history - Can a convert be a prophet?

I don't think there were any gerim amongst the nevi'im, but would it have been possible?

Answer

There is a tradition, recorded in various sources, that the prophet Ovadiah was an Edomite convert. This tradition is born of the fact that there is nothing within his short (one chapter) oracle that concerns Judeans or Israelites; the entire thing is an oracle about the Edomites instead.

Sources:

• Sanhedrin 39b;


• Tanchuma, Tazria 8.

See also Rashi and Radak on Ovadiah 1:1.