"The objective of this study is to provide a critical edition of the andәmta, or the commentary, of the biblical Book of Genesis. . .Ethiopia has developed and established its own tradition of interpretation of biblical and other religious texts. This tradition, known as andәmta, is a unique and valuable legacy of the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Täwah̩edo Church" -- p.1.

An introduction to the Old Testament Book of Genesis is followed by a verse-by-verse commentary on the text.

Christine Chaillot’s new book, The Traditional Teaching of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwahedo Church: Faith and Spirituality, presents a topic that is little – if at all – known outside Ethiopia, even in Christian circles. Moreover, it is a much neglected field in the wider study of African education. It is a teaching based on ancient texts and books, taught orally to the students who will become the future clergy and who will then share their knowledge with the faithful in Church life. The studies of the different disciplines are pursued at different schools and at different levels, in liturgy, theology with commentaries of books (Old and New Testaments, books of the Church fathers and monks) as well as composition of poems (qenes) and iconography. All this teaching presented in the present volume is deeply related to the faith and spirituality of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. This teaching is a unique intangible cultural heritage. One wonders, however, what its future will be in the context of the modern educational methods and social attitudes that have evolved in Ethiopia over the last half-century.