Luke 16:23

Luke 16:23. And in hell, Greek, ‘Hades,' i.e., in the state or place of departed spirits; which must not be confounded with Gehenna, the final state of eternal punishment, since in this case it includes ‘Abraham's bosom.'

He lifted up his eyes. Either he looked up to a higher place, or he now became fully conscious.

Being in torments. The rich man was in a place of punishment ; for the whole parable turns on this point. Physical torment is not implied, save so far as it is necessary for the figurative representation. The rich man's body was buried.

Seeth Abraham afar off. According to the Jewish notion, Paradise and Gehenna are so situated that one is visible from the other. A literal sense is not to be pressed, any more than in the previous part of the verse. The recognition of Abraham points to the fact that descent from Abraham, even when acknowledged in that state after death (Luke 16:25), is in itself of no avail.

In his besom. Strictly figurative.