r/AskBibleScholars

Let’s stir the pot a bit, why is the Ethiopian Bible, the oldest and most complete Bible on earth, barely ever mentioned in mainstream Christian discussions? Centuries older than the King James and containing over 80 books vs 66 most Westerners know. It includes books like Enoch and Jubilee that were deliberately excluded from later Western canons.

Why?

Here are some cold facts:

The Ethiopian Bible (Ge’ez script) dates back to the 4th century, fully compiled way before Europe even standardized its canon.

The Book of Enoch? Preserved only in full by the Ethiopian Church, yet ironically, early Christians and even Jesus’ followers quoted it.

The Book of Jubilee? Same story, detailed accounts of the laws, festivals, and angelic orders completely erased from modern Western texts.

So my burning questions for you la Familia:

Why was the Ethiopian Bible sidelined in global Christianity despite its age and authenticity?

Why were books like Enoch and Jubilee considered ‘heretical’ only after the Roman Church took over canon formation? Power move? Whitewashing? Not Fitting of the monarchial standards?

Is it just coincidence that the only unbroken preservation of these texts comes from an African nation, and yet they’re almost always framed as “fringe” by Western scholars?

How do we explain the massive theological gaps that come from excluding these texts, especially when some Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed their ancient authority?

Not to get conspiratorial, but let’s be real: Is this whitewashing of religious history, pure Eurocentrism, or something deeper?

Isaiah 46:11 LEB [11] who calls a bird of prey from the east, the man of his plan from a country from afar. Indeed I have spoken; indeed I will bring it to being. I have formed it; indeed I will do it.

A religious group in the Philippines named "INC" says thats their leader Felix Manalo not Cyrus the great.

Can anyone answer this pls?

The Watchers never left. They just changed their appearance. These here are a string of interpretations and key parallels I see from the two sides and how they actually support each other with the language being based on the time of the narrator. I love the bible nd am a firm believer in Jesus and I also appreciat the studies from secular researchers. I hope this helps bridge the gap for any of those also have seen these.

• John Keel’s conclusion first, because it ties the whole thing together. Keel spent years on UFOs, Mothman, and contactees and decided these are not tourists from another planet. He called them ultraterrestrials: intelligences that can change shape, change the story, and walk into whatever belief system the age already has. Same playbook as fairies, demons, and “gods.” That is why he kept landing on shapeshifting. They do not have to be flesh-and-blood Greys from Zeta Reticuli. They have to appear as whatever will get worship, fear, or obedience. That is the same idea Paul already wrote: “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Light, beauty, authority, “we’re here to help” — then the lie.

• Egypt and the old gods are the first public costume. Pharaoh’s world was full of sky-beings, animal-headed gods, knowledge-givers, and “we came from the heavens.” Scripture does not treat those gods as imaginary mascots. “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God” (1 Corinthians 10:20). Psalm 96:5 says the gods of the nations are idols — empty fronts for something real and unclean. So when people say “the Egyptian gods were ancient aliens,” they are half right in the worst way: not scientists in ships, but the same rebellious powers wearing a civilization’s art. Ra, Thoth, the shining sky-lords — Watcher-class beings teaching, demanding cult, and mixing with man.

• The Bible names them: the Watchers. Genesis 6:1–4 is the short version — the bene elohim (sons of God) took human wives and produced the Nephilim. 1 Enoch (the book Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4 are echoing) says the Watchers left their proper domain, taught forbidden arts, and corrupted the earth. That is not “aliens evolved on another world.” That is angels who abandoned their post. Jude: they “kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation.” Same crime Keel described in modern language: they cross into our realm, change form, give forbidden knowledge, and wreck the order God set.

• Fairies, elves, and “the good folk” are the medieval mask of the same contact. People did not used to say “I was abducted by a Grey.” They said a mound opened, small shining beings took them, time broke, they came back sick, marked, or missing years. Vallée mapped that next to modern UFO reports: paralysis, lights, missing time, hybrid talk, “don’t tell,” gifts of knowledge that ruin you. Fairies were not Disney. They were the Watchers still operating after the old temples fell, using the folklore of Europe the way they used the temples of Egypt. Different folklore. Same intrusion.

