Tikvah
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July 11, 2025

The Oldest Ethiopian Jewish Biblical Manuscript Discovered

Preserving the Orit and its language.

During the centuries of relative isolation from their coreligionists, Ethiopian Jews used a scripture, known to them as the Orit, composed of the Torah and the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. Israeli researchers now have identified the two oldest extant manuscripts of this text, both dating to the 15th century. Yaron Drukman quotes the explanation of Dalit Rom-Shiloni, one of the scholars involved in the project:

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