For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant, and one by the free woman. However, the son by the servant was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through promise. These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
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Galatians 4:22-26 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Tell me, you that desire to be under the law, don’t you listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant, and one by the free woman. However, the son by the servant was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through promise. These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Parallel Translations
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For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant, and one by the free woman.
However, the son by the servant was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through promise.
These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar.
For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children.
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
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For it is written that Abraham had two sonnes the one by a bonde mayde the other by a fre woman.
Yee and he which was of the bonde woman was borne after the flesshe: but he which was of the fre woman was borne by promes.
Which thinges betoken mystery. For these wemen are two testamentes the one from the mounte Sina which gendreth vnto bondage which is Agar.
For mounte Sina is called Agar in Arabia and bordreth vpo the citie which is now Ierusalem and is in bondage with her chyldren.
But Ierusalem which is above is fre: which is the mother of vs all.
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For it is written, that Abraham had two sonnes, one by a seruant, and one by a free woman.
But he which was of the seruant, was borne after the flesh: and he which was of the free woman, was borne by promise.
By the which things another thing is meant: for these mothers are the two testaments, the one which is Agar of mount Sina, which gendreth vnto bondage.
(For Agar or Sina is a mountaine in Arabia, and it answereth to Hierusalem which nowe is) and she is in bondage with her children.
But Hierusalem, which is aboue, is free: which is the mother of vs all.
Cross-references (69)
- Hebrews 12:22 (v26) But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels,
- Philippians 3:20 (v26) For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
- Revelation 21:2 (v26) I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
- Micah 4:1-2 (v26) But in the latter days, it will happen that the mountain of Yahweh’s temple will be established on the top of the mountains, and it will be…
- Revelation 3:12 (v26) He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of…
Show all 66 cross-references
- Isaiah 66:10 (v26) “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn over her;
- Genesis 16:15 (v22) Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
- Hebrews 11:11 (v23) By faith, even Sarah herself received power to conceive, and she bore a child when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had…
- Isaiah 65:18 (v26) But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight, and her people a joy.
- Psalms 87:3-6 (v26) Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God. I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me. Behold, Philistia, Tyre,…
- Romans 6:14 (v26) For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace.
- Genesis 21:1-2 (vv22–23) Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken. Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at…
- Genesis 21:9-13 (v24) Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this servant and…
- Romans 9:7-8 (v23) Neither, because they are Abraham’s offspring, are they all children. But, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac.” That is, it is…
- Genesis 16:8 (v24) He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where did you come from? Where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the face of my mistress…
- Genesis 16:15-16 (v24) Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore…
- Genesis 18:10-14 (v23) He said, “I will certainly return to you at about this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard in the…
- Genesis 25:12 (v24) Now this is the history of the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
- Psalms 68:17 (v25) The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands. The Lord is among them, from Sinai, into the sanctuary.
- Isaiah 62:1-2 (v26) For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and…
- Hosea 11:10 (v24) They will walk after Yahweh, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
- Joel 3:17 (v26) “So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass…
- Matthew 13:35 (v24) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from…
- Matthew 23:37 (v25) “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children…
- Romans 6:18 (v26) Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.
- 1 Corinthians 10:11 (v24) Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
- Galatians 1:17 (v25) nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.
- Galatians 4:28-29 (v23) Now we, brothers, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as then, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born…
- Hebrews 10:15-18 (v24) The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them: ‘After those days,’ says the…
- Hebrews 12:24 (v24) to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel.
- Deuteronomy 33:2 (vv24–25) He said, “Yahweh came from Sinai, and rose from Seir to them. He shone from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousands of holy ones. At…
- Galatians 5:1 (vv24, 26) Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
- Genesis 16:3-4 (v24) Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her…
- Genesis 17:15-19 (v23) God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name will be Sarah. I will bless her, and moreover…
- Judges 5:5 (v25) The mountains quaked Yahweh’s presence, even Sinai at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
- Psalms 68:8 (v25) The earth trembled. The sky also poured down rain at the presence of the God of Sinai— at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
- Isaiah 2:2-3 (v26) It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be…
- Ezekiel 20:49 (v24) Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! They say of me, ‘Isn’t he a speaker of parables?’ ”
- Luke 13:34 (v25) “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children…
- Luke 19:44 (v25) and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the…
- Acts 1:11 (v25) who also said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky, will come…
- Romans 8:15 (v24) For you didn’t receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 (v24) and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
- Galatians 3:15-21 (v24) Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void or adds to it.…
- Galatians 4:25 (v24) For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children.
