Luke 16:19-31 - Jezuiti

The Iliad makes numerous references to garments of purple worn by kings and generals. In the
Odyssey, the hero, Odysseus, is given a cloak dyed sea purple by his wife Penelope. Purple robes
were deemed worthy offerings to Apollo at Delphi by King Croesus of Lydia, according to
Herodotus. The poetry of Sappho relates the high esteem of purple garments as gifts for gods and
goddesses. Greek lyric poets of the 5 th century BC equated purple with the garments of heroes and
gods … In the Classical and Hellenistic periods, purple enjoyed a sacrosanct and noble status,
adorning distinguished people. It was common, therefore, for statesmen, actors, courtesans and
wealthy citizens to wear purple as a rather blatant show of power and status … [In Roman society,]
purple stripes were worn on the togas of officials, and eventually became the privilege of senators.
(Virginia M. Da Costa, “Purple,” in Nigel Guy Wilson, ed. Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece , p. 615)
The market in purple dye was so lucrative that many unscrupulous individuals would offer inferior dyes,
in an attempt to “cash in” on the demand: “The demand for purple exceeded its supply, and in the ancient
world, cheaper and more plentiful substitutes were developed, by diluting the true organic dye with water,
urine or honey, or by using animal or vegetable material that approximated to the desired color … There
were industries devoted to the production of counterfeit purple from cheap materials such as mulberry
juice, amaranth blossoms and crushed bloodstone.” (Da Costa, “Purple,” p. 615).
Fine linen was often used for the undergarments of the wealthier classes. The type referred to here,
byssus, was probably a superior-quality linen imported from Egypt—highlighting once again the man’s
wealth, since he was able to purchase such luxury goods.
Note that, by comparison, there is no mention made of Lazarus’ clothing—if, indeed, he had anything but
rags to wear.
“feasted sumptuously every day”: Luke highlights the ostentation and lavishness of the rich man’s meals.
20: “at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus”: “The opening scene provides a brief social description of
the two men. They are two very different men in an essentially two-tier society of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ …
The fact that there is a ‘gate’ at which Lazarus lay means that the rich man lives in a mansion surrounded
by a wall, designed to keep the ‘have-nots’ at a distance. The wall and its gate make a statement. Although
he may well be aware that poverty surrounds him, the rich man does not want to see it, or do anything to
alleviate it.” (Arland J. Hultgren, The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary, p. 112).
Lazarus: this is likely a Greco-Latin form of an originally Semitic name, probably Eleazar, “God has
helped [me]” or Eliezer, “My God is [my] helper” 2 . “The rich man is not portrayed as particularly wicked;
he is simply not attentive to the situation (the poor man nearby). Nor is it said that Lazarus was
particularly good; he simply has no help but God alone in this world. Since Luke commonly equates
poverty and piety, however, Lazarus is most likely to be understood as pious, even as his name suggests.”
(Hultgren, Parables, p. 112). Of course, given Lazarus’ situation, his name must have seemed like a cruel
joke, since it seemed that God was not helping him, and was abandoning him to the mercy (lack of
mercy?) of his fellow human beings. Historians suggest that perhaps 5% of any ancient city would have
been made up of such beggars, who depended on the generosity and compassion of others to survive.
“The wealthy man knew who the beggar was, because he would later recognize him after both their
deaths. Meanwhile, day by day, as the man passed through his gate wearing his purple robes, his
perfumed aroma collided with the beggar’s stench. Occasionally their eyes met, but with no recognition
and no feeling by the wealthy man. The beggar was simply part of the landscape—an unpleasant sight one
had to endure. Soon the beggar would be gone.” (R. Kent Hughes, Luke: That You May Know the Truth,
p. 156)
“Lazarus is … said to ‘lay’ (RSV, NEB, NRSV) at the gate, or it is said that he ‘was laid’ (KJV, NIV) there.
The Greek verb is ἐβέβλητο [ebeblēto], the perfect passive of βάλλω [ballō], which is used to depict a
person confined to his or her sickbed (cf. Matt. 8:6,14; 9:2; Mark 7:30). The use of the verb points to his
2 Interestingly, this is the only time that a character in one of Jesus’ parables is given a name, highlighting that, both for
Jesus and for Luke, this is apparently a particularly key parable.