Abraham’s Bosom
Abraham’s Bosom
Expression used by Luke to indicate the abode of the righteous dead before their admission to the Beatific Vision after the death of the Saviour; the Fathers of the Church often use it to mean heaven. It suggests the return of the patriarch’s posterity to his embrace.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Abrahams Bosom
( ): There was no name which conveyed to the Jews the same associations as that of Abraham. As undoubtedly he was in the highest state of felicity of which departed spirits are capable, to be with Abraham implied the enjoyment of the same felicity; and to be in Abraham’s bosom meant to be in repose and happiness with him (comp. Josephus, De Macc. 13; 4Ma 13:16). The latter phrase is obviously derived from the custom of sitting or reclining at table which prevailed among the Jews in and before the time of Christ. SEE ACCUBATION. By this arrangement the head of one person was necessarily brought almost into the bosom of the one who sat above him, or at the top of the triclinium, and the guests were so arranged that the most favored were placed so as to bring them into that situation with respect to the host (comp. Joh 13:23; Joh 21:20). SEE BOSOM. These Jewish images and modes of thought are amply illustrated by Lightfoot, Schottgen, and Wetstein, who illustrate Scripture from rabbinical sources. It was quite usual to describe a just person as being with Abraham, or lying on Abraham’s bosom; and as such images were unobjectionable, Jesus accommodated his speech to them, to render himself the more intelligible by familiar notions, when, in the beautiful parable of the rich man and Lazarus, he describes the condition of the latter after death under these conditions (Luk 16:22-23). SEE HADES.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Abraham’s bosom
(Luke 16:22, 23) refers to the custom of reclining on couches at table, which was prevalent among the Jews, an arrangement which brought the head of one person almost into the bosom of the one who sat or reclined above him. To “be in Abraham’s bosom” thus meant to enjoy happiness and rest (Matt. 8:11; Luke 16:23) at the banquet in Paradise. (See BANQUET; MEALS
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Abraham’s Bosom
In Roman times, their custom of reclining on Couches at meals prevailed among the Jews. Each leaned on his left arm, and so lay, as it were, in the bosom of the next below him. This position in the bosom of the master of the house was the place of honor (Joh 1:18; Joh 13:23). To lie in Abraham’s bosom was thus a phrase for blessed repose in closest nearness to the father of the faithful in the feast of paradise (Mat 8:11; Luk 16:23).
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Abraham’s Bosom
ABRAHAMS BOSOM.It was natural for the Jews to represent Abraham as welcoming his righteous descendants to the bliss of heaven. It was, also, not unusual for them to represent the state of the righteous as a feast. In the parable of Luk 16:19 ff. Jesus uses these figures to represent the blessedness of the dead Lazarus. He was reclining at the feast next to Abraham (cf. Mat 8:11). A Rabbi of the third century, Adda Bar Ahaba, uses precisely this expression as a synonym for entering Paradise. Other Jewish writings occasionally represent Abraham as in a way overseeing the entrance of souls into Paradise. Abrahams Bosom, therefore, may very fairly be said to be a synonym for Paradise, where the righteous dead live in eternal bliss. There is no clear evidence that the Jews of Jesus day believed in an intermediate state, and it is unsafe to see in the term any reference to such a belief.
Shailer Mathews.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Abraham’s Bosom
boozum ( , kolpos Abraam; , kolpoi Abraam): Figurative. The expression occurs in Luk 16:22, Luk 16:23, in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, to denote the place of repose to which Lazarus was carried after his death. The figure is suggested by the practice of the guest at a feast reclining on the breast of his neighbor. Thus, John leaned on the breast of Jesus at supper (Joh 21:20). The rabbis divided the state after death (Sheol) into a place for the righteous and a place for the wicked (see ESCHATOLOGY OF OLD TESTAMENT; SHEOL); but it is doubtful whether the figure of Jesus quite corresponds with this idea. Abraham’s bosom is not spoken of as in Hades, but rather as distinguished from it (Luk 16:23) – a place of blessedness by itself. There Abraham receives, as at a feast, the truly faithful, and admits them to closest intimacy. It may be regarded as equivalent to the Paradise of Luk 23:43. See HADES; PARADISE.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Abraham’s Bosom
There was no name which conveyed to the Jews the same associations as that of Abraham. As undoubtedly he was in the highest state of felicity of which departed spirits are capable, ‘to be with Abraham’ implied the enjoyment of the same felicity; and ‘to be in Abraham’s bosom’ meant to be in repose and happiness with him. The latter phrase is obviously derived from the custom of sitting or reclining at table which prevailed among the Jews in and before the time of Christ [ACCUBATION]. It was quite usual to describe a just person as being with Abraham, or as lying on Abraham’s bosom; and as such images were unobjectionable, Jesus accommodated his speech to them, to render himself the more intelligible by familiar notions, when, in the beautiful parable of the rich man and Lazarus, he describes the state of the latter after death under these conditions (Luk 16:22-23).
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Abraham’s Bosom
Abraham their forefather was believed by the Jews to be in the highest place of happiness, and their writings show that ‘to be with Abraham’ and to be in his bosom were terms they used to express the highest security and happiness. Our Lord therefore used an expression that was well understood by His hearers and needed no explanation. Luk 16:23. It stands in contrast to hell, or hades, and was therefore figurative of heaven.