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The Afterlife Imagery in Luke’s Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (2007) is a book by Outi Lehtipuu.

Abstract

Originally presented as the Author's PhD dissertation, University of Helsinki [Finland], 2004.

"This book studies in detail the afterlife scene in the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The description of the afterlife is related, on the one hand, to the overall Hellenistic cultural milieu and, on the other hand, to Lukes eschatological views ... Despite the keen scholarly interest in the Gospel parables, the afterlife scenery in the story of the rich man and Lazarus has often been overlooked. Using insights from the orality studies and intertextuality, the author places the Lukan description of the fate of the dead into the larger Hellenistic matrix, provided by a large number of Greco-Roman and Jewish sources, both literary and epigraphic. Moreover, she challenges several conventional stances in Lukan studies, such as tracing the original of the story to Egypt, or maintaining that eschatology is a key for understanding Luke's work and the purpose for writing it, or harmonizing Luke's eschatological thinking by positing an intermediate state between death and general resurrection. Thus, the book offers fresh insights both to the way the fate of the dead was understood in the ancient world and to the concept of Lukan eschatology."--Publisher description.

Editions

Published in Leiden: Brill, 2006 (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 123).

Contents

Introduction. The problem ; Previous research and its evaluation ; The purpose of this study -- Dividing the dead : the Hellenistic matrix. Preliminary remarks : from fixed parallels to intertextuality ; Differentiated fates in Greco-Roman sources ; Differentiated fates : only an elite view? ; Differentiated fates in Jewish sources ; Summary of part two -- Luke's description of the hereafter in context. Preliminary remarks : the function of the afterlife scene ; The structural themes of the story ; Details of the description ; Summary of part three -- Afterlife imagery in Luke-Acts. Preliminary remarks : a consistent eschatological scheme? ; The rich man and Lazarus and Luke's eschatology ; The fate of the individual after death ; Summary of part four ; Conclusions.

External links

• [ Google Books]