The three Books of Meqabyan form a distinct section of the Ethiopian Orthodox biblical canon — comparable in function to the books of Maccabees in the Catholic Bible but uniquely Ethiopian in origin, character, and theology.
The first book is the longest and most dramatic. It follows a hero named Meqabyan who leads the faithful remnant of Israel against a tyrannical king who demands they abandon their God. The king's demand is refused. Martyrs die rather than apostatize. Miracles occur. In the end, faithfulness is vindicated and the persecutors are defeated.
The martyrdom accounts in 1 Meqabyan are among the most affecting passages in the Ethiopian canon. A mother and her seven sons are brought before the king one by one and given the chance to renounce their faith. Each refuses. The youngest boy's speech to the king is particularly remarkable — a calm, eloquent declaration of faith in the resurrection that has parallels to the famous speech in 2 Maccabees but its own distinct texture.
The second and third books are shorter and different in character. 2 Meqabyan contains wisdom literature — proverbs and instructions similar in spirit to the book of Proverbs. 3 Meqabyan is a brief homiletical text, almost a sermon, on the themes of faith and obedience.
Together, the three books give you a picture of Ethiopian Christian theological thinking that's genuinely distinctive. The theology of resurrection in 1 Meqabyan, in particular, is robust and specific in ways that illuminate the New Testament's own resurrection theology.
Our collector's edition of the Books of Meqabyan is one of the few places you can read all three books in a single, well-produced volume.