What are the 5 brothers in parable of Rich man/lazarus

Father Rick said:

David picked up 5 stones because Goliath had 4 brothers and David planned on killing all 5 of them but the other 4 fled with the rest of the Philistines.

If you trace the life of David, you find that later in his battles with the Philistines he did eventually kill all 4 of Goliath's brothers as well.

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That's a cool story. Did David know? I don't think so, so was it a prophetic act?

luke 16:14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him......... 27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, 28 'for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'

The fact that the rich man has five brothers is a vital clue to his true symbolic identity. Judah, the progenitor of the Jews, was the son of Jacob through Leah .

He had five full-blooded brothers:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and Zebulun.
The Pharisees and scribes to which Christ was speaking. They thoroughly knew their history and were extremely proud of their heritage. Jesus wanted those self-righteous Pharisees to know exactly who He was referring to with this parable. This detail cements the identity of the rich man as the house of Judah, the Jews

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Anyone have any idea what this "sin" is?

Jeremiah 17:1 "The sin of Judah [is] written with a pen of iron; With the point of a diamond [it is] engraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars, 2 While their children remember Their altars and their wooden images By the green trees on the high hills. 3 O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, [And] your high places of sin within all your borders.3 O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, [And] your high places of sin within all your borders. 4 And you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger [which] shall burn forever."

Malachi 2:1 "And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not hear, And if you will not take [it] to heart, To give glory to My name," Says the LORD of hosts, "I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take [it] to heart. 3 "Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread Dung on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And [one] will take you away with it.

The fact that the rich man has five brothers is a vital clue to his true symbolic identity. Judah, the progenitor of the Jews, was the son of Jacob through Leah .

He had five full-blooded brothers:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, and Zebulun.
The Pharisees and scribes to which Christ was speaking. They thoroughly knew their history and were extremely proud of their heritage. Jesus wanted those self-righteous Pharisees to know exactly who He was referring to with this parable. This detail cements the identity of the rich man as the house of Judah, the Jews!

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There are a couple of problems with this.

First, Israel is the "progenitor of the Jews", not Judah. The term Jew (which is a relatively new term in history) was attributed to those who held to the religious beliefs of the Torah (Old Testament). This term was used to describe ALL Israelites who were considered faithful in their religious beliefs. This included the 11 tribes (Naphtali, Dan, Asher, Issachar, Judah, Zebulun, Gad, Reuben, Simeon, Benjamin and Levi) and the 2 half tribes (Manasseh and Ephraim--the 2 sons of Joseph).

After the Israelites crossed Jordan and conquered Canaan, they decided there wasn't enough land so part lived on one side of the Jordan River and part lived on the other side. For many years they lived as one people, united by religion, although seperated by geography for many years. It was not until the death of King David and a civil war that broke out that they became known as 2 different kingdoms/peoples. They were known as different countries (who often fighted with each other) but were still one religion. A modern day example would be saying Iran is a Muslim country and Iraq is a Muslim country. They are all muslims, but 2 different countries.

The kingdom of Judah was comprised of the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Benjamin, and half of the tribe of Levi. Since Judah was the largest of this group, that was the name they were called. The Kingdom of Israel was composed of the remaining tribes. Since Ephraim was the largest of this group, the kingdom of Israel was often referred to as Ephraim. This is why in Old Testament prophecies, you frequently find prophecies to Judah and Ephraim in pairs... it was not just to those 2 tribes, but to the 2 kingdoms that together comprised all of the Jewish people.

The Pharisees and the Sadduccees were 2 opposing religious views/groups held by the priests. The priests were from the tribe of Levi... not Judah. So while they held to the Jewish religion, they were Levites, not Judahites as you propose. And remember-- some lived in each kingdom.

You are basing your interpretation on the fact that Judah had 5 full blooded brothers and therefore it is an allegory about the Jews. This presents all sorts of issues...

1.) Since Judah and his 5 full blooded brothers only comprise half of the Jews, does it not apply to the other half?

2.) How do you classify Ephraim and Manasseh, who were the nephews of Judah (sons of Joseph) that were adopted by Israel and given status as full brothers? This would give Judah 7 full brothers not 5.

