Skip to content

Study 9: The Rich Man and Lazarus -- Advanced Study

Luke 16:19-31 -- Genre Determination, Vocabulary Analysis, and Same-Author Evidence

Evidence Tiers

This series uses a three-tier evidence classification to distinguish what Scripture says from what people claim it teaches:

  1. Explicit (E) -- The text directly says this. You can point to a verse and quote it.
  2. Necessary Implication (N) -- No single verse says this word-for-word, but it unavoidably follows from what the text does say. No interpretation is needed -- every reader, regardless of theological position, must agree.
  3. Inference (I) -- Someone claims the Bible teaches this, but no verse says it and no combination of verses forces it. Something must be added beyond what the text contains: a concept, a framework, or a choice between possible readings.

The hierarchy matters: Explicit > Necessary Implication > Inference. An inference cannot override what the text explicitly states.

Section A: The Lukan "Certain Rich Man" Formula

  1. The Greek phrase anthropos tis plousios ("a certain rich man") appears three times in Luke's Gospel: Luke 12:16, Luke 16:1, and Luke 16:19. Read all three passages. In which occurrence does Luke provide an explicit parabole label? In which occurrence is no label given but the genre is universally accepted as parabolic? In which occurrence is the genre disputed?

  2. Luke 15:3 provides a single parabole label ("he spake this parable unto them") that covers three consecutive stories (lost sheep, 15:4-7; lost coin, 15:8-10; prodigal son, 15:11-32) without re-labeling each. What does this labeling pattern establish about Luke's practice?

  3. Given that Luke 16:1 uses the identical "certain rich man" formula without a parabole label and is universally recognized as a parable, and that Luke's labeling convention in 15:3 covers multiple stories with a single label, is the absence of a parabole label in 16:19 informative about genre? Why or why not?

Section B: Literary Structure of Luke 15-16

  1. Map the literary structure of Luke 15-16. Identify: (a) the setting and audience (15:1-2), (b) the opening parabole label (15:3), (c) each narrative unit through 16:31, and (d) the Pharisees' reaction recorded in 16:14-15. At what point does the parabolic discourse close?

  2. Read Luke 16:14-17. Between the Unjust Steward and the Rich Man and Lazarus, Luke records three items: the Pharisees are "covetous" and "derided" Jesus (v.14-15); "the law and the prophets were until John" (v.16); and "it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail" (v.17). How do these transitional verses connect to the Rich Man and Lazarus -- specifically, how does the theme of "Moses and the prophets" in these verses anticipate the passage's climax in vv.29, 31?

  3. The Rich Man and Lazarus is the fifth consecutive narrative in the Luke 15-16 discourse. No scene change occurs between stories. The discourse opens with the Pharisees' murmuring (15:1-2) and does not resume narrative action until 17:1. What genre conclusion does this continuous parabolic context support?

Section C: Vocabulary Analysis -- basanos/odunao vs. basanizo

  1. Luke 16 uses two words for the rich man's suffering: basanos (G931, noun: "torment/touchstone") in vv.23, 28, and odunao (G3600, verb: "to grieve/sorrow") in vv.24, 25. The standard NT verb for eschatological torment is basanizo (G928), used in Rev 14:10 and Rev 20:10. Does Luke 16 use basanizo?

  2. odunao (G3600) appears four times in the NT. Luke uses it three times: Luke 2:48 (Mary "sorrowing" for the child Jesus), Acts 20:38 (disciples "sorrowing" at Paul's departure), and Luke 16:24-25 ("tormented"). The KJV translates odunao as "sorrowing" in Luke 2:48 and Acts 20:38 but as "tormented" in Luke 16:24-25. What does the word actually mean in its non-parabolic Lukan uses? How should this inform the reading of Luke 16?

  3. basanos (G931) outside Luke 16 appears only in Matthew 4:24, where it refers to physical diseases and ailments -- not eschatological punishment. The eschatological torment vocabulary in Revelation uses basanismos (G929, noun: "torment") and basanizo (G928, verb: "to torment"). Construct a comparison:

Term Meaning Passages Eschatological?
basanos (G931)
odunao (G3600)
basanizo (G928)
basanismos (G929)
  1. What does the vocabulary divergence between Luke 16 and the eschatological torment passages suggest about whether Luke intended to describe the same phenomenon?

Section D: Genre Gate Analysis (Tree 3)

  1. Tree 3 evaluates whether a passage can function as positional evidence. Apply Gates 1 and 3 to the rich man in Luke 16:19-31:

  2. Gate 1 (Subject): Is the rich man a historical individual or a parabolic character? Consider: he is unnamed in the Greek text ("Dives" comes from the Latin Vulgate); his counterpart Lazarus bears a thematic name (Lazaros = Eleazar, "God helps"); the passage follows Luke's parabolic formula.

