Online Journal Article: "The Rich Man And Lazarus, Abraham’s Bosom, And The Biblical Penalty Karet (“cut Off”)" Jets 61.3 (2018): 513–23

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From the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS)

JETS 61.3 (2018): 513–23
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS, ABRAHAM’S BOSOM,
AND THE BIBLICAL PENALTY KARET (“CUT OFF”)
by ED CHRISTIAN
Abstract: The post-death setting of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–
31) is unusual. Many have assumed that the place Lazarus is taken after he dies, “Abraham’s bosom,” is in heaven. However, Hippolytus (ca. 170–236), called by the Catholic Encyclopedia “the most important theologian and the most prolific religious writer of the Roman Church in the pre-Constantinian era,” believed that hades is the equivalent of sheol,
a place where “the souls of the righteous and unrighteous are detained,” separated by a
gulf, and that “Abraham’s bosom” is a name for where the righteous are kept, in peace, in
hades. To be in “Abraham’s bosom” is synonomous with being “gathered to one’s fathers” after death,
awaiting eventual resurrection. This viewpoint suggests that the OT penalty of being
“cut off” (karet) means to be cut off from one’s fathers after death, the fate of the rich man.
Key Words: Rich Man and Lazarus, Dives, Lazarus, Abraham’s bosom, hades, sheol,
karet, Hippolytus, Luke 16:19–31, parable