richly illustrated with vibrant depictions of saints, apostles, and Jesus Christ, the Bible’s colors remain vivid due to being stored under low light in the monastery.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church developed independently from the broader Christian world, as its ties to the rest of Christendom were severed following the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 639 AD. The conquest disrupted Roman influence and Christian politics in the region.
The Spread of Christianity
Christianity’s spread in Ethiopia is attributed to the Nine Saints, missionaries who established monasteries in their honor, including Abba Garima. King Ezana of Axum, the first monarch to adopt Christianity, played a significant role in its establishment as the official religion. His conversion was influenced by Frumentius, a former Phoenician slave who educated Ezana about Christianity after gaining his freedom. Ezana ruled from 320 to 360 AD, making Christianity familiar in the region long before Abba Garima compiled the illustrated Ethiopian Bible.
The Ethiopian Bible still resides in near Adwa, Ethiopia at the Abba Garima monastery, under a glass display, it has survived a fired that consumed the monastery’s church and several invasions, including the Italian invasion.
https://www.grunge.com/154122/bible-mysteries-that-remain-unsolved/
https://zehabesha.com/comparing-divine-texts-the-king-james-bible-vs-the-ethiopian-bible/
https://www.africanhistorybooks.com/2021/11/23/the-ethiopian-bible-is-the-oldest-and-most-complete-on-earth/