- Hebrews 7:22 (v24) By so much, Jesus has become the collateral of a better covenant.
- Hebrews 8:6-13 (v24) But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has…
- Hebrews 9:15-24 (v24) For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under…
- Hebrews 11:19 (v24) concluding that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.
- Hebrews 12:18 (v25) For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,
- Hebrews 13:20 (v24) Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord…
- Revelation 21:10-27 (v26) He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,…
- Genesis 21:10 (v22) Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this servant and her son! For the son of this servant will not be heir with my son, Isaac.”
- Song of Solomon 8:1-2 (v26) Oh that you were like my brother, who nursed from the breasts of my mother! If I found you outside, I would kiss you; yes, and no one would…
- Isaiah 50:1 (v26) Yahweh says, “Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce, with which I have put her away? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you?…
- Isaiah 52:9 (v26) Break out into joy! Sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.
- Hosea 2:2 (v26) Contend with your mother! Contend, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her prostitution from her face,…
- Hosea 2:5 (v26) For their mother has played the prostitute. She who conceived them has done shamefully; for she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give…
- Hosea 4:5 (v26) You will stumble in the day, and the prophet will also stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother.
- Luke 22:19-20 (v24) He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in…
- John 8:36 (v26) If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
- Romans 4:18-21 (v23) Besides hope, Abraham in hope believed, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken,…
- Galatians 4:22 (v26) For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant, and one by the free woman.
- 1 Peter 2:16 (v26) as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God.
- Genesis 16:2-4 (v22) Sarai said to Abram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by…
- Romans 10:8 (v23) But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;” that is, the word of faith which we preach:
66 distinct cross-references across this passage (69 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Martin Luther 1535 · Public Domain On vv22–26 VERSES 22, 23. For it is written, that Abraham…
VERSES 22, 23. For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
This is Paul’s allegory. Abraham had two sons: Ishmael by Hagar, and Isaac by Sarah. They were both the true sons of Abraham, with this difference, that Ishmael was born after the flesh, i.e., without the commandment and promise of God, while Isaac was born according to the promise.
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With the permission of Sarah, Abraham took Hagar, Sarah’s bondwoman, to wife. Sarah knew that God had promised to make her husband Abraham the father of a nation, and she hoped that she would be the mother of this promised nation. But with the passage of the years her hope died out. In order that the promise of God should not be annulled by her barrenness this holy woman resigned her right and honor to her maid. This was no easy thing for her to do. She abased herself. She thought: "God is no liar. What He has promised He will perform. But perhaps God does not want me to be the mother of Abraham’s posterity. Perhaps He prefers Hagar for the honor."
Ishmael was thus born without a special word or promise of God, at the mere request of Sarah. God did not command Abraham to take Hagar, nor did God promise to bless the coalition. It is evident that Ishmael was the son of Abraham after the flesh, and not after the promise.
In the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans St. Paul advances the same argument which he amplifies into an allegory in writing to the Galatians. There he argues that all the children of Abraham are not the children of God. For Abraham had two kinds of children, children born of the promise, like Isaac, and other children born without the promise, as Ishmael. With this argument Paul squelched the proud Jews who gloried that they were the children of God because they were the seed and the children of Abraham. Paul makes it clear enough that it takes more than an Abrahamic pedigree to be a child of God. To be a child of God requires faith in Christ.
Martin Luther — Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535), English translation by Theodore Graebner (Zondervan, 1939) — public domain (U.S. copyright not renewed). Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv22–26 22. For it is written. No man who has…
22. For it is written. No man who has a choice given him will be so mad as to despise freedom, and prefer slavery. But here the apostle teaches us, that they who are under the law are slaves. Unhappy men! who willingly choose this condition, when God desires to make them free. He gives a representation of this in the two sons of Abraham, one of whom, the son of a slave, held by his mother’s condition; while the other, the son of a free woman, obtained the inheritance. He afterwards applies the whole history to his purpose, and illustrates it in an elegant manner.
