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Summary
- No Bible, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant or Ethiopian Orthodox, has ever contained a book called the Book of Eli, so none was removed.
- The Book of Eli is a 2010 film written by Gary Whitta, directed by Albert and Allen Hughes and starring Denzel Washington.
- The book Eli carries in the film is the Bible, in Braille; he turns out to be blind, and at Alcatraz he recites it from memory.
- Reviewers call it a King James Bible, though Eli’s wording of Genesis 1:1–2 in the 2007 script is close to modern versions such as the New King James Version.
- The Eli of Scripture is the priest at Shiloh who raised Samuel; his story is told in 1 Samuel 1–4, and his eyes grew dim in old age.
- When Jesus cried “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” (Matthew 27:46), he meant “My God, my God,” the opening of Psalm 22.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (public domain): Genesis 1:1–2; 1 Samuel 1:9, 1:28, 2:11, 3:2, 4:15, 4:17, 4:18; 2 Kings 2:11; Psalm 22:1; Psalm 23:1; Matthew 27:46; 2 Corinthians 5:7. Two phrases from Genesis 1:1–2 are compared with the New King James Version (Thomas Nelson, 1982), via BibleGateway.
- American Film Institute, AFI Catalog record: The Book of Eli (2010): credits, opening date, rating, production and distribution companies.
- Gary Whitta, The Book of Eli, screenplay draft dated 21 June 2007, Internet Movie Script Database.
- Christianity Today, review of The Book of Eli, 15 January 2010.
- Brian Godawa, “Protecting the Word of God”, Christian Research Journal 33, no. 2 (2010).
- Safwan Azeem, “10 Awful Plot Twists in Otherwise Good Movies”, Collider, 28 November 2025.
- Chabad.org, “The Structure of Tanach”.
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter 1, sections 2–3, Orthodox Presbyterian Church edition.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 120.
- Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow, The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church (1830), questions 31–35.
- Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, “The Bible (canonical books)”.
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