Ethiopian Bible Books List: An Annotated 81-Entry Reference
By EthiopianBibleBooks · Sources checked November 2, 2026
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church traditionally describes its Bible as 81 books. The list below follows one clearly identified church-hosted enumeration: 46 Old Testament entries and 35 New Testament entries. Some entries combine works that other Bibles print separately; others divide material differently. That makes the counting method part of the answer. 1
This reference preserves that source's numbered groups, normalizes English spelling, and flags names that can mislead English readers. It is a practical way to understand a list or inspect a table of contents. It does not claim that every Ethiopian manuscript, canon inventory, or printed Bible has identical boundaries.
Download the annotated inventory: Printable PDF reference · CSV spreadsheet data · JSON data
How to use this list
Read the numbered rows as source entries, rather than 81 independently bound volumes. For example, the source groups 1 and 2 Samuel together. It also puts 2 and 3 Meqabyan in one numbered entry. Conversely, Proverbs and Tegsats occupy separate entries. Counting the familiar English titles without preserving those boundaries produces a different total. 1
Three conventions matter throughout:
- Meqabyan: The source calls these works Maccabees. The normalized column uses Meqabyan to distinguish the Ethiopian works from Greek Maccabees.
- Ezra: The source's Ezra names and combinations are preserved. Ezra/Esdras numbering differs among traditions; a number alone is insufficient identification.
- Church-order writings: The final eight New Testament entries concern church order and related teaching. Their titles require careful identification, particularly Clement and Didascalia. 2
The names here describe a Christian scriptural tradition. Readers from other churches may encounter different classifications for the same or similarly named writings.
The 46 Old Testament entries
This table retains the order and grouping of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church website's Bible page. Spelling and selected English labels are normalized; the downloadable files also retain each original source label. 1
| Source entry | Normalized English name | Reading and identification note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genesis | — |
| 2 | Exodus | — |
| 3 | Leviticus | — |
| 4 | Numbers | — |
| 5 | Deuteronomy | — |
| 6 | Joshua | Not Sirach, which the source calls Joshua the son of Sirac. |
| 7 | Judges | — |
| 8 | Ruth | — |
| 9 | 1 and 2 Samuel | Two familiar Samuel books grouped as one source entry. |
| 10 | 1 and 2 Kings | Two familiar Kings books grouped as one source entry. |
| 11 | 1 Chronicles | — |
| 12 | 2 Chronicles | — |
| 13 | Jubilees | Spelling normalized; also known as Kufale. |
| 14 | Enoch (1 Enoch) | Ethiopic Enoch; not 2 Enoch or 3 Enoch. |
| 15 | Ezra and Nehemiah | Two works grouped as one source entry. |
| 16 | Second Ezra and Ezra Sutuel | Preserves the source’s grouping and numbering; Ezra/Esdras names vary across traditions. Compare identifiable texts rather than numbers alone. |
| 17 | Tobit | — |
| 18 | Judith | — |
| 19 | Esther | — |
| 20 | 1 Meqabyan | The source uses Maccabees; Ethiopian Meqabyan is distinct from Greek Maccabees. |
| 21 | 2 and 3 Meqabyan | Two Ethiopian works grouped as one entry; not Greek 2 and 3 Maccabees. |
| 22 | Job | — |
| 23 | Psalms | — |
| 24 | Proverbs (Messale) | First portion of Proverbs; conventionally Proverbs 1–24 in the scholarly sources cited. |
| 25 | Tegsats / Tegsas (Reproof) | Latter portion of Proverbs; conventionally Proverbs 25–31 in the scholarly sources cited. |
| 26 | Wisdom of Solomon (Metsihafe Tibeb) | English name normalized using scholarly identification. |
| 27 | Ecclesiastes | — |
| 28 | Song of Songs | — |
| 29 | Isaiah | — |
| 30 | Jeremiah | Additions and associated writings can be incorporated under broader headings; a heading alone does not show every included text. |
| 31 | Ezekiel | — |
| 32 | Daniel | Additions may be incorporated rather than separately numbered. |
| 33 | Hosea | — |
| 34 | Amos | — |
| 35 | Micah | — |
| 36 | Joel | — |
| 37 | Obadiah | — |
| 38 | Jonah | — |
| 39 | Nahum | — |
| 40 | Habakkuk | — |
| 41 | Zephaniah | — |
| 42 | Haggai | — |
| 43 | Zechariah | — |
| 44 | Malachi | — |
| 45 | Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) | This is Sirach, not the historical book Joshua. |
| 46 | Joseph ben Gorion (Josippon / Zena Ayhud) | Not a substitute label for the complete collected works of Flavius Josephus. |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
Why familiar books can look missing
A short list of headings does not describe every text or addition included under them. In Ethiopic arrangements, material associated with Jeremiah and Daniel may sit within larger book units. Cowley discusses such arrangements, including Baruch and other Jeremiah material. Therefore, the absence of a separate heading is not sufficient evidence that an edition omits a text. The edition's actual contents must answer that question. 2
The reverse also matters: a familiar title does not guarantee the expected work. A volume labeled Maccabees can contain Greek Maccabees rather than Ethiopian Meqabyan. A contents comparison must identify the text, not merely match a word.