In the first place, as the other party armed themselves with the authority of the law, the apostle quotes the law on the other side. The law was the name usually given to the Five Books of Moses. Again, as the history which he quotes appeared to have no bearing on the question, he gives to it an allegorical interpretation. But as the apostle declares that these things are allegorized, (ἀλληγορούμενα,) Origen, and many others along with him, have seized the occasion of torturing Scripture, in every possible manner, away from the true sense. They concluded that the literal sense is too mean and poor, and that, under the outer bark of the letter, there lurk deeper mysteries, which cannot be extracted but by beating out allegories. And this they had no difficulty in accomplishing; for speculations which appear to be ingenious have always been preferred, and always will be preferred, by the world to solid doctrine.
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With such approbation the licentious system gradually attained such a height, that he who handled Scripture for his own amusement not only was suffered to pass unpunished, but even obtained the highest applause. For many centuries no man was considered to be ingenious, who had not the skill and daring necessary for changing into a variety of curious shapes the sacred word of God. This was undoubtedly a contrivance of Satan to undermine the authority of Scripture, and to take away from the reading of it the true advantage. God visited this profanation by a just judgment, when he suffered the pure meaning of the Scripture to be buried under false interpretations.
Scripture, they say, is fertile, and thus produces a variety of meanings. I acknowledge that Scripture is a most rich and inexhaustible fountain of all wisdom; but I deny that its fertility consists in the various meanings which any man, at his pleasure, may assign. Let us know, then, that the true meaning of Scripture is the natural and obvious meaning; and let us embrace and abide by it resolutely. Let us not only neglect as doubtful, but boldly set aside as deadly corruptions, those pretended expositions, which lead us away from the natural meaning.
But what reply shall we make to Paul’s assertion, that these things are allegorical? Paul certainly does not mean that Moses wrote the history for the purpose of being turned into an allegory, but points out in what way the history may be made to answer the present subject. This is done by observing a figurative representation of the Church there delineated. And a mystical interpretation of this sort (ἀναγωγή) was not inconsistent with the true and literal meaning, when a comparison was drawn between the Church and the family of Abraham. As the house of Abraham was then a true Church, so it is beyond all doubt that the principal and most memorable events which happened in it are so many types to us. As in circumcision, in sacrifices, in the whole Levitical priesthood, there was an allegory, as there is an allegory at the present day in our sacraments, — so was there likewise in the house of Abraham; but this does not involve a departure from the literal meaning. In a word, Paul adduces the history, as containing a figurative representation of the two covenants in the two wives of Abraham, and of the two nations in his two sons. And Chrysostom, indeed, acknowledges that the word allegory points out the present application to be (κατάχρησις) different from the natural meaning; which is perfectly true.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv23–26 As all men are, and by the common course…
As all men are, and by the common course of nature.
By virtue of the promise, which Abraham laid hold on for himself and his true seed, for otherwise Abraham and Sarah were past begetting and bearing children.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv22–26 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two…
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Ver. 22. For it is written] It was enough of old to say, "It is written;" there was no need to quote chapter and verse, as now. Men were so ready (skilled) in the Scriptures, they could tell where to turn to anything at first hearing.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv22–26 The substance of this is written, Gen 16:1-16, where…
The substance of this is written, Gen 16:1-16, where we read of Abraham’s having Ishmael by Hagar his bondwoman; and Gen 21:2, where we read of the birth of Isaac, whom he had by Sarah, who was his wife.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v24 Here the apostle makes an allegorical and spiritual application…
Here the apostle makes an allegorical and spiritual application of the foregoing history of Sarah and Hagar, of Isaac and Ishmael; and the mystery he tells us is this, "The two mothers, Sarah and Hagar, are types of the two covenants, the one of works, the other of grace; the two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, are a type of two sorts of men living in the church, the one proceeding from the first, the other from the second covenant; the one regenerate, the other unregenerate men. All regenerate men are under the covenant of grace, and freemen; for every man’s freedom depends upon the covenant under which he stands. Ishmael is the son of the bond-woman, and points at Jerusalem which then was, and the people of the Jews, as they then stood affected, seeking justification, and expecting eternal salvation, by the works of the law; but now behold in Isaac, a son of the free-woman, an emblem of the gospel church, which dares not depend upon the righteousness of the Mediator; and this points out Jerusalem above, which is free, and the mother of us all.
