Covenant Requirements from the 88-Book Canon

Sole Authority: Ethiopian Bible + Dead Sea Scrolls

Presenting the complete standard for obedience as revealed in the canonical texts

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I. The Canonical Foundation

The 88 Books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Canon

 

Old Testament (46 Books):

 

1. 1. Genesis

1. 1. Exodus

1. 1. Leviticus

1. 1. Numbers

1. 1. Deuteronomy

1. 1. Joshua

1. 1. Judges

1. 1. Ruth

1. 1. 1 Samuel

1. 1. 2 Samuel

1. 1. 1 Kings

1. 1. 2 Kings

1. 1. 1 Chronicles

1. 1. 2 Chronicles

1. 1. Jubilees

1. 1. Enoch (1 Enoch)

1. 1. Ezra

1. 1. Nehemiah

1. 1. Ezra Sutuel

1. 1. Tobit

1. 1. Judith

1. 1. Esther

1. 1. Job

1. 1. Psalms

1. 1. Proverbs

1. 1. Ecclesiastes

1. 1. Song of Songs

1. 1. Wisdom of Solomon

1. 1. Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)

1. 1. Isaiah

1. 1. Jeremiah

1. 1. Baruch

1. 1. Lamentations

1. 1. Ezekiel

1. 1. Daniel (with additions)

1. 1. Hosea

1. 1. Joel

1. 1. Amos

1. 1. Obadiah

1. 1. Jonah

1. 1. Micah

1. 1. Nahum

1. 1. Habakkuk

1. 1. Zephaniah

1. 1. Haggai

1. 1. Zechariah

1. 1. Malachi

1. 1. 1 Maccabees

1. 1. 2 Maccabees

1. 1. 3 Maccabees

1. 1. 4 Maccabees

1. 1. Paralipomena of Jeremiah

1. 1. Book of the Covenant (Qiddus)

1. 1. Meqabyan (Ethiopian Maccabees – 3 books)

 

New Testament (35 Books):

 

1. 1. Matthew

1. 1. Mark

1. 1. Luke

1. 1. John

1. 1. Acts

1. 1. Romans

1. 1. 1 Corinthians

1. 1. 2 Corinthians

1. 1. Galatians

1. 1. Ephesians

1. 1. Philippians

1. 1. Colossians

1. 1. 1 Thessalonians

1. 1. 2 Thessalonians

1. 1. 1 Timothy

1. 1. 2 Timothy

1. 1. Titus

1. 1. Philemon

1. 1. Hebrews

1. 1. James

1. 1. 1 Peter

1. 1. 2 Peter

1. 1. 1 John

1. 1. 2 John

1. 1. 3 John

1. 1. Jude

1. 1. Revelation

1. 1. Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)

1. 1. Epistle of Barnabas

1. 1. Shepherd of Hermas

1. 1. Apocalypse of Peter

1. 1. Book of Clement

1. 1. Didascalia (Teaching of the Apostles)

1. 1. Sinodos (Church Orders)

1. 1. Book of the Covenant

 

Supporting Texts from Dead Sea Scrolls:

 

• • All Dead Sea Scroll fragments confirming and expanding the above texts

• • Calendrical texts: 4Q319, 4Q320–4Q330

• • 1 Enoch complete manuscript fragments

• • Jubilees complete manuscript fragments

• • Temple Scroll (11QT)

• • Community Rule (1QS)

• • Damascus Document (CD)
    
    
    

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II. Covenant Requirements Extracted Directly from the 88 Books

A. Foundational Commandments (Repeated Throughout Canon)

From Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (Genesis through Malachi):

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

From Leviticus 19:18 (Leviticus, reaffirmed in Gospels):

“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

From John 13:34 (John’s Gospel):

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

From 1 John 4:20-21:

“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

 

B. Calendar Requirements (Jubilees + Enoch + DSS)

From Jubilees 6:32-38:

“And command the children of Israel that they observe the year according to this reckoning—three hundred and sixty-four days… For there shall be no unclean day, nor shall there be any error in it concerning its days or concerning the feasts of each year, for everything shall fall out as it is arranged… They shall forget the feasts, and they shall walk after the errors of the world, and they shall think that the year is three hundred and sixty-five days plus one day.”