3.) Part of your interpretation was based on the fact that the rich ruler wore purple... Purple is the color of Issachar, part of the Kingdom of Israel and not the Kingdom of Judah. The color of Judah is emerald green. The color of Levi is garnet red... so the color would not represent the Pharisees in any way.

4.) You are combining the prophecy of Jeremiah to the Kingdom of Judah with the prophecy of Malachi to the priests. Part of the priests, all of whom are Levites, would be from each kingdom. You can't just combine scriptures randomly.

Father Rick said:

The difficulty here lies with what Paul wrote "No prophecy of scripture is for private interpretation". In other words, we are not to go around deciding our own interpretations for passages, but rather look to what it actually says.

I am the first to agree that there are many parables in scripture that are allegorical in nature, however Jesus always turned to his disciples and explained what he meant in the parables. The goal of scripture is not to hide the truth but to reveal it. The desire to find a 'hidden truth' that only the 'spiritual' can discern is gnosticism-- a heresy that was condemned very early in the Church. We should always focus on those things that scripture makes plain first.

I find it particularly interesting that in your interpretation of this passage, you have completely neglected the face value of the scripture-- especially when that face value is repeated by Jesus in other ways in other passages. The face value of the passage states that the rich man was condemned because he did not show compassion to those in need. As a result he was cast into hell. In the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus makes it clear that whoever serves 'the least of these' (the poor, the hungry, the sick, those in prison) would receive eternal reward and whoever does not do this-- no matter how spiritual they may act-- would receive eternal judgement. In fact, in that parable Jesus says the goats will wonder why they are judged, since they were just as 'spiritual' as the sheep. This theme is repeated by Jesus over and again. In his epistle, James picks up this theme that 'faith without works is dead'.

This approach to scriptural interpretation tends to have the same result every time. It seems that the view is 'let's be spiritual instead of being practical'. This is the very thing the Pharisees and Scribes were doing. They were looking for all the minute details of the Law rather than caring for those around them. If anything, it seems that those who try to use this method of interpretation are actually doing exactly the thing Jesus was condemning in this passage.

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I am sorry that you dont share with me the way I interpret Revelation but then perhaps you have a very good reason for doing so - far be it for me to dispute whatever interpretation you hold to.

Dear Sir I was reading this article and found it very interesting. Please may I shed some light on this from an article I wrote called A Commentary by Simon Brown on Luke 16:19

I would like to know if the the house of Judah as you say is, was the Sadducees who denied the resurrection of the body in Mat 22:23, Luke 20:27, Acts 4:1-2, 23:8 and believed that a persons soul died with his body.

As this would confirm with my research.

The Rich man and Lazarus

As we explore further we find that a rich tapestry of facts and detail emerge to provide us with a fascinating insight into our subject. Below I have included information gathered from a variety of sources that help us to gain a deeper understanding of the scriptures.

LUKE 16:19

As there was a certain rich man and he was a custom to don a purple robe and fine linen, making merry in luxury day by day.

This refers to the priestly garments as in Exodus 28:8

20. and there was a certain poor one named Lazarus, who had been laid at his porch, being plagued by sores.

Some translations translate ‘poor’ as ’beggar’ but that is an incorrect translation and can be found in 11 translations of the Bible. Lazarus was not a beggar, as in one who is lacking in financial means, but poor as in poorly ie in physical health or ill.

The Greek word here is ptōxós. i.e. helpless as a beggar. (ptōchos).

Reduced to beggary, begging, asking, helpless, powerless.

I believe Lazarus suffered from long term diseases similar to herpes, HSV-1 and HSV-2, which was documented right back to the ancient Greeks as sores that seemed to creep over the surface of the skin. Herpes is derived from the Greek word meaning '' to creep''.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible states: Beggar - Poor man. The original word does not mean "beggar,"

21. and longing to be filled from the crumbs that were falling from the table of the rich man.