Learn hence, That all unregenerate men, who continue in a state of nature, are under the first covenant, or covenant of works. Ishmael is a type of all unregenerate men. Mankind is bound to God by a double bond: First, by a bond of creation: secondly, by a bond of stipulation. The one is natural, and the other is a voluntary, obligation; by the former we are bound to God, by the latter he is bound to us. The covenant made with man in his state of innocency, was Faedus Amicitae, a covenant of friendship; the covenant made with us since the fall, is Faedus Misericordiae, a covenant of reconciliation; the former made with the first Adam, the latter with Christ the second Adam.
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The first covenant was made not barely with the person, but with the nature of Adam, with the whole race of mankind; for God dealt with Adam, not as a single person, but as Caput Gentis, as the root and representative of mankind; and, consequently, this covenant was not abolished by the fall, but stands still in force; not to give life, because it is become weak through our flesh: we are become weak to that, not that weak to us; but it commands duty as it did before, namely, perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience; and, in case of failure, denounces the curse.
Lord! awaken every natural and unregenerate man, who, bearing only Adam’s image, is also under Adam’s covenant; he is a bond-man now, as was Ishmael of old, in bondage to sin, in bondage to Satan, in bondage to the law, in bondage to his own fears, in bondage to the world.
O rest not, till by grace you are delivered from this bondage, by being translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, and heartily submitted to the terms and conditions of the second covenant, which propoundeth repentance, and promiseth pardon and acceptance upon repentance!
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv22–26 But he who was of the bondwoman,.... Ishmael, who…
But he who was of the bondwoman,.... Ishmael, who was begotten and born of Hagar,
was born after the flesh; after the common order and course of nature, through the copulation of two persons, the one able to procreate, and the other fit for the conception of children; and was typical of the Jews, the natural descendants of Abraham, who, as such, and upon that account, were not the children of God, nor heirs of the eternal inheritance:
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but he of the free woman was by promise; by a previous promise made by God to Abraham, that he should have a son in his old age, when his body was now dead, and when Sarah his wife, who had always been barren, was now grown old, and past the time of bearing children; so that Isaac was born out of the common order and course of nature; his conception and birth were owing to the promise and power of God, and to his free grace and favour to Abraham. This son of promise was a type of the spiritual seed of Abraham, whether Jews or Gentiles, the children of the promise that are counted for the seed; who are born again of the will, power, and grace of God, and are heirs, according to the promise, both of grace and glory, when they that are of the law, and the works of it, are not. All which is further illustrated in the following verses.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv22–26 Gen. xxi, 2, 9.
Gen. xxi, 2, 9.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv22–26 Verse 22. For it is written] Viz. in Ge…
Verse 22. For it is written] Viz. in Ge 16:15; Ge 22:1, c., that Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac the one; Ishmael, by a bond maid, Hagar; the other, Isaac, by a free woman, Sarah.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Gal 4:24. Which things are an allegory — That…
Gal 4:24. Which things are an allegory — That is, a figurative speech, wherein one thing is expressed, and another intended. Or, as Macknight explains the expression more at large: “Properly, an allegory is, when persons and events, present or near at hand, with their qualities and circumstances, are considered as types or representations of persons and events more remote, to which they have a resemblance. Of this kind were the histories of some persons and events recorded in the Old Testament. For the qualities and circumstances of these persons were, it seems, so ordered by God, as to be apt representations of such future persons and events as God intended should attract the attention of mankind. This, however, is to be laid down as a fixed rule, that no ancient history is to be considered as allegorical but those which God himself, or persons inspired by him, have interpreted allegorically. Wherefore, since the apostle tells us that what Moses hath written concerning the wives of Abraham is an allegorical representation of the two covenants by which men are made the church and people of God, and that his sons, by these wives, represent the persons born under the two covenants, together with the treatment they are to receive from God, he must be believed, on account of the inspiration by which he wrote; especially as, in Gal 4:27, he hath appealed to the prophet Isaiah, as giving the same account of these matters, Isa 54:1. And seeing the prophet, as well as the apostle, (Gal 4:26,) considers Sarah as the mother of all true believers, may we not suppose she was made to conceive her son supernaturally, that she might be a type of the covenant under which believers are regenerated by the power of God; and that her son might be a type of all who by regeneration become members of the true church of God, called, (Gal 4:26,) the Jerusalem above, which is free, both from the bondage and from the curse of the law? In