Amharic (አማርኛ)

Amharic (አማርኛ)

Amharic, also called Ethiopic, is a major African language of Ethiopia, formerly called Abyssinia. Amharic is descended from the Ge’ez language, and written in its own Ge’ez (Ethiopic) script, which is also used by other some Ethiopian languages. Ge’ez is a liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Ethiopia and Ethiopians are mentioned many times in the Bible, and Ethiopia became a Christian state in the fourth century.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Old Testament includes books preserved only in its tradition such as Jubilees and Enoch, which have since been verified from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The first part of the Scriptures in modern Amharic was produced in 1824, the New Testament in 1829 and the full Bible in 1840. Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia authorised a new Bible translation into Amharic that was produced in 1962, called the Emperor's Bible. A Common Language Bible was produced in 1980. A new translation was produced in 1987, updated in 2005. Ethiopia is a majority Christian country, with most people associated its ancient Orthodox Church, although there is a large evangelical Protestant minority and some Catholics. Bible work is done by the Ethiopian Bible Society. The Bible appears in Protestant editions with 66 books, and Orthodox editions which have 81 books.