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Lazarus

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A friend of Jesus raised from the dead after four days, symbolizing resurrection, divine power, and the triumph over mortality.

Detailed Definition
Lazarus’s resurrection in Bethany confirmed Jesus as “resurrection and life” and intensified opposition leading to the cross. His story prefigures Christ’s own victory. In poetry, Lazarus embodies the power of divine summons over death, the intimacy of Christ’s grief and glory, and the hope of bodily resurrection—often symbolizing the believer called from spiritual death to new life.
Example
Example in poetry:
T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” opens with the epigraph “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,” invoking resurrection as existential testimony; In John Donne’s Holy Sonnet X, “Death, be not proud,” Lazarus becomes a type of victory over mortality; George Herbert’s “The Quip” references Lazarus to contrast earthly and heavenly feasts; Modern African American spirituals like “Lazarus, Come Forth” use his story as metaphor for liberation from slavery; In Denise Levertov’s “The Avowal,” Lazarus symbolizes the soul’s return to truth after spiritual death; Some Easter poems quote John 11:43—“Lazarus, come out!”—as divine command over despair.
Additional Notes
Lazarus is famously raised from the dead by Jesus in John 11, symbolizing resurrection and divine power; he also appears in Luke 16 as the poor man in Jesus’ parable contrasting earthly suffering and heavenly reward; poets often use Lazarus to explore themes of death, rebirth, social justice, or the liminal space between life and afterlife.
Also Known As
Lazarus of Bethany Lazarus the Resurrected
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