like manner, Abraham’s son, by Hagar the bond-maid, may have been begotten by the natural strength of his parents, and born in bondage, that he might be a proper representation of such of Abraham’s children as are God’s visible church merely by being his children according to the flesh; consequently a type, or allegorical representation of the Jerusalem which existed when the apostle wrote, or of the then present Jewish church, which was in bondage to the law.” For these two persons — Hagar and Sarah; are — That is, may well be considered as representing the two covenants — Or the two dispensations of the law and gospel, the tenor of which is so different: the one covenant given from mount Sinai, which beareth children to bondage — That is, by this covenant the Israelites were made the visible church of God, and put in bondage to the law, and were, by its curse, excluded from the heavenly inheritance, if they had no other relation to Abraham than that of natural descent; which covenant is typified by Agar. — “The Jews are very properly said to have been brought forth into bondage by the covenant from Sinai, because the worship enjoined in that covenant was extremely troublesome and expensive; particularly their frequent separations on account of uncleanness, their purifications and washings, their numerous sacrifices, and especially their three annual journeys to Jerusalem;” all which things were the more grievous, in that they did not obtain for them justification before God, or peace of conscience; but with whatever anxious care and trouble the Jews that were piously disposed performed these things, their sense of sin and dread of punishment remained as great as before, Heb 9:9-10; Heb 10:1-3. “Besides, the covenant from Sinai rendered all that were under it slaves, by the rigour of its precepts, and the terror of its curse. But the covenant or law, which went forth from mount Zion, (Isa 2:3,) the gospel covenant, by abolishing these ineffectual rites of worship, and by erecting the Christian Church with its spiritual worship, makes all its members freemen and sons, who obey God from love, and who can address him with confidence by the endearing appellation of Father.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv22–26 For it is written - Gen. 16; 21.
For it is written - Gen. 16; 21.
Abraham had two sons - Ishmael and Isaac. Abraham subsequently had several sons by Keturah after the death of Sarah; Gen 26:1-6. But the two sons by Hagar and Sarah were the most prominent, and the events of their lives furnished the particular illustration which Paul desired.
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The one by a bond-maid - Ishmael, the son of Hagar. Hagar was an Egyptian slave, whom Sarah gave to Abraham in order that he might not be wholly without posterity; Gen 16:3.
The other by a free woman - Isaac, the son of Sarah; Gen 21:1-2.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv22, 25 It is written in the law, that is, in…
It is written in the law, that is, in Genesis, (chap. xvi. and chap. xxi.) that Abraham had two sons, &c. that his two sons, Ismael, born of his servant, Agar, and Isaac of his wife, Sara, in an allegorical sense, represent the two testaments or covenants, which God made with his people: that by Ismael was represented that covenant of the former law delivered to Moses on Mount Sina, by which the Jews were made his elect people, yet as it were his servants, to be kept to their duty by fear of punishments; but by Isaac is represented the new covenant or testament of Christ, given at Jerusalem, where he suffered, where the new law was first published; by which law, they who believe in Christ were made the spiritual children of Abraham, the sons of God, and heirs of the blessings promised to Abraham: that Sina, the mountain in Arabia, hath[3] an affinity with Jerusalem, and with here children, who remain under the servitude of the law of Moses: we cannot understand a conjunction, or an affinity, as to place and situation, Sina and Jerusalem being nearly twenty days’ journey distant from each other; therefore it can only be an affinity in a mystical signification, inasmuch as Jerusalem was the capital of the Jews, where the children of those who received the law on Mount Sina lived still under the servitude of the same law: but Christians, who believe in Christ, must look upon themselves as belonging to Jerusalem, and not to the city of Jerusalem upon earth, but to the celestial Jerusalem in heaven, which is our mother, now no longer servants and slaves to the former law, but free, being made the sons of God by the grace of Christ, and heirs of heaven. And these blessings were promised to all nations, not only to the Jews, of which the much greater part remained obstinate, and refused to believe in Christ, but also particularly to the Gentiles, according to the prophecy of Isaias, (chap. liv.) rejoice thou that hast been barren, like Sara, for a long time; i.e. rejoice, you Gentiles, hitherto left in idolatry, without knowledge or worship of the true God, now you shall have more children among you than among the Jews, who were his chosen people. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv22–26 (Gen 16:3-16; Gen 21:2).
(Gen 16:3-16; Gen 21:2).
Abraham--whose sons ye wish to be (compare Rom 9:7-9).
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a bond maid . . . a free woman--rather, as Greek, "the bond maid . . . the free woman."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv22–26 22. It is written—The ordinary deferential form of quotation…
22. It is written—The ordinary deferential form of quotation from the old canon. Genesis 16, 21.
Abraham—The great representative of the covenants, both old and new.