Lazarus was laid outside the porch of the rich mans house longing for help with food and water to strengthen him, but the rich man treats Lazarus with contempt. He appears indifferent to his needs and leaves him lying there without food, clothing or shelter for hours or may be days.

The Sadducees did not esteem those who appeared more lowly than themselves.

But even the dogs coming licked his sores.

Lazarus is so weak and helpless with not even enough strength to escape the dogs due to the lack of food and water. His immune system breaks down and his sores increase while his health decreases.

22. And it happened, the poor one died, and was carried away by the angels in to the bosom of Abraham.

In John 11 word gets back to Mary and Martha that their brother Lazarus is dying so they find him and bring him to their home in Bethany where he is nursed by them until they call upon Jesus for help.

So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” John 11:3.

But Jesus waits 2 more days before going to see Lazarus because I believe he knows the rich man is about to die. At this point Lazarus has already died and his soul has now descended into a compartment in Hades called paradise where the souls of the saints occupied until Jesus resurrects them because he was a follower and he was loved by Jesus as told in John 1.

Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? Ephesians 4:8-9

And the rich one also died, and was buried.23. And being in torment in Hades, lifting up his eyes, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosoms.24.And send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for i am suffering in this flame.

In this verse I believe the rich man was stressing that he would give anything just to taste water, as we would do on a hot day. Hoping Abraham would have pity on him.

The situation is now reversed as the rich man is punished for his evil deeds, just as in Exodus 1:22 when Pharaoh gave orders to all his people. “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile."

Then we read in Exodus 13, God delivers his people from Egypt through the Red Sea while Pharoahs army is drowned through the intervention of God.

The Sadducees denied the resurrection of the body in Mat 22:23, Luke 20:27, Acts 4:1-2, 23:8 and believed that a persons soul died with his body.

The rich man now becomes the helpless one begging for water as Lazarus was when he was laid on his porch.

The rich man is deep in Hades, deeper in the earth, being nearer to the centre where it is hotter, making him thirst for water endlessly and in pain from the flames from hell overflowing from the centre of the earth being "Gehenna," the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14)

For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, it devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. Deuteronomy 32:22

The rich man is kept or reserved in the ''Netherworld,'' Underworld,” Sheol, Hades'' ''PIT'' Isaiah 14.15. 2 Peter 2:9. The souls of the unsaved dead await Judgment Day.

25. But Abraham said, child, remember that you fully received your good things in your life time, and Lazarus like wise the bad things. But now he is comforted, and you are suffering.

The rich man had a good life right from the beginning as he was a Sadducee, being considered upper class in society.

They lived in luxury at the cost of others. Lazarus however I believe suffered from terrible diseases probably most of his life and it would have been possible that with care he could have survived longer but for the indifference of the rich man in ignoring the need on his doorstep.

26. And besides all these things, a great chasm has been fixed between us, and you, so that those desiring to pass from here to you are not able, nor can they pass from there to us.

Even if any one could get over to help the rich man it was impossible. After the first death it is too late, our destination relies on faith in Jesus Christ before we die and not after. For God is not mocked. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7

27. And he said, then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my Fathers house; 28. For I have five brothers, so that he may witness to them, that they not also come to this place of torment.

Interestingly it is believed by scholars around the same time while Lazarus in John 11 is still laid dead in the tomb waiting for Jesus to raise him back to life. After 4 days Jesus leaves to visit Mary and Martha the sisters of Lazarus, he tells the disciples on the way about the story of Lazarus in Luke 16:19, just before raising Lazarus from the dead.

At the same time we have Annas the High priest, the ruling power behind the Sadducees responsible later for the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Annas is the father of 5 sons who met Jesus face to face and wanted Jesus dead, he had power and authority through his position. He and his gang denied the resurrection of the body in Mat 22:23, Luke 20:27, Acts 4:1-2, 23:8. and believed that a persons soul dies with his body.

Could this be the same five brother in laws the rich man was trying to reach? It is certainly a coincidence.

In fact there is an amazing statement made in the Talmud that records and describes the family of Annas in not a particularly favourable light.

“Woe to the house of Annas!

Woe to their serpent’s hiss!

