The Ethiopian Bible - Some Reflections

 In recent weeks, I have seen an increased interest in the Ethiopic Canon of Scripture, which is of interest because it is much bigger than your typical Catholic or Protestant Bibles - it has several other "lost books" (they are actually not lost to anyone, but just not widely translated) that are not included in Catholic or Protestant Bibles, and thus it has some reactions.  The typical Catholic scholar doesn't pay attention to it, and the Evangelical Protestant scholars (with a few exceptions) treat it like an abomination.   An official Ethiopian Bible that is translated into English as yet does not exist, although there are some English translations of it that are largely unofficial.  By an official translation, I mean in the strictest sense a translation that is sanctioned and approved by the Ethiopian Church.  There have been a couple of issues with this in recent years, so I will get into that briefly.

In past years, when an "official Ethiopian" document of any type has surfaced, it was in reality more than likely a production of the Rastafarian sects who have no official connection to the actual Ethiopian Church or its people.  There have been some good English translations of other Ethiopian texts - notably the Kebra Negast and the Fetha Negast - but as far as I am aware, no actual Church-sanctioned Biblical translation exists.  One has to be wary of what happens to pass as "Ethiopian" on platforms like Ebay or Amazon, because even if they are liturgical texts, often they are corrupted Rastafarian creations and are of no historical or theological value.  This is why it is important to do your due diligence before purchasing anything, because you could end up wasting your hard-earned cash on some cultic book.  I personally always try to search with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's American dioceses first, as well as the Geez-Rite Catholic parishes.  Usually, their clerics will be very helpful in directing you to credible books on their church and its history and theology, including their Biblical topics.   That being said, let me tell you of one feasible - albeit unofficial - English translation of the Ethiopian Bible I have come across. 

If one goes on sites like Temu or Ebay, you will see tons of offers for "The Complete Ethiopian Bible," and I tend to shy away from popular translations of stuff like that because more than likely something is fishy about them.  Most of these faux translations are generally plagiarized from a legitimate source, the work of Asher Wilson.  Asher Wilson is thankfully not a Rastafarian fruitcake, as his credentials seem to be as an Evangelical Lutheran; he coordinated his original work with a Dr. Rance Settle, and upon looking into his credentials, here is what I learned.  Dr. Settle is a pastor and theologian who currently pastors the Lamb of God Lutheran Church in Lewisville, TX, and he graduated with a D.Min. from Concordia Theological Seminary.   This is a church that is part of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod denomination, which means it is a pretty solidly orthodox and Evangelical church.  Concordia Seminary, based in Fort Wayne, IN, is also considered a credible graduate school and is also affiliated with the LCMS too.  So, Dr. Settle is not some off-the-wall quack or a hyper-charismatic or anything like that, which helps.  While there is not much available on Asher Wilson's credentials, he does have a website for his publishing company, Holy Word Press, and it can be accessed at www.holywordpress.com.  This is also the place where you can purchase the Ethiopic Bible translation he has produced - with the Bible translation itself is also an additional study guide, and I purchased both of them earlier this year.  The study guide itself is perhaps more intriguing than the translation, as it is thoroughly researched and includes discussion questions, a glossary, and a lot of historical background commentary.  I think it could have some value, as the publication is actually quite good and it seems that Wilson and Settle did their homework on it.  Again, however, this is not an officially-sanctioned translation of the Ethiopian Church, but thankfully it has also invested good scholarship.  A lot of the knockoffs I have been seeing that are mass-marketed seem to be stolen from Wilson's work, and Wilson is aware of it - on his official Ebay store page, he certifies his own work as genuine, and also issues a disclaimer about these knockoffs too.  If you want to see the actual book, here is a photo of it and the study guide below:

This comes directly from Holy Word Press's website, so it is the real thing.   Any other books similar to this that don't have an official documentation of the author's name should be avoided.  Some may disagree about the value of Asher Wilson's and Dr. Settle's work, but I am going to give it the benefit of the doubt for now until a Church-sanctioned translation is released. 

