ABRAHAM’S SIDE
Expression used by the Lord Jesus himself in Luke. 16:22, designating the abode of the rescued souls after death, that is, Paradise. The Jews thought about the happiness of the welcome that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would give them in this Paradise (cf. 4 Mac. 13:17).
They rejoiced at the prospect of entering into communion with him and saw themselves, as it were, resting on his bosom.
In the rabbinic language of the 3rd century AD, the expression “to be in the bosom of Abraham” means: “to have entered Paradise.”
The concept of “resting on the breast” comes, in turn, from the Eastern custom of eating reclining towards the table. In this way, the head of the next person was very close to the breast of the preceding one.
The positions were assigned so that the one who received the most honor was the one closest to the host. It is in this sense of closeness and communion that the expression is understood.