Ethiopian Bible is the Oldest and Most Complete Christian Bible on Earth

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted and Published on April 11, 2024

Most Americans view the King James Version of the Bible as the most authentic and complete Christian Bible on Earth.  It is revered by Christians around the world.

The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England. It was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of King James VI and I.

Contrary to popular belief, the KJV Bible is NOT the oldest and most complete Christian Bible on Earth.  It is the version of the Bible that was promoted by the British monarchy and other European powers from 1611, going forward.  These European powers also imposed the KJV Bible upon the subjugated indigenous populations of the countries that became their colonies.

The Ethiopian Bible for Orthodox Christians

Written in Ge’ez, an ancient language of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Bible is nearly 800 years older than the King James Version, according to carbon dating.  It contains 81-88 books compared to 66 for the KJV Bible.  It includes the Books of ENOCH, Esdras, Buruch and all three Books of MACCABEE, as well as a host of others that were excommunicated from the KJV Bible.

The world’s earliest illustrated Christian Bible was discovered at a remote Ethiopian monastery and preserved by the British charity that located it .

There are two volumes which date from the same time, but the second volume is written in a different hand from the first. Both contain illustrations and the four Gospels.

The incredible Garima Gospels are named after Abba Garima, a monk who arrived in the African country in the fifth century from Constantinople in 494 AD and copied the gospels with the assistance of another scrivener.

The Ethiopian Bible has been kept ever since in the Garima Monastery near Adwa in the north of the country, which is in the Tigray region at 7,000 feet.

The Garima Gospels have been kept high and dry, which helped preserve them for centuries. They are kept in the dark so the colors look fresh.

Ethiopia is mentioned variously in every major division of the Hebrew Bible and used interchangeably with Cush and it was later identified with Nubia and Aksum.

Finally, the Ethiopian Bible depicts the ethnicity of Jesus and his parents as the Middle Eastern people of color that they were. The King James Bible depicts them as white.