They are high priests;

their sons are keepers of the treasury,

their sons-in-law are guardians of the temple,

and their servants beat people with staves.” (Pesahim 57a)

Did you notice the 5th verse down, it states that their sons-in-law are guardians of the Temple.

Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.30. But he said, no, father Abraham, but if one should go from the dead to them, they will repent.

Did Jesus grant the rich mans request? I believe so, by raising Lazarus soul back from Hades into his dead body to then warn the rich mans father in law Annas the High priest, and his five sons being his brother in - laws from hell.

Abraham gives a prophecy saying in Luke 16:31. And he said to him, if they will not hear Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if one from the dead should rise. Interestingly we read that Annas and his mob now wanted Lazarus dead. So, the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, John 12:10

IS THIS ALL A COINCIDENCE?

I believe that the story of Lazarus as told in Luke 16:19 by Jesus was a true account but hidden within a parable.

Was Lazarus In Luke 16:19, A Beggar? My Research By Simon Brown.

This is a very important fact that we need to understand in order for us to know the truth in regards to Luke 16:19 as to whether this story told by Jesus are real events that happened or a parable, or even both.

While some believers believe it to be a parable, others believe Lazarus in Luke 16:19, to be a story of real events, What ever one we believe, whether parable or not, it has always been understood by many that Lazarus in Luke 16:19, was a beggar. This is because of the many Bibles that used the word: BEGGAR in its translation.

At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, New International Version (©1984)

While this seems true at a glance, if we dig deep in to the original Greek words, we find many of us have misunderstood this very significant story as we have read it according to translations that use a word that changes the original meaning. I admit that I missed this important fact myself initially.

After writing a long article called: Shocking Discovery and facts about Luke 16:19, The Rich Man and Lazarus. In which I wrote and posted saying I believed that Lazarus the Beggar that we see in Luke 16:19 is the one and same person as Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha, raised by Jesus in John 11.

Many readers read this article but I received some interesting feedback from a Christian Pastor as quoted below.

‘Although the Lazarus theory is interesting the relatively wealthy Lazarus 1 does not fit the description of the poor beggar Lazarus 2. I don't think there can be an answer to this objection. If the tomb in Bethany is actually Lazarus' tomb that only confirms he was in a wealthy family.

We are told that this was no ‘one off’ accident of Lazarus, but a lifestyle of poverty. He is called a 'poor man' (v 20) and Abraham confirms this in v 25: 'Child, remember that you IN YOUR LIFETIME received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner BAD THINGS; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.' For me this means it must be a different Lazarus.

After reading the Pastors feedback I realised that he had some good points. On his email above I noticed something very interesting, He is called a 'poor man' The Bible translation he was using did not say he was a beggar but said He is called a 'poor man'.

This rang a bell in my mind!!

What translation was he using? So I searched in my HEBREW GREEK INTERLINEAR BIBLE, given to me by a Christian Jew named Jeremy Crystal for a birthday present. It must be one of the most valuable presents I have ever received as I believe it takes you right back as near as possible to the true original words used which was written in HEBREW and GREEK.

When I am doing some deep serious studying I look in the pages of this amazing Bible to find that it reveals secrets that many of us would not find in the many different translations of the Bible today. In this book you find the words and meanings can be quite different. We shall return to this shortly.

If we look below we can see there are 11 Bibles which have all used the word ‘BEGGAR’ instead of ‘POOR’.

For your perusal I have listed those versions below:

New International Version (©1984)
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores

New Living Translation (©2007)
At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.

English Standard Version (©2001)
And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

International Standard Version (©2008)
A beggar named Lazarus, who was covered with sores, was brought to his gate.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English (©2010)
“And there was a certain poor man whose name was Lazar and he lay at the gate of that rich man, being stricken with abscesses.”

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
There was also a beggar named Lazarus who was regularly brought to the gate of the rich man's house.

