The Afterlife Imagery in Luke’s Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus Supplements to Novum Testamentum Executive Editors M.M. Mitchell Chicago D.P. Moessner Dubuque Editorial Board c.k. barrett, durham ‒ p. borgen, trondheim j.k. elliott, leeds ‒ c.r. holladay, atlanta h.w. hollander, leiden ‒ h.j. de jonge, leiden a.j. malherbe, new haven ‒ m.j.j. menken, utrecht j. smit sibinga, amsterdam VOLUME 123 The Afterlife Imagery in Luke’s Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus by Outi Lehtipuu LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lehtipuu, Outi. The afterlife imagery in Luke’s story of the rich man and Lazarus / by Outi Lehtipuu. p. cm. — (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, ISSN 0167-9732; v. 123) Revision of the author’s thesis (doctoral)—University of Helsinki, 2004. Includes bibliographical references (p. and index). ISBN-13: 978-90-04-15301-1 ISBN-10: 90-04-15301-2 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Bible. N.T. Luke XVI, 19–31—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Rich man and Lazarus (Parable)—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Future life—Biblical teaching. I. Title. BT378.D5L44 2007 226.8’06—dc22 2006049211 ISSN 0167-9732 ISBN-13: 978 90 04 15301 1 ISBN-10: 90 04 15301 2 © Copyright 2007 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands For my children CONTENTS Acknowledgments ........................................................................ xi Note on Translations .................................................................. xiii PART I INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: The Problem .......................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Previous Research and Its Evaluation .................. 11 2.1. The Legacy of Jülicher and Gressmann ...................... 11 2.2. The Key Issues in More Recent Research .................. 18 A Story Composed of Two Parts? ................................ 19 An Original Teaching of Jesus? .................................... 22 A Derivative of a Demotic Folktale? ............................ 29 Chapter 3: The Purpose of This Study .................................. 39 PART II DIVIDING THE DEAD: THE HELLENISTIC MATRIX Chapter 4: Preliminary Remarks: From Fixed Parallels to Intertextuality .................................................................... 45 Chapter 5: Differentiated Fates in Greco-Roman Sources .... 55 5.1. Death in the Homeric Epics ........................................ 57 5.2. Towards an Individual Treatment of the Dead .......... 62 Rewards and Punishments after Death ........................ 66 The Question of “Orphic Influence” .......................... 75 5.3. Concepts of Afterlife in Hellenistic and Roman Times .............................................................................. 81 viii contents Philosophical Treatments of the Fate of the Soul .... 83 The Immortal Soul in Cicero, Pseudo-Plato, and Plutarch ...................................................................... 87 Chapter 6: Differentiated Fates: Only an Elite View? .......... 99 6.1. The Ambiguity of the Epigraphic Sources ................ 102 6.2. Popular Views Reflected in Literary Sources ............ 108 Chapter 7: Differentiated Fates in Jewish Sources .................. 119 7.1. The Fate of the Dead in the Hebrew Bible ............ 120 7.2. Apocalyptic Eschatology and Personal Afterlife ........ 125 1 Enoch 22 .................................................................. 129 Other Apocalypses ........................................................ 138 Other Accounts of Differentiated Fates ...................... 144 7.3. Divergent Beliefs within First Century Judaism ........ 148 Chapter 8: Summary of Part Two .......................................... 156 PART III LUKE’S DESCRIPTION OF THE HEREAFTER IN CONTEXT Chapter 9: Preliminary Remarks: The Function of the Afterlife Scene ........................................................................ 163 Chapter 10: The Structural Themes of the Story .................. 171 10.1. Reversal of Fates after Death ...................................... 171 Lucian: Death as the Great Equalizer ...................... 173 Epistle of Enoch: Struggle between the Righteous and Sinners .............................................................. 175 The Finality of the Reversal ...................................... 183 10.2. Message from the World of the Dead ...................... 186 Chapter 11: Details of the Description .................................... 197 11.1. Angels Escorting the Dead .......................................... 198 11.2. Abraham in the Hereafter .......................................... 206 11.3. Torment of the Rich Man, Consolation of Lazarus .......................................................................... 212 contents ix 11.4. The Separating Chasm ................................................ 221 11.5. Bodily Existence ............................................................ 223 Chapter 12: Summary of Part Three ...................................... 231 PART IV AFTERLIFE IMAGERY IN LUKE-ACTS Chapter 13: Preliminary Remarks: A Consistent Eschatological Scheme? .......................................................... 237 Chapter 14: The Rich Man and Lazarus and Luke’s Eschatology .............................................................................. 243 14.1. Jesus’ Role in the Eschatological Salvation ................ 243 14.2. Eschatology—Future or Present, Collective or Individual ...................................................................... 250 Resurrection—When and for Whom? ........................ 256 Chapter 15: The Fate of the Individual after Death ............ 265 15.1. Hades—Interim Abode or Final Destiny? .................. 265 Hades and Gehenna .................................................... 271 15.2. The Good Lot of the Righteous ................................ 276 Paradise .......................................................................... 277 Eternal Habitations ...................................................... 284 Kingdom of God, Eternal Life, Heaven .................... 289 Chapter 16: Summary of Part Four ........................................ 295 Conclusions .................................................................................. 299 Bibliography ................................................................................ 305 A. Texts, Translations, and Reference Works .................... 305 B. Secondary Literature ........................................................ 309 Index of Passages ........................................................................ 331 General Index ............................................................................ 353 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work is a slightly revised version of my doctoral dissertation accepted by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Helsinki at the very end of 2004. The work would never have been com- pleted without the assistance and guidance of a number of people whom I especially wish to acknowledge. Heikki Räisänen has acted as my supervisor from the beginning of my research. His remarks on my work, always justified and always stimulating, have been invaluable. He has constantly infused me with courage, not least when I myself was uncertain which would hap- pen first, the completion of my manuscript or the birth of my youngest child. Adela Yarbro Collins (Yale University) acted as the official exam- iner in the public defense of the dissertation. Her acute remarks and well-founded suggestions before, at, and after the defense helped me to sharpen my ideas on many points. Her profound knowledge and genuine interest in her students have impressed me ever since I first met her about ten years ago in Chicago. Lars Aejmelaeus has offered his guidance in this process from its initial stages onward, providing much encouragement as well as valu- able suggestions. Risto Uro and Martti Nissinen both read most of the manuscript and gave invaluable feedback and support. Numerous other colleagues and fellow students at the Department of Biblical Studies in Helsinki have willingly shared their expertise, not only contributing to a fruitful scholarly atmosphere but also making work- ing there fun. I have received financial support from the Research Unit on the Formation of Early Jewish and Christian Ideology (funded by the Academy of Finland as one of its “Centres of Excellence”) and from grants received from the 350th Anniversary Foundation of the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Cultural Foundation (Alli Wiher- heimo Fund), the Research Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and the Department for International Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The last mentioned enabled me to spend one semester at the Lutheran School of Theology xii acknowledgments in Chicago at the very beginning of my