The Kebra Nagast
The Kebra Nagast, or Glory of Kings, is the national epic of Ethiopia. It tells how the Queen of Sheba (Makeda) travelled to Jerusalem to hear Solomon's wisdom, bore him a son, Menyelek, and how Menyelek later carried the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Ethiopia, where the Solomonic line of kings began. Around that story are prophecies about Zion, the Ark and the coming of Christ, along with a long council of 318 bishops. It is read alongside the Enochic books in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition. This is Budge's 1922 translation, with chapters numbered 1 to 117. Verses are this archive's own divisions.
📘 About This Book
Purpose
To root the Ethiopian kings in the line of Solomon and to explain how the Ark of the Covenant came to Ethiopia.
Audience
Ethiopian Christians and readers of the Ethiopian biblical tradition.
Did You Know?
- "The Glory of Kings", the Ethiopian account of Solomon, the Queen of the South and their son.
- It is framed as the declaration of the Three Hundred and Eighteen Orthodox Fathers.
- It tells how Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law, was carried from Jerusalem to Ethiopia.