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores,

American King James Version
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

American Standard Version
and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And there was a certain beggar, named Lazarus, who lay at his gate, full of sores,

Darby Bible Translation
And there was a poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his gateway full of sores,

English Revised Version
and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Webster's Bible Translation
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Weymouth New Testament
while at his outer door there lay a beggar, Lazarus by name,

World English Bible
A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was laid at his gate, full of sores,

Young's Literal Translation
and there was a certain poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores,

So what is the right word? Is it Poor or Beggar?

Picking up my Greek Bible of hidden secrets I checked out to see if the word POOR in Luke 16:20 was in my Bible. And it was the same word used in my friends Bible. My book revealed the word POOR was the same and there was a certain poor one named Lazarus, who had been laid at his porch, being plagued by sores. Luke 19:20, HEBREW GREEK INTERLINEAR BIBLE.

So my Christian brother had used a translation very much the same as mine, proving he was a series contender.

However that is what I hoped it would say POOR and not beggar.

So was Lazarus POOR or A BEGGAR?

Read more: realdiscoveries.A Commentary by Simon Brown on Luke 16:19 - Archaeology - - Articles : Real Discoveries:

Father Rick said:

Wow... I thought I had seen over-allegorization of scripture before... but... wow....


When studying scripture ALWAYS look at the face value of the scripture first. It is only after we look at the plain meaning of the text should one even begin to look to see if there might possibly be a more allegorical interpretation.

Is it possible that Christ may have intended all these things... well it is possible. But they are clearly not the emphasis of the passage. In this passage, Jesus does not say this is a parable, but rather is quite specific that he was telling a story about a specific person... "a certain rich man...a certain man named Lazarus..." The emphasis of the passage is the importance of showing compassion to those less fortunate than ourselves, not about the rejection of the Gospel by the Pharisees.

Oh, and by the way... Purple was the color of the tribe of Issachar (gemstone is amethyst). Judah's colors are emerald green as primary and sky blue as secondary.

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I would have to agree. There are things in the story that are over looked because people try to spiritualize everything.

First off, this is Sheol, not our concept of hell. It was the realm of 'ALL THE DEAD' even the righteous dead from before the cross. It was divided up into different regions.

Now a progenitor ruled over all the righteous spirits in his 'realm', ie 'Abraham's bosom' for example. Isa 14 talks about kings ruling over realms of sheol as well. The wicked were in a separate place of torment. Abraham was asked to send spirits back to warn others of the consequences of sin. The answer was the consequences are already presented in scripture. The living have scripture to teach us and give us the needed information.

My question is, could Abraham actually sent back spirits to help influence living people? This is a concept that is presented in scripture. The sons of Noah were set up as the progenitors of their nations. They were the national 'Els'. Yah in Psalms 82 chastises them for not judging rightly and influencing their descendants properly. It is their failure to use spiritual forces to reward the righteous and punish the wicked during life that is rebuked.

Of course the realm of the dead underwent a change at the time of the cross. The righteous that were waiting on the messiah followed Yeshua out of that place so the nature of the spirits remaining changed greatly.

In Christ Forever said:

LOL. It is a prophecy against the corrupt priests/rulers of the house of Judah, the jews of today with the gulf of the CROSS keeping them from Christ.. Notice the colors of the rich man[colors of the jewish priests/tabernacle]. According to jeremiah, they are "landless" forever without the CROSS. God bless.

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LOL, nonsense. I suggest you repent of your antisemitism.

NewSong said:

Oh and P.S. I forgot to mention that it can't be the bosom of Abraham because Abraham is dead and is waiting to be resurrected and that is in Hebrews.

Oops!

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You are confusing your time line. The righteous dead descendents of Abraham were in Sheol where all the spirits of the dead were housed prior to the cross. Hebrews was written after the cross. Of course Abraham is no long in Sheol.

Father Rick said:

I am the first to agree that there are many parables in scripture that are allegorical in nature, however Jesus always turned to his disciples and explained what he meant in the parables. The goal of scripture is not to hide the truth but to reveal it. The desire to find a 'hidden truth' that only the 'spiritual' can discern is gnosticism-- a heresy that was condemned very early in the Church. We should always focus on those things that scripture makes plain first.