• Shapeshifting is the method, not a side detail. If Satan can appear as an angel of light, he does not need to show a red cape. He shows a Nordic “space brother,” a Grey scientist, a glowing goddess, a pharaoh’s falcon-god, or a beautiful fairy queen. Keel said the phenomenon is theatrical. It stages what the witness is ready to believe. That is why the story updates: gods → fairies → airships → flying saucers → Greys and “they created us.” The mask changes. The goal does not: replace the Creator, mix with mankind, and gather allegiance.

• Jesus already warned about signs in the sky that are not from God. He said false christs and false prophets “shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). He also said there would be “fearful sights and great signs… from heaven” (Luke 21:11) and signs in the sun, moon, and stars (Luke 21:25). Revelation 13:13 says the false prophet “maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” That is not “ignore the sky.” That is: do not worship whatever is doing miracles up there. A global light-show, craft, or “disclosure” with wonders is exactly the kind of test He described.

• Modern “aliens” are the Watchers’ current press release. The interview line is always the same: there is no God, we made you, we are your fathers, unite the nations. That is the Watcher lie with a NASA paint job. Greys, reptilians, Nordics, frog-like beings — ranks and costumes, like Egypt had ranks of gods. Governments chasing tech for power is the kings being gathered (Revelation 16:13–14): unclean spirits, signs, and the rulers of the earth pulled into one last stand against God. “Disclosure day” is not proof we have neighbors. It is the moment the same rebels try to make the world bow to a fake creator. Jesus is God. They are not. The elect are not supposed to fall for the light-show.

Also honorary mention if you don’t consider the book of Enoch to be biblical canon to confirm the existence of a pre existent spiritual group of being created before humans, in the book of genesis people often overlook the fact that it states “let US make man in OUR image”

I really want to overlap ideas and continue this thread of consciousness so please feel free to share your opinion!

Hello, I want made my own bible translation, just for a personal challenge (Yes, I know this can be crazy and hard)

I have some resources, such as the master texts offered by the website "die-bibel," which are the BHS and NA28, as well as guides to understanding ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek found in the Jehovah's Witnesses' publication "Insight on the Scriptures." (I consider this publication a great start, had a lot of resources to others publications, books used by other theologys and investigators)

Even so, I feel I have very little. I'd like more comprehensive help, at least for learning Koine Greek, or other websites that offer master texts.

PS: I speak Spanish, so, the most part of this post was pass for a translator.

Do you take it literally as it’s written or is it metaphorical language with deeper meaning behind that, something beyond God being mighty and the creator of the universe, something more profound, less obvious?

im not trying to offend anyone, I’m really curious

Im reading this book with my wife and its mind blowing. I mean, I always had a feeling about things related to Jesus and his childhood and oh my goodness.

Is the nag hammadi actually a text that people take as facts? If so, its just.... what in the world is happening right now?!

Sorry if this is a noobish post, as im a pretty noobish guy into the studying of old religious books.

If this isnt the right place for this post, I apologize

Reading the footnotes in Robert Alter's translation of Genesis, he states that the text has an "antiurban bias" (urban meaning sedentary agriculture).

Is this a common interpretation? Are there scholarly theories or discussions about if/why the Genesis text/author(s) takes this polemical stance?

I have a serious question for people who have been studying the Bible for a long time.

Do you feel like you actually have the wisdom described in Proverbs? If so, how did you get there—and how long did it take?

I've been praying for wisdom for over 3 years. During those 3 years, I've read Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, Wisdom of Solomon, and Ecclesiasticus almost every day. I've prayed repeatedly for God to give me wisdom.

But honestly, I still feel like I can't get the wisdom “edged into my heart.”

I'll read a proverb and understand exactly what it's saying. I may even know the verse by memory. But then something happens in real life, and I do the exact opposite of what I just read.

For example, Proverbs 16:32 says:

«“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”»

I know that verse. I've read it many times. I believe it.