From 1 Enoch 72-82 (Astronomical Book):

“The sun rises in the eastern gate for ninety-one days, completing the first quarter… The year is precisely three hundred and sixty-four days.”

“This law for the sun is according to the testimony of Uriel, the holy angel who is the leader of the sun.”

From Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q319 (Calendrical Text):

“The year is three hundred and sixty-four days, exactly. There are forty-six weeks and two days… The new year always begins on the fourth day of the week.”

 

C. Sabbath Observance (Torah + Enoch + DSS)

From Exodus 20:8-11:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God… For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

From Isaiah 66:22-23:

“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD: So shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me.”

From 1 Enoch 82:4-6:

“And the angels of the positions of the seasons and of the years are given charge over the Sabbath days, that they should observe the Sabbath on the earth on behalf of the children of Israel.”

 

D. Seven Annual Feast Days (Leviticus 23 + Jubilees + DSS)

Feast	Leviticus 23 Reference	Jubilees Reference	Requirement
Passover (Pesach)	Verses 5-8	Chapter 49	Perpetual statute; observe annually on Aviv 14
Unleavened Bread	Verses 6-8	Chapter 49	Seven days; no leaven in houses
First Fruits (Bikkurim)	Verses 9-14	Chapter 15	Wave sheaf offering on 26th day of Aviv
Weeks (Shavuot/Pentecost)	Verses 15-22	Chapter 15	Seven weeks counted; festival on Sivan 6
Trumpets (Yom Teruah)	Verses 23-25	Chapter 6	First day of seventh month (Tishrei)
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)	Verses 26-32	Chapter 6	Tenth day of seventh month; afflict souls
Tabernacles (Sukkot)	Verses 33-44	Chapter 16	Fifteenth to twenty-first of seventh month
Eighth Day Assembly	Verse 36	Chapter 16	Twenty-second of seventh month

 

From Jubilees 6:32:

“They are to celebrate the feast of tabernacles and the feast of unleavened bread and the feast of first fruits and the feast of new wine and the feast of the oil and the day of Atonement—all the days of the feasts of the Lord.”

 

E. Dietary Laws (Leviticus + Acts + DSS)

From Leviticus 11:1-47:

“These are the living things which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth… Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these…”

From Deuteronomy 14:3-21:

“You shall not eat any abomination… Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.”

From Acts 15:20, 29 (Required Minimum):

“But we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood.”

From 1 Peter 1:15-16:

“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.'”

 

F. Sexual Holiness (Leviticus + New Testament)

From Leviticus 18:1-30:

“None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness… You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations… For all these abominations have the men of the land done, who were before you, and the land is defiled.”

Specific Prohibitions Include:

 

• • Incest (v. 6-18)

• • Adultery (v. 20)

• • Homosexual acts (v. 22)

• • Child sacrifice (v. 21)

• • Bestiality (v. 23)

From 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.”

 

G. Blood Prohibition (Genesis + Leviticus + Acts)

From Genesis 9:4:

“But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”

From Leviticus 17:10-14:

“Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people… For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls.”

From Acts 15:29:

“Abstain from blood.”

 

H. Idolatry Prohibition (Torah + Prophets + New Testament)

From Exodus 20:3-5:

“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

From Deuteronomy 6:14:

“You shall not go after other gods, from the gods of the peoples which are all around you.”

From 1 Corinthians 10:14-22:

“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry… The things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons.”

 

I. Circumcision Covenant (Genesis + DSS Clarification)

From Genesis 17:9-14:

“This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised… And uncircumcised male, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people.”

