Is the story about Lazarus and the rich man a parable?

There are those that say that the story about Lazarus and the rich man is not a parable, usually by those who believe in everlasting torment after we die. The question remains though - is it a parable or isn't it? Here is how dictionary.com defines a parable:

"a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson."

This begs the question, what is an allegory? Here is how it is defined at the same source:

"a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another."

Does this match up with the idea that the story of Lazarus and the rich man is a parable? Let's find out. What is the point of the story? To teach about the afterlife or to teach another message? Let me quote a few verses from the parable first.

Luke 16

29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

This sounds like the core message here is to talk about repentance, not what your fate is after death. Usually in most parables taught by Yeshua, he explains it after he is done telling the story. Let's see if that is the case here as well.

Luke 17

1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Clearly the main point that is being made here is to repent, and not to teach a profound new lesson about the afterlife not found in any other scripture. If the point of a parable is to teach a moral lesson, then I think we found the point of this parable - it is to teach about repentance, and that it is important to do so before you die. What is also interesting is that we learn about repentance from the teachings of Moses in the Torah, not from the New Testament.

It is always key to understand what a parable is teaching about and not impose another lesson or teaching upon it. Find the core message and discard the rest. This is much like the story of Peter and the sheet.

Acts 10

11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.

12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.

13 And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”

15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”

16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

Is this passage talking about eating unclean animals? How does Peter interpret the vision?

28 Then he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Peter clearly says the message of the vision was not about eating unclean animals but rather about keeping company with Gentiles. If we can see in this example of how the vision says one thing in the literal sense but is actually teaching something at the allegorical level, how much more so in the example of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man?

Scripture is interpreted on multiple levels:

1. Peshat (literal)

2. Remez (symbolic)

3. Derash (allegorical)

4. Sod (hidden)

In the case of a parable, it resides within the realm of a Derash interpretation, not a Peshat one. You will not get the primary focus of the story if you dwell on the Peshat. For example, in the parable of the sower, are we to focus on the literal meaning and learn how to plant seed properly in the ground so that it will grow, or are we to focus on the actual allegorical meaning of the story? It is clear we are to focus on the allegorical meaning of the story.

One thing to keep in mind is that Yeshua even told us early in his ministry that he spoke in parables to disguise the real meaning and thus, we should not be looking at the literal meaning of the text to understand what he is saying:

Matthew 13

11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

The two primary objections I have heard against the story being a parable are:

1. It doesn't say it is a parable in the text

2. It talks about a specific man (the rich man in this case)

Let's examine these one at a time. Does it matter if the story says it is a parable? Are other parables also not identified as a parable in the text? Look at the parable of the prodigal son. Everyone agrees this story is a parable. Read the entire text of Luke 15 and you will not see one sentence that says this story is a parable. You can even read chapter 16, and it doesn't summarize the story by saying it is a parable - it simply goes on to the next parable.

Does it matter that it talks about a specific man? Here is the verse in question:

Luke 16

19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

Are there any other parables that start the same way? Let's take a look into the scriptures:

Luke 16

1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.

Luke 15

11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.

Both of the above stories are parables and talk about "a certain man". Clearly the fact that it talks about a certain man has no bearing on whether it is a parable or not.

For those who say the problem is it names Lazarus, Abraham and Moses by name and so it clearly cannot be a parable, please look at this parable from the Torah:

Ezekiel 23

1 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying:

² “Son of man, there were two women,
The daughters of one mother.
³ They committed harlotry in Egypt,
They committed harlotry in their youth;
Their breasts were there embraced,
Their virgin bosom was there pressed.
⁴ Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister;
They were Mine,
And they bore sons and daughters.
As for their names,
Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

This story is clearly a parable, and there are several names listed.

Some other things to consider about the story. If this story is talking about the typical belief that righteous people go to Heaven and the unrighteous go to hell, we need to realize that Lazarus is never described as a righteous man - he simply was poor and unable to care for himself. Yeshua also never says the rich man was unrighteous and guilty of sin. He simply says that the man was rich and lived a good life. If we are to take the standard interpretation about the story, then we must have the position that rich people go to hell and suffer eternal torment and poor people go to heaven.

Also, the word that is translated as torment in Luke 16:23 is the Greek word βάσανος. This word has several meanings, but this is the first definition:

"a touchstone, which is a black siliceous stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal"

In other words, it is a word that means a trial or testing. God does not cause us to sin, but he clearly puts us through trials.

James 2
² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 
³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 

The word torment also appears in Luke 16:24 which comes from the Greek word ὀδυνάω. This word is described as anguish or pain, but in the vein of letting scripture interpret scripture, we find the same word in Luke 2:48

Luke 2

48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

The word translated as anxiously here is the same word that is translated as torment in Luke 16:24. The word means an emotional distress or pain and not a literal physical pain.

Given all of the above information, I can only conclude that this is indeed a parable which was told to teach a lesson of repentance and had nothing to do with your fate once you die.