The Ethiopian Bible has become a source of increased attention.  Evangelical apologist Melissa Dougherty, for instance, released a whole video discussing it last month, and I am a bit wary of watching that as she tends to have some mildly anti-Catholic sentiments that tend to come out in her discussions, and while as an apologist I think she is quite capable (her work documenting the influence of New Thought teaching into certain hyper-charismatic circles, for instance, is quite good, perhaps the best since Hank Hanegraaff published his Christianity in Crisis 30 years ago) I see her biases interfering with her objectivity when it comes to the Ethiopian Canon.  On the other hand, there is my good friend Dr. Stephen Missick, who like myself has been an advocate for Middle Eastern Christian minorities for many years.  Stephen wrote a good book on Ethiopic Christian literature called Ethiopic Abdias: The Lives of the Twelve Apostles According to the Traditions of Africa.  Since he has just published it recently, I just received my copy of it last week and am still reading through it, but so far I like it.  As I just have stated, Stephen notes that an official translation of the Ethiopic Bible has not been made available yet, but he also found out as I did that the Ethiopian Church in the US is working on an English translation, and I intend to have one once they do for sure.  While Stephen and I differ on some minor things (for instance, I tend to agree with the Watchers theory of fallen angels messing around with human women as a source of where the demons come from, something talked about in the Book of Enoch, but Stephen is uncommitted to that interpretation, and I don't fault him for it), I believe both of us are excited to see an Ethiopian Bible in English that is official because we study and research the same things.  Indeed, the release of that when it comes will be monumental to Biblical scholarship in general, and I don't think it will be a minor news item when it happens.  So, we wait.  

In this area where I live now - Baltimore - I am approximately 30 miles from what is perhaps the largest Ethiopian-American community in the country, that being the areas of Bethesda, MD, and Alexandria, VA.  Likewise, there is a growing Eritrean population in the same area as well.  There are perhaps dozens of Orthodox churches in those areas, as well as at least three Geez-Rite Catholic communities, and thus there is no shortage of richness when it comes to getting to know these good people.  Even in Baltimore, we have 7 Ethiopian churches and one Eritrean church, and that is a good opportunity because they are within reasonable distance to visit.  I have made some good friends in their community, as well as being able to eat in their restaurants, shop in their stores, and yes, I did visit one of their churches in Alexandria a few years back.  The Ethiopians are a remarkable people, and they take their Christian faith seriously - I have come to really love them as a people too, as they are always open to share their rich history and Church traditions with me.  The most recent example of this was an Ethiopian-American who was my Uber driver home from work one day - I had a very delightful conversation with him on the ride home, and he was more or less telling me where Ethiopian culture could be found in Baltimore (he recommended a good Ethiopian restaurant I have to try too - I happen to love sega tibs, a delicious stir-fried beef dish that is addictive).  There is also one common thing I hear from practically every Ethiopian I talked to, and I tend to believe them and agree with them - the tradition is that Ethiopia is where the original Ark of the Covenant is, and there is a tiny church in the region of Axum that apparently houses it.  When I voice this to others, I understandably receive a skeptical response - one Orthodox bishop I talked to even said "show us an Ark and I will believe it."  I don't fault that skepticism, and it is really not a cardinal issue to split hairs over, but my response is always a calm smile and I tell them, "that's fair - wait and see."  The fact is for me though is that two things convince me of the fact this could be true.  For one, practically every Ethiopian I have talked to believes it.  Secondly, that tradition has been very longstanding in Ethiopia, so there has to be something to it.  It pays to listen to things when they are universally held convictions and there is a track record of whatever it is, and the Ethiopian Ark theory falls into that for me.  Modern scholarship, thanks to an over-reliance on the Cartesian influence from the Enlightenment, has become almost too skeptical for its own good.  Theology and History are not exempt from those influences either, which is why so many Catholic scholars in particular are swayed by the Teilhardian/Cartesian variety of theistic evolution when it comes to origins.  I think we do a disservice when we become so focused on the natural, physical, and tangible that we forget there is also a metaphysical dimension to reality as well.  Neither is better than the other, and both can be equally true at once.  This is why I am giving my Ethiopian friends the benefit of the doubt.  

It was my friend Stephen's video that got me thinking about this, so I just wanted to weigh in a bit.  Thanks for allowing me to share, and I will continue to update what I learn in regard to the Ethiopian Bible, including possibly a whole "deep dive" into Asher Wilson's and Dr. Rance Settle's work on their translation and study guide of it.  God bless, and will see you next time.