But when somebody makes me angry, I can still go off at the mouth. Then afterward I'll think, “I should have remembered the proverb.”

That's what bothers me. It's not that I don't have access to the wisdom. I can read it, understand it, and sometimes even explain it. The problem is remembering and applying it in the moment when I actually need it.

So I'm curious about people who feel like Proverbs has genuinely become part of how they think and live:

Did you ever struggle with this?

How did you go from knowing the wisdom intellectually to actually remembering it in the moment?

Did you memorize verses? Pray differently? Practice one proverb at a time? Keep a journal? Have someone hold you accountable?

And if you feel like you've actually developed the kind of wisdom Proverbs talks about, how long did it take you?

I'm not looking for someone to tell me, “Just read the Bible more.” I've been reading these books almost every day for years.

I'm trying to understand how wisdom moves from the page into your reactions, decisions, words, and habits.

I'd genuinely appreciate hearing from people who have been through this themselves.

How did you learn to actually live Proverbs instead of just know Proverbs?

I hope this is the right place for this! I was on Amazon and stumbled across The Drunk Bible. Looking through the sample, it’s apparently a complete, chapter and verse adaptation of the King James version, just totally Drunk History coded, if that doesn't give you an immediate understanding of what it read like, i don't know what will. At the same time, it also appears to still be accurate to the underlying original context.

For example, this is the opening of Genesis:

1. Okay so first there's nothing, like actually nothing, and God's just there and he makes the heaven and the earth, that's it, that's the opening move, unreal.
2. And it's all void and dark and wet and God's spirit is just hovering over the water like a duck that hasn't figured out where to land yet.
3. So God says 'let there be light' and there's light, that's the whole spell, four words, I need whatever he's on.
4. He looks at the light, decides it's good, and splits it from the dark, which means up until this exact second light and dark were just mixed together in one pile, think about that.

Getting rid of the "church-speak" and the thee/though eye glazing text. This zero reverence lens weirdly feels like reading something new.

I won't drop a direct link so I don't trigger any spam filters (it's easy enough to search for on Amazon if you're curious), but I’d love to hear from the actual scholars here:

1. Do you ever find value in deliberately "irreverent" or extreme cover-to-cover adaptations (like a "Drunk History" approach) simply to break "reader fatigue" and force you to look at a familiar narrative in a new light?
2. Where do you draw the line between a "retelling" and a "commentary," especially when modern humor or slang is the primary vehicle for the author's observations?
3. Is there any actual historical precedent for looking at sacred texts in deliberately informal, uninhibited, or "altered" states just to draw out different contextual perspectives?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

EDIT: Missed this the first time because I didn't click "Read More".

>At the back: sixty six drinks. One for every book, each taken from a verse in that book.

There's apparently 66 Cocktail Recipes in the back of it, themed to each book. Not necessarily relevant, but interesting.

I am reading the first 5 books of the bible - pentateuch and I am encountering the genealogies a lot.

What is the importance of genealogy?

and what is the cultural significance of it in the ancient culture?

So through the years I've tried different versions. I've tried using apps to read me the passages. The issue is I'm dyslexic. Reading has always been a struggle for me. I can't seem to stay focused or retain anything that I've read. What would be a good way to absorb the word if reading is a struggle?

I did always love watching shows like veggie tales as a kid. And now they have stuff like the Tuttle Twins and Dead Sea Squirrels but I'm not a kid anymore.

Hey, I’m kind of stuck on this point a little bit and was wondering if I could get some advice on how you guys navigate the fact that Christ’s divinity was something that evolved over time, and wasn’t necessarily what the historical Jesus himself actually did.

I personally place my faith in the Resurrection as being foundational, which I personally think has a robust case. I’ve tried to reconcile parts of the gospel that are mythologized or been read into the Old Testament text. When I read Matthew for the first time, I didn’t realize how much emphasis was on things being prophesied. E.g by Isiah.

There are also parts in which things are borrowed from one gospel to another or things that didn’t directly occur. For example, the graves opening up and the dead walking around - surely several independent sources would have written about something like that.