From Dead Sea Scrolls 4QMMT (4Q394):

“Concerning circumcision: We have written to you that you should guard yourself against the circumcision of your sons so that they may not be circumcised on the eighth day, only the flesh of their foreskin.” (Note: DSS contains discussions about circumcision timing, not prohibition)

From Acts 15:1-29 (Jerusalem Council):

“Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’… But the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter… ‘It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things…'”(Gentiles exempted from circumcision requirement)

 

J. Priestly Service Tracking (1 Chronicles + Jubilees + DSS)

From 1 Chronicles 24:1-19:

“Now the divisions of the ministers were as follows: The first lot came to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah… These were the divisions of their service to come into the house of the LORD according to their ordinance under the hand of Aaron their father, as God had commanded him.”

From Jubilees 30-31:

“And the sons of Levi who were born to Jacob were Levi, Kohath, Gershon, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun… The priests shall serve according to their courses.”

From Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q320:

“The courses of the priests serve in order, each week according to its assigned time. The course of Abijah comes in the eighth position.”

 

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III. Complete Practitioner Checklist

Based SOLELY on the 88 books + Dead Sea Scrolls:

 

Daily Observances

 

• •  Pray morning, noon, and evening (Daniel 6:10; Psalm 55:17)

• •  Study Torah and the words of Messiah

• •  Keep body and spirit clean from defilement

• •  Love God and neighbor in all actions

 

Weekly Observances

 

• •  Keep Sabbath holy (no work, holy convocation)

• •  Prepare meals before Sabbath begins

• •  Worship in assembly when possible

 

Monthly Observances

 

• •  Honor new moons (Numbers 28:11-15)

• •  Read calendar texts (Enoch 75, Jubilees 6)

 

Annual Feasts

 

• •  Passover (Aviv 14)

• •  Unleavened Bread (Aviv 15-21)

• •  First Fruits (Aviv 26)

• •  Count Omer (50 days)

• •  Weeks/Shavuot (Sivan 6)

• •  Trumpets (Tishrei 1-2)

• •  Day of Atonement (Tishrei 10)

• •  Tabernacles (Tishrei 15-21)

• •  Eighth Day Assembly (Tishrei 22)

 

Dietary Observances

 

• •  Eat only clean animals (Leviticus 11)

• •  No blood in food

• •  No strangled animals

• •  No meat from idol sacrifices

 

Moral Observances

 

• •  No sexual immorality

• •  No idolatry

• •  No theft

• •  No murder

• •  No bearing false witness

• •  No coveting

• •  Honor parents

• •  Be holy as God is holy

 

Calendar Observances

 

• •  Use 364-day Zadok calendar exclusively

• •  Begin year on Wednesday (4th day of creation)

• •  Fix all feast dates per Zadok reckoning

• •  Do not intercalate (per pure 364-day view)

• •  Track priestly courses
    
    

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IV. Scriptural Warnings for Covenant Keepers

From Deuteronomy 4:2:

“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”

From Deuteronomy 12:32:

“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”

From Revelation 22:18-19:

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from what is written in this book.”

From James 2:10-11:

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.'”

From 3 John 1:4:

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

 

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V. The Standard Summarized

ONE God (Deuteronomy 6:4)
ONE Messiah (John 10:16)
ONE Spirit (Ephesians 4:4-6)
ONE Body (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
ONE Faith (Jude 1:3)
ONE Baptism (Ephesians 4:5)
ONE Hope (Ephesians 4:4)

ONE Law (Psalm 119:142)
ONE Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11)
ONE Calendar (Jubilees 6:32)
ONE Feast System (Leviticus 23)
ONE Dietary Standard (Leviticus 11)
ONE Sexual Code (Leviticus 18)
ONE Way (John 14:6)

 

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VI. Conclusion

The 88 books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Canon, together with the Dead Sea Scrolls, present an unbroken standard of covenant obedience. This is the complete pattern for those who walk in the Way, the Truth, and the Life through Messiah Yeshua.

“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” — Galatians 5:16

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” — John 14:15

“Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” — Revelation 22:14

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