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Find Answers—main page > Book of Abraham > Book of Abraham Accusations of Plagiarism > The Book of Abraham and the New Testament
Summary: Some of the Book of Abraham’s more sophisticated readers have alleged that the Book of Abraham quotes the New Testament.
Specifically, these reviewers allege that 2 Peter 3:8 is quoted in Abraham 3:4 and that Jude 1:6 is quoted in Abraham 3:26.
Some believe that Abraham alludes to Jude and 2 Peter. Others believe that Abraham quotes Jude and 2 Peter. In either case, critics use it as fodder to claim that Joseph Smith plagiarized the New Testament in his supposed fabrication of the Book of Abraham.
In the case of 2 Peter, one can really only say that the two verses hold conceptual identity or similarity with one another. There is little to no good indication that the verses are consciously interacting with one another at all.
Whether using quotation or allusion to describe the relationship between Jude and Abraham, the term is inadequate or incorrect.
In the case of quotation, there is no formal quotation of the New Testament. There is no citation, whether in the text of the Book of Abraham or out of it, of Jude. Quotation is clearly an incorrect term.
In the case of allusion, one can take a couple of different perspectives.
An allusion is “a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly.” Allusion requires preexistent material to allude to whether in spoken or written form.
The papyri from which the Book of Abraham was translated date from anywhere between 300 BCE to 100 AD.[1] The Book of Jude, if “indeed authored by Jude the brother of Jesus…was probably written between A.D. 40 and 80.”
If Joseph Smith is assumed a translator of the Book of Abraham, then allusion is the wrong term as applied to Joseph Smith, but could be correct if referring to Jude or Abraham, depending on which text was written first:
If Joseph Smith indeed authored the Book of Abraham, then allusion, allusive plagiarism, or other terms of that sort would be correct.
Whether assuming that Joseph Smith as author or translator, it is clear that either Jude echoes Abraham's language or Abraham echoes Jude's.
We obviously believe that Joseph Smith was a translator of the Book of Abraham and not its author. There is much evidence to support that view.[3] If that is the case (that Joseph Smith was a translator and not author of the Book of Abraham), then any one of the three above options may be available as viable positions in describing the relationship between Jude and Abraham. If any one of the three above options is accepted, then it is not the case that Joseph Smith plagiarized the New Testament in "fabricating" the Book of Abraham.
Notes
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