Luke 16:23

Hell. Gr. hades, “grave,” or “death” (see on Matt. 11:23). Hades is the abode of all men, good and bad, until the resurrection. Literally, Lazarus would be there also.

His eyes. The body of the rich man, now in hades, is lifeless. He cannot see (see on v. 24).

Torments. Gr. basanoi, related to the verb basanizo, which is used of persons suffering intensely from disease (Matt. 8:6), of the tossing of the waves of the sea (Matt. 14:24), and of the disciples “toiling” at the oars (Mark 6:48). It is also used of emotional stress (2 Peter 2:8), and of the “torment” evil spirits feared when brought face to face with Jesus (Matt 8:29; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28). Basanos (singular of basanoi) thus seems to indicate acute distress or agitation.

The idea that at death men go to a place where they suffer “torments” is utterly foreign to the Scriptures, which teach plainly that “the dead know not any thing” (Eccl. 9:5; see on Ps. 146:4). Jesus Himself compared death to a sleep (see John 11:11, 14). To conclude from this parable that Jesus was teaching that at death the wicked are taken to a place where they undergo “torments” is to make Him here contradict His plain teachings on that subject upon other occasions, as well as the teachings of the Bible as a whole. It is in the “hell” of geenna that sinners are to experience fiery torments (see on Matt. 5:22), not in hades. When Jesus therefore presented the rich man as a “tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24), in hades. He is clearly speaking figuratively, and it is unwarranted to interpret His words literally. See on v. 19 for principles of interpretation involved in the explanation of parables.

Seeth Abraham. Can it be that heaven and hell are within speaking distance, and that those in heaven witness the suffering of friends and loved ones in hell without being able to alleviate their torment, while those in hell can observe the bliss of the righteous in heaven? Yet this is precisely what this parable teaches if it is to be taken literally (see on v. 19). But those who believe it is literal will hasten to add that “Abraham’s bosom” is only a figure of speech, that the saints are not literally all resting in his “bosom.” And they will also declare that the proximity of heaven and hell, here pictured, is also purely figurative. But the moment they admit that these and other obviously figurative portions of the parable are not to be taken literally, they concede the figurative character of the entire parable. If they are unwilling to admit that the entire parable is figurative, they are forced to concede that their decision as to whether one part is or is not to be taken figuratively is simply a matter of their own arbitrary choice, and not based on any clearly defined and consistent principle of interpretation.

Lazarus in his bosom. See on v. 22. Textual evidence may be cited (cf. p. 146) for the reading “Lazarus resting in his bosom.”