Difference between revisions of "Lazarus"

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There are two men named '''Lazarus''' in the [[New Testament]]: both have left traces in contemporary culture. Do not confuse them.  
 
There are two men named '''Lazarus''' in the [[New Testament]]: both have left traces in contemporary culture. Do not confuse them.  
  
In [[Luke]] 16, 19-31 '''Lazarus''' is the beggar in [[Jesus]]’ story of the rich man and the beggar. (The story is sometimes known as the story of '''Dives and Lazarus''', as if the rich man were called Dives (pronounced as two [[syllable]]s, {{IPA|'daɪ viːz}}). But this is a mistake: the rich man has no name in [[Luke]]’s account; the name Dives arose out of misunderstanding the word ‘dives’ ([[Latin]] for ‘rich’ or ‘rich man’) in the [[Latin]] version of the [[Bible]] as a [[proper name]].) In Jesus’ story '''Lazarus''' is a sick beggar, ‘full of sores’, spending his days laid out on the ground at the entrance to the rich man’s residence (v. 20), and so hungry that he would gladly eat the ‘crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table’ (v. 21). The latter, however, does nothing to help him. In time they both die, but after death their situations are reversed: '''Lazarus''' is ‘carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom’ (v. 22), while the rich man suffers the torments of hell, and pleads with Abraham to allow '''Lazarus''' to bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue (vv. 22-31).
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In [[Luke]] 16, 19-31 '''Lazarus''' is the beggar in [[Jesus]]’ story of the rich man and the beggar. (The story is sometimes known as the story of '''Dives and Lazarus''', as if the rich man were called Dives (pronounced as two [[syllable]]s, {{IPA|'daɪ viːz}}). But this is a mistake: the rich man has no name in [[Luke]]’s account; the name Dives arose out of misunderstanding the word ‘dives’ ([[Latin]] for ‘rich’ or ‘rich man’) in the [[Latin]] version of the [[Bible]] as a [[Proper noun|proper name]].) In Jesus’ story '''Lazarus''' is a sick beggar, ‘full of sores’, spending his days laid out on the ground at the entrance to the rich man’s residence (v. 20), and so hungry that he would gladly eat the ‘crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table’ (v. 21). The latter, however, does nothing to help him. In time they both die, but after death their situations are reversed: '''Lazarus''' is ‘carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom’ (v. 22), while the rich man suffers the torments of hell, and pleads with Abraham to allow '''Lazarus''' to bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue (vv. 22-31).
  
 
It is assumed from [[Luke]]’s description of his symptoms that '''Lazarus''' was a leper, i.e., suffered from leprosy, a chronic infectious disease. As such, he is the source of the English words
 
It is assumed from [[Luke]]’s description of his symptoms that '''Lazarus''' was a leper, i.e., suffered from leprosy, a chronic infectious disease. As such, he is the source of the English words

Revision as of 13:49, 8 July 2020

There are two men named Lazarus in the New Testament: both have left traces in contemporary culture. Do not confuse them.

In Luke 16, 19-31 Lazarus is the beggar in Jesus’ story of the rich man and the beggar. (The story is sometimes known as the story of Dives and Lazarus, as if the rich man were called Dives (pronounced as two syllables, IPA: /'daɪ viːz/). But this is a mistake: the rich man has no name in Luke’s account; the name Dives arose out of misunderstanding the word ‘dives’ (Latin for ‘rich’ or ‘rich man’) in the Latin version of the Bible as a proper name.) In Jesus’ story Lazarus is a sick beggar, ‘full of sores’, spending his days laid out on the ground at the entrance to the rich man’s residence (v. 20), and so hungry that he would gladly eat the ‘crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table’ (v. 21). The latter, however, does nothing to help him. In time they both die, but after death their situations are reversed: Lazarus is ‘carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom’ (v. 22), while the rich man suffers the torments of hell, and pleads with Abraham to allow Lazarus to bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue (vv. 22-31).

It is assumed from Luke’s description of his symptoms that Lazarus was a leper, i.e., suffered from leprosy, a chronic infectious disease. As such, he is the source of the English words

  • lazar (pronounced with the stress on the first syllable IPA: /'læ zə/) an archaic word for a leper; and
  • lazaret or lazarette - both words are pronounced with the stress on the final syllable, IPA: / læ zə 'rɛt/ – a hospital for those who are suffering from an infectious disease. The words lazaret and lazarette are also used in nautical contexts to refer to the locker sometimes found in the stern of a small boat or to a storeroom between the decks of a ship. This use is the descendant of an earlier use, in the days of the old sailing ships, when a lazaret or lazerettte was a locker in which to store the bodies of important passengers or crew who died while the ship was at sea, most passengers or crew who died during the voyage being buried at sea.

Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the rich man is the source of the English folk song Dives and Lazarus, one of many collected by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), who used its tune as the basis for his Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus (for harp and string orchestra) as well as arranging it as the hymn tune Kingsfold.

The other person named Lazarus in the New Testament is the person whom Jesus raised from the dead. He was the brother of Mary and Martha, living with them in the village of Bethany, not far from Jerusalem, and all three were friends of Jesus. According to the account in John’s Gospel, chs. 11 &12, Lazarus fell ill and his sisters sent for Jesus (ch. 11, vv. 1-3), who at the time was some distance away from Bethany. However, when Jesus received their message, he did not respond immediately but waited for two days (v. 6), and by the time he reached Bethany, Lazarus was already dead and had been four days in the grave (v. 17). Outside the village Jesus met Martha (vv. 20-30) and then Mary (vv. 30-33), who upbraided him for not having come sooner (v. 32). All three of them together with other mourners then went to the grave and after the stone which sealed it had been rolled away (vv. 39-41), Jesus called out in a loud voice (v. 43) ‘Lazarus come forth’, and Lazarus emerged from the grave, alive, ‘bound hand and foot with graveclothes’ (v. 44).

The name Lazarus is sometimes used with a clear allusion to Lazarus of Bethany as a person who died and was brought back to life. For example

  • when, in 1997, physicists discovered that semiconductors develop defects (i.e., ‘go dead’) in harsh radiation environments but at very low temperatures (-143 Celsius) begin to function normally again (i.e., ‘become alive’), they named this phenomenon The Lazarus Effect.
  • rather differently, The Lazarus Effect is the title of a recent (2015) American supernatural horror film. In the film medical researchers discover a serum which they call Lazarus and which they realise can bring the dead back to life - though it produces a variety of horrifying side-effects.