  3. Gate 3 (Genre): Is the genre didactic (direct teaching) or parabolic? Consider: the passage is the fifth narrative in a continuous parabolic discourse; the opening formula matches two other Lukan parables; the passage's climactic teaching (vv.29, 31) concerns Moses and the prophets, not afterlife cosmology.

  4. If the passage fails Gate 1 (parabolic character) and Gate 3 (parabolic genre), what is the consequence for using it as evidence about the literal geography of the afterlife?

Section E: Same-Author Evidence from Acts

  1. Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Read Acts 2:27, 29, 31, 34. Document what these verses say about:
  2. David's current state (v.29)
  3. David's location relative to heaven (v.34)

  4. Christ's soul in hades (v.27, 31) -- was it left there?

  5. Acts 2:29, 34 is didactic prose: Peter is preaching to a crowd, making direct statements about a named historical individual (David). Luke 16:19-31 is narrative set within a parabolic discourse. In the hierarchy of clarity, which genre carries more weight for establishing doctrine -- didactic or parabolic? How does the same author's didactic material in Acts interpret his parabolic material in Luke 16?

  6. Nine didactic passages from 6+ authors across 5+ books describe the dead as unconscious: no knowledge (Ecc 9:5), no work or wisdom in sheol (Ecc 9:10), no remembrance (Ps 6:5), silence (Ps 115:17), thoughts perish (Ps 146:4), not awake (Job 14:12), unknowing (Job 14:21), cessation (Job 3:17-18), no praise (Isa 38:18-19). The rich man in Luke 16 remembers his life and knows about his brothers. If this is a literal account, how does it harmonize with nine didactic passages stating the dead "know not any thing"?

Section F: Counter-Arguments and the Naming Question

  1. The strongest argument for the literal reading is that Lazarus is the only named human character in any parable of Jesus. Evaluate this claim by considering:
  2. Is the name thematic? (Lazaros = Eleazar = "God helps" -- does this match the reversal-of-fortunes plot?)
  3. Is the rich man named? (If this is a historical account of two real people, why is only one named?)
  4. Do OT parables ever name characters? (Read Ezekiel 23: Aholah and Aholibah -- are these historical women or symbolic names?)

  5. Does Nave's Topical Bible list the Lazarus of Luke 16 as a historical person?

  6. An ECT defender might argue: "Jesus would not use false imagery in a teaching story -- therefore the afterlife details must be accurate." Evaluate this argument. Does Jesus endorse all details within his parables as doctrine? Consider: Does the parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-8) endorse dishonesty? Does the parable of the ten virgins (Matt 25:1-13) teach literal oil lamp theology?

  7. The rich man has knowledge, memory, speech, and concern for his brothers (Luke 16:25, 27-28). The didactic passages say the dead "know not any thing" (Ecc 9:5) and "his thoughts perish" (Ps 146:4). If the passage is literal, these are contradictions. If the passage is parabolic, these are narrative necessities enabling the story to reach its teaching point. Which reading accounts for the data without contradiction?

Section G: Evidence Classification Exercise

Classify each claim below as Explicit (E), Necessary Implication (N), or Inference (I). For each inference, identify what must be added beyond what the text says.

  1. "Luke 15:3 provides a single parabole label covering three consecutive stories."
  2. Classification: ___

  3. If inference, what is added: ___

  4. "The absence of the word 'parable' in Luke 16:19 proves the passage is not a parable."

  5. Classification: ___

  6. If inference, what is added: ___

  7. "The passage's climactic statement is about hearing Moses and the prophets, not about afterlife geography (Luke 16:29, 31)."

  8. Classification: ___

  9. If inference, what is added: ___

  10. "Abraham's bosom as a post-mortem location is unique to Luke 16:22-23 and does not appear elsewhere in Scripture."

  11. Classification: ___

  12. If inference, what is added: ___

  13. "Luke 16 uses basanos/odunao rather than basanizo/basanismos -- different vocabulary from the eschatological torment passages."

  14. Classification: ___

  15. If inference, what is added: ___

  16. "The naming of Lazarus proves the passage is a literal historical account, not a parable."

  17. Classification: ___

  18. If inference, what is added: ___

  19. "The physical details (tongue, water, flame, conversation across a gulf) describe literal post-mortem conditions for disembodied souls."

  20. Classification: ___
  21. If inference, what is added: ___

Section H: What CAN Be Said / What CANNOT Be Said

Based on your study, fill in each column:

What CAN be said (the Bible explicitly states or necessarily implies):

What CANNOT be said (not stated or necessarily implied -- requires adding something):