The Bosom of Abraham, illumination from the Kiev Psalter, 1397. An illuminated manuscript is a Manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration such as decorated Initials borders and The Kiev Psalter of 1397, or Spiridon Psalter, is one of the most famous East Slavic Illuminated manuscripts containing over three hundred miniatures Abraham is depicted seated amid the foliage of Paradise. Abraham ( Ashkenazi   Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: Paradise is a word of Persian origin ( Persian: پردیس Pardìs) that is generally identified with the Garden of Eden or with Heaven. (Russian National Library, Saint Petersburg. The National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, known as the State Public Saltykov-Shchedrin Library in 1932-1992 (i Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River )

The phrase "Bosom of Abraham" refers to the place of comfort in sheol (Greek: hades) where the Jews said the righteous dead awaited Judgment Day. Sheol (pronounced "Sheh-ole" in Hebrew שאול (Sh'ol is the "abode of the dead" the " Underworld " "the common See also Intermediate state Sheol|Hell in Christianity Hades is "the place or state of departed spirits" PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived The phrase "Bosom of Abraham" is found in Luke 16:22-23 in Jesus' parable of the Lazarus and the Rich Man. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) A parable is a brief succinct story in Prose or verse, that illustrates a Moral or Religious lesson Dives and Lazarus or Lazarus and Dives is a narrative attributed to Jesus that is reported only in the Gospel of Luke (

Abode of the righteous dead

According to 1st century Jewish beliefs, the dead were gathered into a general tarrying-place, the sheol of the Old Testament, and the Hades of the New Testament writings (cf. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Sheol (pronounced "Sheh-ole" in Hebrew שאול (Sh'ol is the "abode of the dead" the " Underworld " "the common In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient Luke 16:22, in the Gr. 16:23). Here, 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 wicked were consigned. The latter was a place of torments usually spoken of as Gehenna (cf. for the Polish film see Gehenna (film See also Jewish eschatology Gehennam (or gehenom or gehinom (גהינום is Matthew 5:29-30; 18:9ff, Mark 9:42 sqq. in the Latin Vulgate)- the other, a place of bliss and security known under the names of "Paradise" (cf. The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labours of Jerome, who was commissioned by Luke 23:43) or "the Bosom of Abraham" (Luke 16:22-23).

The afterlife as portrayed in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus fits this concept of the Bosom of Abraham.

In the 3rd century, Hippolytus of Rome referred to Abraham's bosom as the place in hades where the righteous await judgment day in delight. For places named after the saint see Saint-Hippolyte Saint Hippolytus of Rome (c ^[1]

Augustine of Hippo likewise referred to the righteous dead as disembodied spirits blissfully awaiting Judgment Day in secret receptacles. ^[2]

Since the righteous dead are rewarded in the bosom of Abraham before Judgment Day, this belief represents a form of particular judgment. Particular judgment, according to Christian Eschatology, is the judgement given by God a departed Soul undergoes immediately after death in

Origin of the phrase

The Parable of Lazarus and Dives. A parable is a brief succinct story in Prose or verse, that illustrates a Moral or Religious lesson Dives and Lazarus or Lazarus and Dives is a narrative attributed to Jesus that is reported only in the Gospel of Luke ( Lazarus and the rich man are shown during life in the top register, in the middle is Lazarus in the Bosom of Abraham, and at the bottom Dives is suffering in Hades. Lazarus ( Hebrew: אלעזר Elʿāzār Eleazar "God (has helped" is the name of two separate men mentioned in the New Testament. Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient Illuminated manuscript, Codex Aureus of Echternach, c. An illuminated manuscript is a Manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration such as decorated Initials borders and The Codex Aureus of Echternach ( Codex aureus Epternacensis) ( Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Hs The Abbey of Echternach is a Benedictine Monastery in the city of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. 1035-1040. (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg. The Germanisches Nationalmuseum, founded in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1852 houses a significant collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from )

While commentators generally agree upon the meaning of the "Bosom of Abraham", they disagree about its origins. Up to the time of Maldonatus (A. Juan Maldonado ( Juan Maldonato, Maldonatus) (b in 1533 at Casas de Reina, in the district of Llerena, 66 leagues from Madrid d 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. 2 Samuel 12:3; 1 Kings 3:20; 17:19; Luke 11:7 sqq. Et seq or sqq (adv An abbreviation of the Latin phrase et sequens ( et sequentes, et sequentia) meaning "and the following ), 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.

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. Juan Maldonado ( Juan Maldonato, Maldonatus) (b in 1533 at Casas de Reina, in the district of Llerena, 66 leagues from Madrid d A triclinium (plural triclinia) is a formal dining room in a Roman building 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. Matthew 8:11 sqq. ), and of the highest form of that reward as lying in "Abraham's Bosom".

