Book of the Cock

The Book of the Cock (alternatively the Ethiopic Book of the Cock or the Book of the Rooster;^[A] Geʽez: Mäṣḥafä Dorho, መጽሐፈ፡ ዶርሆ፡; French: Le Livre du Coq^[2]) is a Geʽez narrative of the passion of Jesus (a passion gospel). It was likely written in the fifth or sixth centuries and is based on an earlier version in Arabic or Greek. It has contemporary use among some Ethiopian Christians.

Description and contents

The Book of the Cock is a Geʽez narrative of the passion of Jesus (a passion gospel).^[3] It is likely based on a vorlage (an earlier version) in Arabic^[4] or Greek.^[5] It was probably written in the 400s or 500s.^[B] It uses material from the four gospels (Mark, Luke, Matthew, and John) and various other sources.^[6]

It describes the final three days of Jesus's life, including a sequence where he reanimated a previously roasted rooster that He sent to spy on Judas Iscariot when he (Judas) was plotting to betray Jesus.^[C][8] The rooster informed Jesus and his disciples of the plan.^[8] Among other events, the Book of the Rooster describes Saul of Tarsus' participation in the arrest, abuse and crucifixion of Jesus, the betrayal of Jesus by a female relative of Judas, a debate between Pilate and Herod about the culpability of Jesus, Mary's grief, John the Evangelist^[1] witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus, the conversations Jesus had with the two thieves he was crucified alongside – Gestas (Awsēmobyā) and Demas (Salikonilidākki) – and references to other miracles that Jesus performed during his life.^[9]

The rooster may be based on the Ziz of Jewish mythology, a giant bird.^[10]

Like the Gospel of Judas from the second century, the Book of the Rooster attempts to explain the betrayal of Judas before the Last Supper – an act which is traditionally seen as abrupt or lacking reason.^[11]

History and cultural importance

In the nineteenth century, the cockerel sequence was thought to be a complete story; in 1985, biblical scholar Roger Crowley wrote that it was a sequence within a larger narrative.^[12] Biblical scholar Pierluigi Piovanelli describes the Book of the Cock as a "quasi-canonical" book with prominent contemporary use in the Christian community in Ethiopia.^[12] Over half of the existing manuscripts of the text (or manuscripts preserving a portion of the text) reside in Ethiopian libraries, and it has been used alongside other Christian texts during Ethiopian Holy Week activities.^[13]