The 35 New Testament entries
The first 27 entries correspond to the familiar New Testament collection, though the order of the general epistles may differ from an English Bible on your shelf. This particular enumeration then lists four Sinodos sections, two parts of the Book of the Covenant, Ethiopic Clement, and Ethiopian Didascalia. 12
| Source entry | Normalized English name | Reading and identification note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew | — |
| 2 | Mark | — |
| 3 | Luke | — |
| 4 | John | — |
| 5 | Acts | — |
| 6 | Romans | — |
| 7 | 1 Corinthians | — |
| 8 | 2 Corinthians | — |
| 9 | Galatians | — |
| 10 | Ephesians | — |
| 11 | Philippians | — |
| 12 | Colossians | — |
| 13 | 1 Thessalonians | — |
| 14 | 2 Thessalonians | — |
| 15 | 1 Timothy | — |
| 16 | 2 Timothy | — |
| 17 | Titus | — |
| 18 | Philemon | — |
| 19 | Hebrews | — |
| 20 | 1 Peter | — |
| 21 | 2 Peter | — |
| 22 | 1 John | — |
| 23 | 2 John | — |
| 24 | 3 John | — |
| 25 | James | — |
| 26 | Jude | — |
| 27 | Revelation | — |
| 28 | Sirate Tsion (Sinodos section) | Also transliterated Ser’ata Seyon; one of four Sinodos sections in this enumeration. |
| 29 | Tizaz (Sinodos section) | Also transliterated Te’ezaz; one of four Sinodos sections. |
| 30 | Gitsew (Sinodos section) | Also transliterated Gessew; one of four Sinodos sections. |
| 31 | Abtilis (Sinodos section) | Also transliterated Abtelis; one of four Sinodos sections. |
| 32 | First Book of the Covenant | The source calls it the I Book of Dominos; normalized with the scholarly identification Book of the Covenant / Mashafa Kidan. |
| 33 | Second Book of the Covenant | The source calls it the II Book of Dominos; two parts counted separately. |
| 34 | Ethiopic Clement (Qalementos) | Not the Roman/Corinthian correspondence called 1 Clement or 2 Clement. |
| 35 | Ethiopian Didascalia | Distinct from the Syriac Didascalia Apostolorum; do not silently substitute similarly titled works. |
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Why the last eight need more than a title match
The name Clement is especially easy to misread. Ethiopic Qalementos is not the Roman or Corinthian correspondence commonly published in English as 1 Clement and 2 Clement. Adding those writings to an anthology does not, by itself, establish that the Ethiopian Clement entry has been supplied. The same caution applies to different works called Didascalia. 2
An adequate translation record should identify the work, its source text, the translator, and the extent translated. This is more informative than a cover's total number of books.
How can both a narrower and a broader canon have 81 books?
The labels describe different inventories and book boundaries. In the systems discussed by Cowley and Mikre-Sellassie, the narrower arrangement has 54 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books, while a broader arrangement has 46 and 35. Both calculations reach 81. You cannot safely obtain the broader list by taking an arbitrary 81-book English collection and appending eight titles. 23
| Inventory discussed in the sources | Old Testament count | New Testament count | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrower arrangement | 54 | 27 | 81 |
| Broader arrangement | 46 | 35 | 81 |
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The difference concerns both what is included and how material is grouped. Even these categories do not erase variations within the historical evidence. For a focused explanation of the number used on modern covers, see 81 versus 88 books.
What this inventory can—and cannot—verify
Use the inventory to ask concrete questions about an edition:
- Which published canon inventory does the edition follow?
- Are grouped entries split into separate contents lines?
- Are additional portions of Jeremiah and Daniel included within their parent books?
- Does Maccabees mean Ethiopian Meqabyan or the Greek works?
- Does Clement mean Qalementos, and which Didascalia is present?
- Is the material complete text, selected passages, summaries, or commentary?
The inventory cannot certify a translation's accuracy, church authorization, printing quality, or complete textual coverage. Nor does a match of 81 labels settle every identification issue. Those claims need evidence appropriate to the claim.
For purchase decisions, combine this reference with the English-edition buying guide. For the relationship between individual works and the surrounding tradition, begin with the Ethiopian Bible in English overview.
Methodology and scope
The baseline is the numbered list on the church-hosted The Bible page, retrieved November 2, 2026. We kept its 46-plus-35 structure and order. We changed Roman numerals to Arabic numerals where helpful, standardized familiar English spellings, and added identification notes. Source labels remain available alongside normalized labels in the data files. 1
We used Cowley's 1974 article and Mikre-Sellassie's 1993 article to interpret ambiguous English naming and explain counting differences. Their historical statements about printing and availability are not treated here as current claims about today's book market. 23
The downloadable data has 81 rows, each with a stable section-based identifier, source entry number, original source label, normalized English name, caveat, source URL, source label, and checked date. A row represents an entry in the chosen source, not a judgment that its constituent works must always be counted together.
We did not generate a universal “extra 15 books” list by subtracting 66 from 81. That arithmetic obscures differences in grouping and textual identity. This reference also makes no claim to supply or translate the full text of the listed works.
Cite or reuse this reference
Suggested citation:
EthiopianBibleBooks. Ethiopian Bible Books List: An Annotated 81-Entry Reference. Sources checked November 2, 2026. https://ethiopianbiblebooks.com/ethiopian-bible-books-list.
Link to this page when readers need the counting explanation; cite the underlying church page when discussing its enumeration directly. The CSV and JSON are suitable for teaching handouts, catalog comparisons, or further analysis.
Our original organization, normalization, and annotations in the downloads are available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. This permission does not grant rights to third-party translations, source prose, or images. We claim no exclusive rights in basic bibliographic facts or book titles.
If you find a transcription or identification error, use our contact page and include the row identifier, proposed correction, and supporting source. Corrections should preserve a visible distinction between an error in our transcription and a genuine difference between inventories.
Sources
- Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church website. The Bible. Baseline 46 Old Testament and 35 New Testament enumeration.
- R. W. Cowley. The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Today. Ostkirchliche Studien 23 (1974): 318–323. Full article reproduced by Islamic Awareness; used for historical counting and identification notes.
- Gebre-Amanuel Mikre-Sellassie. The Bible and its Canon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Bible Translator 44, no. 1 (1993): 111–123, especially 120–123.