Christian heaven

Eastern Orthodox icon of All Saints, c. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. For the British girl group see All Saints (band. All Saints' Day (also called All Hallows or Hallowmas) often 1700. Christ is enthroned in heaven surrounded by the ranks of angels and saints. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond At the bottom is Paradise with the "Bosom of Abraham" (left), and the Good Thief (right). Paradise is a word of Persian origin ( Persian: پردیس Pardìs) that is generally identified with the Garden of Eden or with Heaven. Saint Dismas (sometimes spelled Dysmas or only Dimas, or even Dumas) also known as the Good Thief or the Penitent Thief (Private collection. )

Among Christian writers, since the 1st century AD, "the Bosom of Abraham" has gradually ceased to designate a place of imperfect happiness, and it has generally become synonymous with Heaven itself. Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond Church fathers sometimes used the term to mean the limbo of the fathers, the abode of the righteous who died before Christ and who were not admitted to heaven until his resurrection. The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church See also Intermediate state Purgatory|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity In Roman Catholic theology Limbo (Latin limbus This article concerns itself with Jesus Christ Christian, Islamic and other religious interpretations of resurrection in general Sometimes they mean Heaven, into which the just of the New Covenant are immediately introduced upon their demise. The term New Covenant (; Greek:, diathēkē kainē is used in the Bible (both in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament) to refer Tertullian, on the other hand, described the bosom of Abraham as that section of Hades in which the righteous dead await the day of the Lord. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, Anglicised as Tertullian, (ca See also Intermediate state Sheol|Hell in Christianity Hades is "the place or state of departed spirits" ^[3]

When Christians pray that the angels may carry the soul of the departed to "Abraham's Bosom", non-Orthodox Christians might mean it as heaven; as it is taught in the West that those in the Limbo of the Fathers went to heaven after the Ascension of Jesus, and so Abraham himself is now in heaven. The general and most common understanding of the Christian Doctrine of Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to Heaven in the presence However, the understanding of both Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy preserves the Bosom of Abraham as distinct from heaven. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the

Related concepts

The belief that the souls of the dead go immediately to hell, heaven, or purgatory has largely replaced the original concept of the Bosom of Abraham. Historically, however, many religious traditions have described something similar.

The Book of Enoch describes Enoch's travels through the cosmos and divides Sheol into four sections: for the truly righteous, the good, the wicked awaiting judgment at the resurrection, and the wicked that will not even be resurrected. The Book of Enoch is any of several works that attribute themselves to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah and son of Jared ( Enoch ( Hebrew:; Tiberian: Ḥănōḵ, Standard: Ḥanokh, Ashkenazi, Jiddish: jHenosch

In medieval England, some people believed in a place called Arthur's Bosom, which was similar to Abraham's Bosom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland In William Shakespeare's play Henry V, after the death of Sir John Falstaff, Mistress Quickly asserts confidently that "He's in Arthur's bosom, if ever man went to Arthur's bosom. William Shakespeare ( baptised Sir John Falstaff is a Fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare as a companion to Prince Hal the future King Henry V. "

The belief of soul sleep holds that the dead (righteous and unrighteous) rest unconsciously while awaiting Judgment Day. See also Intermediate state In Christian theology, soul sleep is a belief that the Soul sleeps unconsciously between the Death of the

In Islam, the righteous dead are said to await Judgment Day resting blissfully in their graves, much like the righteous dead rest in the Bosom of Abraham. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. In Islamic eschatology, Barzakh (برزخ is the Intermediate state in which the Soul of the deceased is transferred across the boundaries of the The unrighteous, meanwhile, wait in torment.

See also

• Abraham's bosom
• Limbo

References

1. ^ Hippolytus of Rome, Against Plato, on the Cause of the Universe, §1. See also Intermediate state Abraham's bosom ( Luke) refers to the custom of reclining on Couches at the dining table which was prevalent among the See also Intermediate state Purgatory|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity In Roman Catholic theology Limbo (Latin limbus As to the state of the righteous, he writes, "And there the righteous from the beginning dwell, not ruled by necessity, but enjoying always the contemplation of the blessings which are in their view, and delighting themselves with the expectation of others ever new, and deeming those ever better than these. And that place brings no toils to them. There, there is neither fierce heat, nor cold, nor thorn; but the face of the fathers and the righteous is seen to be always smiling, as they wait for the rest and eternal revival in heaven which succeed this location. And we call it by the name Abraham's bosom. " Ibid.
2. ^ Augustine of Hippo, City of God, Book XII
3. ^ Tertullian, A Treatise on the Soul, Chapter 7.

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia

External links

• Abraham's Bosom in the Jewish Encyclopedia. The Jewish Encyclopedia was an Encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls.