OBADIAH

Q: I have heard it said that this book is plagiarized from other sources. Is that true?

Yes, there are many parallels between the words in this book and those found elsewhere in other OT prophets. However, keep in mind the following principles: (1) It is often impossible to determine which prophet was the original source, (2) both prophets may have been quoting a common source, (3) one prophet may have been commenting on the words of another one, and most importantly (4) the word did not belong to any of these prophets to begin with – it was, and is, God's Word. With that said, here are some examples of parallel language and teaching:

Obadiah 1-9 // Jeremiah 49:7-16

Obadiah 4,18-19 // Balaam in Numbers 24:18-19,21

Obadiah 17 // Joel 2:32

Obadiah 19 // Amos 9:11-12