Receiving the Ethiopian Bible from Heaven.
Receiving the Ethiopian Bible from Heaven.

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Ethiopian Bible (around 500)

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Taken from: Ethiopian magic scrolls by Jacques Mercier (1979)

 

The Ethiopian Bible includes more books than the widely used versions. The extract given is from these books.

A legend related in the Matshafa Kidan (Book of the Covenant) and the Hemamata Masqal (Passion of Christ) says: "When his son lay sick, Saul, upon the advice of his wise-men, captured the young offspring of the giant bird neser (the rokh (1) of the Thousand and One Nights) and immured it. The neser took the branch of a fig tree from Paradise and threw it against the wall to tear it down and free its child. The branch was found to contain a miraculous medicine, and it was planted on the bank of the Jordan. Later, Solomon cut it down to use in building his temple, but it could not serve either for a beam or for a post. So it was thrown aside. The Queen of Sheba, whose feet had been turned into ass's hoofs, was cured of her infirmity when she accidentally tripped over it on her way to visit Solomon. The trunk was later used to make Christ's cross."

(1) The giant bird Roc: mentioned many times during Medieval History. Like Marco Polo and 1001 Nights. The Rukh is the extinct Aepyornis Maximus, of Madagascar.