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Actually I would have to disagree on this point. Scripture can provide many layers of meaning particularly in prophetic passages. It is through deep study that many mysteries are revealed. Not all concepts are spelled out clearly. That fact keeps the Word alive allowing us to continually uncover new truth no matter how long you study.

Granted, I do agree that many carry it way to far and build nonsense doctrines that disagree with other scripture. When uncovering a mystery, it has to line up with the rest of scripture as well. And yes, they have to conform to the things that are made plain. That is our foundation.

simon777 said:

When I am doing some deep serious studying I look in the pages of this amazing Bible to find that it reveals secrets that many of us would not find in the many different translations of the Bible today. In this book you find the words and meanings can be quite different. We shall return to this shortly.

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I agree. To many people idolize their translations instead of going back to the original language. It is absolutely necessary to go back to the original. There are many errors in the English translations. That is why I went to bible college in my 40s to actually learn Hebrew so I could make better use of an Interlinear and understand how passages could be translated wrong.

BTW, excellent post. I would disagree on a point or two but over all very well said.

Asaph said:

When He said "a certain rich man". He really meant a particular person. This is not an allegory, nor is it meant to be symbolic. It is presented as a factual case study.

Gosh, nothing more can be made of it unless that is first understood.

Asaph

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I heard this teaching from Ellen G. White and the Seventh Day Adventists for years. Then I read that “Jesus said nothing to them without a parable” (I believe it said NOTHING, Matt. 13.34—unless of course, one chooses to believe that this was the only time). So, yes, I believe it was a parable and not a factual occurrence. That’s the way Jesus chose to teach didactically.

As for the OP, I do not believe the “five” brothers represent some sort of extended metaphor. I think we can read too much into Christ’s parables, analyze it too deeply, so much in fact that we lose the obvious truth among all the details.

In Christ Forever said:

Anyone have any idea what this "sin" is?

Jeremiah 17:1 "The sin of Judah [is] written with a pen of iron; With the point of a diamond [it is] engraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars, 2 While their children remember Their altars and their wooden images By the green trees on the high hills. 3 O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, [And] your high places of sin within all your borders.3 O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, [And] your high places of sin within all your borders. 4 And you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger [which] shall burn forever."

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Yes I do but do you? You high lighted the wrong places. They fell into the pagan worship conducted on the 'high places'. There are many references to that corruption. The 'green tree' reference is about the 'groves' of the Baalim worship. Yes they let go of the heritage of following after Yah and followed the pagan gods.

Jeremiah is full of references to the Baalim worship. That is what Jeremiah is constantly coming against. Another good example it Isa 57. It is about the worship in the 'grove' outside of Jerusalem and the valley below, ie Hinnom where the children were passed through the fires to Molech. That valley was later called Gehenna and used as a reference to hell.

If you don't understand the ancient paganism, how can you understand the multitude of references condemning it?

The sin of Judah was following the enemy religions as opposed to Yah. They brought in many pagan doctrines and mixed it with Judaism.

JimB said:

I heard this teaching from Ellen G. White and the Seventh Day Adventists for years. Then I read that “Jesus said nothing to them without a parable” (I believe it said NOTHING, Matt. 13.34—unless of course, one chooses to believe that this was the only time). So, yes, I believe it was a parable and not a factual occurrence. That’s the way Jesus chose to teach didactically.

As for the OP, I do not believe the “five” brothers represent some sort of extended metaphor. I think we can read too much into Christ’s parables, analyze it too deeply, so much in fact that we lose the obvious truth among all the details.

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He taught the multitudes in parables, not His followers. He said so.

Yahu said:

He taught the multitudes in parables, not His followers. He said so.

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Yep. They were a pretty thick-headed crew. He had to explain his parables to them (Mark 4.34). They did not even understand the resurrection when it came down to the final moments, despite Christ's prior explanations. How dense is that?

Wow. Understanding has exploded, thanks to the internet, since this thread was started. Time has not been kind to some of the responses here.

https://www.wake-up.org/bible-characters/rich-man-lazarus.html;)

This site might help
https://graceintorah.net/2015/06/15/hebrew-numbers-1-10/