What was the origin of the phrase "Abraham's Bosom" as used by Jesus? We read at Luke  16:22-23 (KJV)
&quot; And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. &quot;
Though  Jesus gives a literal picture of Lazarus sitting in the lap of Abraham ( and many drawings of the story of Lazarus picture him do so ),  some suggest that Abraham's Bosom was  a place where the dead would await their judgement, and that the phrase  was taken by Jesus from Jewish literature. My question therefore is: According to Catholic teachings, what was the origin of the phrase   &quot;Abraham's Bosom&quot; as used by Jesus in the Story of Lazarus and the Rich Man ?
&quot;Bosom of Abraham&quot; refers to the place of comfort in the Biblical Sheol (or Hades in the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew scriptures from around 200 BCE, and therefore so described in the New Testament) where the righteous dead supposedly await Judgment Day.
The word found in the Greek text for &quot;bosom&quot; is kolpos, meaning &quot;lap&quot; &quot;bay&quot;. This relates to the Second Temple period practice of reclining and eating meals in proximity to other guests, the closest of whom physically was said to lie on the bosom (chest) of the host, as in John 13:23.

The Jews had adopted the Persian, Greek, and Roman custom of reclining at meals, and had long since exchanged the original practice of standing at the Passover first for sitting and then for reclining in a setup called Triclinium. They reclined on the left arm and ate with the right. The expression &quot;lies in the bosom&quot; is well documented in extrabiblical sources.