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Two sons—That Ishmael. the natural-born, as distinguished from Isaac, as miracle-born, represents the unregenerate as distinguished from the Church of the regenerate, and especially represents the falsely regenerate, who seek salvation by work and law as distinguished from the truly regenerate, who seek salvation by faith in Christ, we have explicitly shown in our note on Rom_9:8. And it is from this standpoint that the false expositions of Stuart, and Calvinistic interpreters in general, of Rom_9:8, is clearly shown; and by consequence the falseness of their entire interpretation of the book of Romans.
The correspondent points between the outer and inner meaning of the history appear in the following synopsis:
HAGAR, the old covenant. SARAH, the new covenant.
ISHMAEL and the legalists. ISAAC and the justified by faith.
Sinai. Zion?
Old Jerusalem. Heavenly Jerusalem. In bondage. In freedom.
Cast out of heirship. Heirs with the Son.
The doctrine of this programme is equally clear and true. Isaac, as miraculously, under promise, born of Sarah, is type of all the faithful, who are freely justified by faith, and heirs of the new Jerusalem; while Ishmael, as born of the alien bond-woman, is palpable type of the falsely regenerate by law and works, who are still adhering to old Jerusalem, are in legal bondage, and bound to be cast out of the inheritance. And St. Paul has as much right to frame this into a full allegory, giving it a conceptual form to occupy the imagination and memory of his readers, as any man would to shape it into a metaphor, a poem, or a parable.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv22, 24, 25, 26 22. it is written] This is not a quotation…
22. it is written] This is not a quotation of any particular passage. ‘It is recorded in Scripture’.
a bondmaid] Lit. ‘the bondmaid’, Hagar; so ‘the free woman’, Sarah. Hagar was an Egyptian slave in the house of Abraham. God having promised to Abraham that in his seed all nations should be blessed, Sarah, becoming impatient because the fulfilment of the promise was delayed, gave Hagar as a concubine to her husband. This resulted in the birth of Ishmael (Gen_16:1-3; Gen_16:15.) Thirteen years later the Lord promised that Abraham should have a son by Sarah when she was past the age of child-bearing. This was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac.
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The marked features of contrast in this narrative, which have their counterparts in the antitype are:
The bond maid and her son.
The free woman and her son.
Birth in the ordinary course of nature (‘after the flesh’).
Birth out of the course of nature, ‘through the promise’.
Ishmael, born a slave.
Isaac, born free.
Hagar and her son driven forth into the desert.
Sarah and her son abiding in the home.
To these correspond
The Old Covenant (or dispensation) given on Mt Sinai.
The New Covenant, the Gospel.
The earthly Jerusalem.
The Heavenly Jerusalem.
Natural birth into bondage.
Spiritual birth to freedom.
Persecuting.
Persecuted.
Expulsion.
Inheritance.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv22–26 (22) For.—This particle would naturally not be expressed in…
(22) For.—This particle would naturally not be expressed in English. It was a reason for the question which had been asked just before: “For the Law does supply a case in point.”
The one by a bondmaid.—Hagar, it seems from Gen_16:1, was an Egyptian. The word for “bondmaid” was not confined to this sense in earlier Greek, but was used for any young girl.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv22–26 For it is written (gegraptai gar); for the Scripture…
For it is written (gegraptai gar); for the Scripture saith.
