The Bosom of Abraham

In the Holy Bible, the expression "the Bosom of Abraham" is found
only in two verses of St. Luke's Gospel (xvi, 22, 23). It occurs
in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus the imagery of which is
plainly drawn from the popular representations of the unseen world
of the dead which were current in Our Lord's time. According to
the Jewish conceptions of that day, the souls of the dead were
gathered into a general tarrying-place the Sheol of the Old
Testament literature, and the Hades of the New Testament writings
(cf. Luke, xvi, 22 in the Gr. xvi, 23). A local discrimination,
however, existed among them, according to their deeds during their
mortal life. In the unseen world of the dead the souls of the
righteous occupied an abode or compartment of their own which was
distinctly separated by a wall or a chasm from the abode or
compartment to which the souls of the wicked were consigned. The
latter was a place of torments usually spoken of as Gehenna (cf.
Matt., v, 29, 30; xviii, 9- Mark, ix, 42 sqq. in the Latin
Vulgate)- the other, a place of bliss and security known under the
names of "Paradise" (cf. Luke, xxiii, 43) and "the Bosom of
Abraham" (Luke, xvi, 22 23). And it is in harmony with these
Jewish conceptions that Our Lord pictured the terrible fate of the
selfish Rich Man, and on the contrary, the glorious reward of the
patient Lazarus. In the next life Dives found himself in Gehenna,
condemned to the most exeruciating tor ments, whereas Lazarus was
carried by the angels into "the Bosom of Abraham", where the
righteous dead shared in the repose and felicity of Abraham "the
father of the faithful". But while commentators generally agree
upon the meaning of the figurative expression "the Bosom of
Abraham", as designating the blissful abode of the righteous souls
after death, they are at variance with regard to the manner in
which the phrase itself originated. Up to the time of Maldonatus
(A.D. 1583), its origin was traced back to the universal custom of
parents to take up into their arms, or place upon their knees,
their children when they are fatigued, or return home, and to make
them rest by their side during the night (cf. II Kings, xii, 2;
III Kings, iii, 20; xvii, 19; Luke, xi, 7 sqq.), thus causing them
to enjoy rest and security in the bosom of a loving parent. After
the same manner was Abraham supposed to act towards his children
after the fatigues and troubles of the present life, hence the
metaphorical expression "to be in Abraham's Bosom" as meaning to
be in repose and happiness with him. But according to Maldonatus
(In Lucam, xvi, 22), whose theory has since been accepted by many
scholars, the metaphor "to be in Abraham's Bosom" is derived from
the custom of reclining on couches at table which prevailed among
the Jews during and before the time of Christ. As at a feast each
guest leaned on his left elbow so as to leave his right arm at
liberty, and as two or more lay on the same couch, the head of one
man was near the breast of the man who lay behind, and he was
therefore said "to lie in the bosom" of the other. It was also
considered by the Jews of old a mark of special honour and favour
for one to be allowed to lie in the bosom of the master of the
feast (cf. John 13:23). And it is by this illustration that they
pictured the next world. They conceived of the reward of the
righteous dead as a sharing in a banquet given by Abraham, "the
father of the faithful" (cf. Matt., viii, 11 sqq.), and of the
highest form of that reward as lying in "Abraham's Bosom". Since
the coming of Our Lord, "the Bosom of Abraham" gradually ceased to
designate a place of imperfect happiness, and it has become
synonymous with Heaven itself. In their writings the Fathers of
the Church mean by that expression sometimes the abode of the
righteous dead before they were admitted to the Beatific Vision
after the death of the Saviour, sometimes Heaven, into which the
just of the New Law are immediately introduced upon their demise.
When in her liturgy the Church solemnly prays that the angels may
carry the soul of one of her departed children to "Abraham's
Bosom", she employs the expression to designate Heaven and its
endless bliss in company with the faithful of both Testaments, and
in particular with Abraham, the father of them all. This passage
of the expression "the Bosom of Abraham" from an imperfect and
limited sense to one higher and fuller is a most natural one, and
is in full harmony with the general character of the New Testament
dispensation as a complement and fulfilment of the Old Testament
revelation.

FRANCIS E. GIGOT Transcribed by Tomas Hancil

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc., P.O. Box 281096, Denver, Colorado, USA, 80228.
([email protected])

Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).

This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the  entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight,
editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
contribute to this  worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-
mail at (knight.org/advent). For  more information please download
the file cathen.txt/.zip.

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