If I’ve got anything wrong, apologies, I’ve not studied properly the scholarship but it’s a pattern I’ve noticed that professors of religion mention about the gospels. This is not to say that they are entirely unreliable, for example they all agree on women being the first to see the empty tomb, which would have been something odd to make up in that social context - considering women’s position.

I just feel that to be intellectually honest in my faith journey and ask others about questions I have. This isn’t to sound snarky or edgy, but I believe or like to think that God would understand how our different minds process different bits of information, and that some things will confuse us a little, but nonetheless we try to make sense out of it the best way we can. I am autistic and adhd diagnosed so I tend to be very analytical.

See the response from u/Deer_Hart, he explained it better than I did

I want to read the Bible not for religious reasons, but simply because I want to read and understand the stories and have more knowledge of the religion but without shortening the experience. I’d like to read something as “accurate” as possible and am not worried about old timey English. I would assume the King James Version is best, but I also don’t know, so I came here for help. I also want to read it on my Kindle so it’s easier to make notes and stuff. Any help in the right direction is appreciated thank you 🥰

Can anyone please provide me with an online link from where I can get the St Joseph's Version in Spanish.

Either an E Format or even a physical one. Any lead would be highly appreciated

I often read exodus chapter 3 but each time I would gloss over this question. Does the burning bush represent something?

Standing stone at Tel Balata (ancient Shechem), in the pass between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.

I’m developing a research project on how biblical narratives use spatial ordering, and before I freeze any methodological choices I want to check my assumptions against the scholarship rather than build a model on unexamined premises.

Genesis preserves four episodes in which Abraham is explicitly described as building an altar:

• Shechem — Genesis 12:6–7
• Between Bethel and Ai — Genesis 12:8
• Hebron/Mamre — Genesis 13:18
• The land of Moriah — Genesis 22:2, 9

These episodes appear in a narrative sequence and occur at turning points in Abraham’s movements. Seeing them grouped this way made me wonder whether their ordering has ever been treated as meaningful within literary or historical geography, or whether they are better understood as independent cultic notices without spatial relationship.

Before I build any model, I want to know whether the grouping itself is defensible.

In particular:

1. Has scholarship examined these four altar-building episodes together as a geographic or narrative sequence?
I’m interested in whether their succession has been interpreted as part of the literary geography of the Abraham cycle.

2. What role does historical geography play in interpretations of their ordering?
Has scholarship compared these locations with highland movement routes, watershed divides, settlement geography, territorial transitions, or other landscape features?

3. How should geographic uncertainty be handled?
“Between Bethel and Ai” is a relational description rather than a point-specific location, while the identification of Moriah presents a different kind of uncertainty. I would appreciate literature on how historical-geographic analysis deals with uncertain or competing site identifications.

4. Are there methodological precedents for testing narrative spatial sequences comparatively?
I’m thinking of work in biblical historical geography, landscape archaeology, spatial humanities, or GIS-based archaeology where an observed textual sequence is compared with plausible alternative geographic trajectories.

5. The assumption I most want examined.
Is it legitimate to interpret the narrative’s ordering as intentional literary geography, or does that risk imposing modern spatial frameworks onto an ancient text?

I’m not trying to use geography to authenticate the altar episodes or to argue for a theological conclusion. My goal is to understand what kinds of spatial questions can legitimately be asked of the narrative, and what methodological limits biblical scholarship would require before attempting such an analysis.

Any recommendations for relevant scholarship or methodological precedents would be appreciated.

Sometimes it seems like Breath, sometimes more like a ghost

For example,

Psalm 119:28: My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word. (seems like a body here)

Psalm 42:11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? (seems like a thing in him, like it's an entity)

Micah 6:7 Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (soul and body clearly separate here)

Matthew 10: 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. (clearly distinct here)

I saw some people saying that soul in the bible is breath. Adam was given a soul when his first breath entered him, but... there's a lot of verses that seem to treat it more as an invisible thing that exists within people.

Unsure which one's accurate.