The phrase does not here, as it does usually, introduce the citation of a text, but prefaces a brief summary of facts; these facts being recited in words gathered out of the Septuagint Version of Genesis 16. and 21., in much the same way as the story of Melchisedec is sketched in Heb_7:1-4. That Abraham had two sons (oti jAbraao uiJouv e) that Abraham had gotten two sons; for escen is not exactly equivalent to ei+cen. Attention has been drawn to other sons born of Keturah, (Gen_25:1, Gen_25:2) who both in ancient and in modern days (see Windisch-mann) have been very plausibly interpreted as analogously pointing forward allegorically to those heretical bodies, now vanished, which threatened such danger to the Church in the first centuries. But the apostle"s concern here is exclusively with the posture of affairs subsisting at the time of Hagar"s and Ishmael"s expulsion from the patriarch"s family, quoted in ver. 30 from Genesis 21. Even if he had seen fit by allegorical exposition to apply Scripture to those dire forms of utterly perverted Christianity, which he certainly did look forward to as about to arise, it is very questionable whether he would have conceded to them so venerable a parentage as having Abraham for their forefather. Mosaism in its place was a thing of Divine origin, even as Christianity itself was, both of them "covenants" of God; not so the monstrous forms of Gnostic and Manichean teaching which horrified the primitive Church. In fact, typology, that is to say, the interpretation of Old Testament Scripture as bearing a designed allegorical sense, requires very cautious handling. The tracing of analogies is an interesting and pleasing exercise of theological ingenuity; but it is one thing to trace a parallelism, and a quite different thing to detect a latent predictive sense intended by the Holy Spirit. The one by a bondmaid (ena ejk thv paidiskhv); one by the handmaid; the expression pointing to the individual mother known from the sacred history. The word paidiskh in classical Greek means a girl either slave or free. In the Septuagint it is generally a slave (not, however, in Rth_4:12, where it renders the Hebrew na"arah in the New Testament it is always a maidservant. St. Paul borrows the word from the Septuagint of Genesis 15. and 21., where it renders the Hebrew shiphehah. Hagar was the personal property of Sarah. The other by a freewoman (kairav); and one by the freewoman. The word "freewoman" is never applied to Sarah in the story in Genesis; not even in the passage freely quoted in ver. 30; but it was an obviously true description, and with perfect fairness introduced in antithesis to Hagar. As applied to one holding so princessly a position in the story as Sarah, the idea of a freewoman stands coloured with a deep tincture of dignity.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv22, 24, 26 That Abraham had two sons, the one by a…
Gal_4:22-23
That Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman.
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St. Pauls outlook and vision
The principle from which he views the Old Testament history may be compared to those lines of light which, on a misty day, open up glimpses among the mountains, in which that which is definitely seen is as nothing to the crowded and mysterious shapes suggested to the imagination. First his mind turns to the tents of the patriarchs, to that simple and pathetic tale--Sarah and Hagar--Isaac and Ishmael. Concentrated in them he sees the spirit of the two covenants. First the Egyptian slave, which gendereth unto bondage, which is Mount Sinai. But this covenant reminds him of Jerusalem which now is in miserable bondage. But then, high above all, the apostles spirit rises to another Jerusalem, where the fetters fall from the soul of every slave that sets foot upon that soil. Jerusalem which is above is free. (Bishop Alexander.)
Points of parallelism
Jewish Church.
The bondwoman, Hagar.
Son of the bondwoman, Ishmael.
Natural birth (the flesh).
Mount Sinai.
The Law.
The earthly Jerusalem.
Enslaved.
Fruitful.
Small offspring.
Persecuting.
Expulsion.
The Jewish Church is enslaved.
Christian Church.
The freewoman, Sarah.
Son of the freewoman, Isaac.
Supernatural birth (the promise).
Mount Zion.
The Promise.
The heavenly Jerusalem.
Free.
Barren.
Large offspring.
Persecuted.
Inheritance.
The Christian Church is free.
(W. Sanday, D. D.)
Bond and free
Look at the two covenants as represented by Hagar and Sarah.
I. Their points of connection.
1. They have the same origin. Those who are outside the covenant of promise are still children of the Heavenly Father.
2. They have to a great extent the same elements. Promise on Gods part and conditions on mans. Ishmael got promises, and Isaac was subjected to conditions. Sinai had its promises; the gospel has its conditions.
3. For a time they largely influence each other. Ishmael and Isaac live together. The law was permeated by the gospel; the gospel by the law.
II. The points of difference.
1. The degrees of prominence in those elements which they possess in common. The covenant becomes under the new dispensation also a testament with large bequests.
