From the Encyclopaedia Judaica 2:165
Designation in the New Testament (Luke 16:22-31) of the abode of the blessed souls of pious and poor in the other world (compare IV Macc. 13:17 ; Matt. 8:11, where all three patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are enumerated as those in whose company the pious souls stay).
The Hebrew expression be-heiko shel Avraham (“in Abraham’s Bosom”) is mention in aggadic literature (e.g., PR. 43:180b) dealing with martydom of Miriam (Hannah) and her seven sons. She urges her youngest child to die for the sanctification of God’s name, saying : “O my son, do you wish that all your brothers sit in Abraham’s bosom, except you?” Abraham’s bosom is mentioned also in the Midrash haGadol to Genesis (ed. Margulies (19447), 206) and in the Talmud (kid. 72b) where it probably refers to the covenant of Abraham (see also Pd RK(1868) , 25b S. Buber’s emendation).
In Christian mythologhy, Abraham’s bosom stands for the abode in the netherworld of the unbaptized children and for purgatory, from where, after punishment, Abraham conducts the purified souls into paradise. This notion is hinted at in the talmudic passage (Er.19a) which describes Abraham as shielding from punishment in hell all those who have not effaced the sign of circumcision (compare also, Gen. R 48:8).
Whether Abraham’s bosom is the abode of bliss, or, on the contrary, a place in Gehenna, it expresses the popular Jewish belief about Abraham as the warden in paradise and the protector of the meritorious souls in the other world.
More References To The Afterlife
- “Heaven” (name for God)From the Encyclopaedia Judaica 7:682 The Earliest occurrences (except for Dan. 4:23 : “It is Heaven that rules”) of the substitution of the word “Heaven” (God’s abode) for “God” (Himself) are found in the Apocrypha : “In the site of Heaven” (I Macc. 3:18), “Let us cry to Heaven” ( I Macc. 4:10) “They were […]
- Paradise And Hell in Later ThoughtFrom the Encyclopedia Judaica 13:82 Paradise and Hell, the place of reward for the righteous and punishment for the wicked after death, are traditionally referred to as the Garden and Gehinnom respectively. In the Bible these two names never refer to the abode of souls after death; nevertheless, the idea of a fiery torment for […]
- Abraham’s BosomFrom the Encyclopaedia Judaica 2:165 Designation in the New Testament (Luke 16:22-31) of the abode of the blessed souls of pious and poor in the other world (compare IV Macc. 13:17 ; Matt. 8:11, where all three patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are enumerated as those in whose company the pious souls stay). The Hebrew […]
- NetherworldFrom the Encyclopedia Judaica 12:996 Apart from the Isaiah 14:14-19 and Ezekiel 38:18 ff passages, the numerous biblical references to the netherworld are vague and inspired by Ancient Near Easter folklore. Several names are given to the abode of the dead, most common being Sheol always femmine and without the definite article - a sign […]
- GehinnomFrom the Encyclopedia Judaica (Valley of Ben-Hinnom, Valley of [the Son(s) of Hinnom, Gehenna) a valley south of Jerusalem on one of the borders between the territories of Judah and Benjamin, between the Valley of Rephaim and En-Rogel (Josh. 15:8, 18:16). It is identified with Wadier-Rababi. During the time of Monarchy, Gehinnom, at a place […]