2. In the absence or presence of one great vital element--grace, forgiveness.
3. In their effects on mens natures. The law, like Hagar, bringeth forth children of bondage; the gospel, like Sarah, children of freedom. (Clerical World, 3, 441.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv22–26 22. A bondmaid. Hagar, whose child was Ishmael. A…
22. A bondmaid. Hagar, whose child was Ishmael. A freewoman. Sarah, whose child was Isaac.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv22–26 For it is written [ Gen_16:15 ; Gen_21:2 ],…
For it is written [ Gen_16:15 ; Gen_21:2 ], that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the free woman.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv24–25
Agar
Hagar.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v24 The explanation of the story:
The explanation of the story:
v. 24. which things are an allegory; for these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
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v. 25. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
v. 26. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
v. 27. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Paul here, by the inspiration of God, gives a figurative or allegorical explanation of the story of Hagar and Sarah. In addition to the historical truth of the story of Ishmael and Isaac he finds here a spiritual truth which typifies the permanent relation between those that are under the Law and those that are under the promise. For these two women, he says, are two covenants; they represent the two religions, that of the Law and that of the Gospel. This distinction holds true for all times. For although there are many races and nations in the world, they can still be divided into but two parties, namely, such as attempt to be justified before God by their own works and merits, and such as place their trust in the merits and righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. The first class is represented by the bond-woman Hagar, the covenant which originates from, that is, on, Mount Sinai, and bears children unto bondage; for every one that still hopes to earn salvation by the works of the Law is a spiritual offspring of Hagar, the slave, and is by virtue of that fact in bondage.
The apostle continues his explanation: For Mount Sinai is in Arabia, The mountain on which the Law was given is in the same country which became the home of Hagar’s descendants, those that were children of bondage. And there is a further likeness in the fact that Hagar, as a bondswoman and the mother of a race in bondage, corresponded to, was in the same category with, the city of Jerusalem as it was when Paul wrote. Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish race, if not of the Jewish nation; there dwelt the leaders of the people that continued to teach the necessity of keeping the Law in order to obtain salvation. As Hagar was thus in the state of bondage, so Jerusalem, the Jewish race, all that believed in the way of works and merits, are in the state of slavery, of spiritual bondage, knowing nothing of the liberty of the sons of God.
What a wonderful contrast, then: But the Jerusalem which is above is free, she is our mother. The apostle here speaks of the spiritual Jerusalem, or Zion, of the Church of Jesus Christ, that is, the total number of all believers that are scattered throughout the earth, who have the same Gospel, the same faith in Christ, the same Holy Spirit, and the same Sacraments, as Luther writes. This Church is the true mother of all believers; in her they have been regenerated unto new life, by her they are daily nourished; for God has given to His Church on earth the means of grace, to be used by all believers and dispensed to them day by day. In support of this apparently daring explanation the apostle cites Isa 54:1: Rejoice, thou barren one that bearest not; break forth and shout, thou that travailest not; for far more are the children of the desolate woman than of her that has a husband. This is a prophetic promise given to the Church of the New Covenant, to be fulfilled in the time of the Messiah. The contrast brought out by the prophet is that between the church of the Law, which was fertile and had many children, that is, that had the opinion that she alone was the real bride of the Lord, that her children alone were God’s peculiar people, and the Church of the Gospel, of the evangelical promise, which, as the true bride of Christ, has brought forth a great number of descendants of every people, nation, and tongue; that is, the communion of believers and saints. It is a prophecy which will remain in power until the end of time; for so long the Gospel will be preached, by the power of which people are born in a spiritual manner.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 26 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Paul begins a story to illustrate a truth—that law and grace cannot exist together.
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These things may be interpreted as an allegory
"This story of the two sons is like a picture of what I will tell you now"
as an allegory
An "allegory" is a story in which the people and things in it represent other things. In Paul's allegory, the two women referred to in Galatians 4:22 represent two covenants.
women represent ... she represents
"women are a picture of ... she is a picture of"
Mount Sinai
"Mount Sinai" here is a synecdoche for the law that Moses gave to the Israelites there. AT: "Mount Sinai, where Moses gave the law to Israel" (See: Synecdoche)
she gives birth to children who are slaves
Paul treats the law as if it were a person. AT: "The people under this covenant are like slaves who have to obey the law" (See: Metaphor and Personification)
she is in slavery with her children
Hagar is a slave and her children are slaves with her. AT: "Jerusalem, like Hagar, is a slave, and her children are slaves with her" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
covenant
Sinai
Hagar
Arabia
Jerusalem
enslave
children
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 24, 25, 26 4:22-23 The son of the slave wife was Ishmael,…
4:22-23 The son of the slave wife was Ishmael, born to Sarah’s servant Hagar (see Gen 16:15). Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham in a human attempt to obtain the heir (see Gen 16:1-4) that God had promised (see Gen 15:1-6). Sarah’s son, Isaac, was the son of the freeborn wife (see Gen 21:2-3); he was miraculously conceived as God’s own fulfillment of his promise (see Gen 17:15-21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.