Galatians

4:21-31

5. Exhortations, 4:8-6:10

ii] Stand firm and do not submit again to the slavery of the law, 4:21-5:1

By the use of the Hagar-Sarah illustration Paul makes the point that the Galatian believers are confronted with a choice of two ways forward in the Christian life: the present Jerusalem/Mount Sinai, or Jerusalem above; flesh or promise, law or Spirit, slavery or freedom. Paul reminds the Galatian believers that they are the children of the free woman, the children of promise, v31, and that therefore they are to live out that reality, casting out the nomism of the judaizers, v30, reaffirming the freedom they possess in Christ and refusing to submit again to the slavery of law for blessing, 5:1.

It should be noted that most commentators treat this passage as the last step in the theological argument that Paul commenced in 2:15/3:1. Betz actually suggests that it is Paul's "strongest argument." These notes follow Longenecker who argues that this passage is the second of Paul's "appeals and exhortations headed by the imperative 'become like me!' of 4:12." Note the imperatives, "be glad", "break forth", "cry aloud" and particularly "cast out the slave woman and her son". These imperatives are encapsulated in 5:1, although there is some doubt as to whether or not this verse should be included in the passage ("tell me", 4:21, and "look here", 5:2, seem to open new paragraphs, so Martyn).

The reason for Paul's use of the Hagar-Sarah illustration is somewhat unclear. Most commentators argue that Paul is seeking to reverse the Judaizers' use of the passage, ie. Paul's "lawless" believers are the children of Hagar, while those believers who respect the law are the children of Sarah and thus the children who properly inherit the Abrahamic promises.

legete (legw) imp. "tell [me]" - "I want to pose a question to those of you ...", TH.

oiJ qelonteV (qelw) pres. part. "you who want" - the ones desiring, wanting, willing. The participle functions as a substantive. The present tense indicating an ongoing desiring of some church members, although Longenecker argues that Paul is addressing all members. Longenecker also argues that the members' desire to be under the law means that they have not yet fully placed themselves under the law; it is still an intention. This is unlikely since intentions are usually followed up by action and in any case, the context surely implies that even now some members of Paul's mission churches have adopted the pietist message of the judaizers.

uJpo + acc. "under" - In the sense "subject to", "controlled by", for the purpose of accessing the Abrahamic blessings.

nomon (oV) "the law" - law. The law Paul has in mind is open to some debate, given that there is no article, but he probably means the Torah, the Law of Moses, Old Testament law, rather than law in general.

ouk akouete (akouw) pres. "are you not aware?" - do you not hear [the law]? Often understood as "hear the scriptures", cf. Moffatt v22, ie. the second use of the word "law", in this verse, refers to the scriptures rather than the Torah. Yet, given the context of the passage, both words are referring to Old Testament Law. The message of the Torah is that it enslaves and condemns us. There is probably a touch of irony in the question; "tell me then, you who are so eager to be subject to the law, have you listened to what the law says?", NJB.

Barrett, noted by Longenecker, argues that the Hagar and Sarah story would be well known to Paul's readers because it was used by the judaizers to argue that only those who submit to the Sinai covenant, share in the promised Abrahamic blessings and thus Gentile believers must submit themselves to the Mosaic law if they are to share in Isaac's blessings, as opposed to being cast out with Ishmael.

gegraptai (grafw) perf. pas. "it is written" - it has been written. Not referring back to "the Law" as if "the Law" means "the scriptures", "it says", TEV, but rather a formula term for a scriptural reference; "scripture tells us", Bruce; "in the scriptures we learn that ..", CEV.

thV paidiskhV (h) "the slave woman" - the maidservant. A shorthand description of Hagar's status in Abraham's home, given that most Jews would know the story back to front. Dumbrell notes that Paul uses "slave woman", "free woman", here, rather than their names, since he wants to establish the central theme of the illustration, namely, the worth of freedom over slavery. "A woman (Hagar), who was his wife's slave, gave birth to one of his sons (Ishmael), and his wife (Sarah) gave birth to the other (Isaac)", TH.

alla "-" - but. Contrastive. A textual variant exists, "indeed", ie. Paul agrees with the Judaizers at this point.

gegennhtai (gennaw) perf. pas. "was born" - has been born. An allegorical perfect where an action referred to in the Old Testament is applied in the present.

kata + acc. "born in the ordinary way" - according to [flesh]. "In the ordinary course of nature", REB.

dia + gen. "as the result of a [promise]" - through, by means of [a promise / the promise]. Translators tend toward "because of", "on account of", and therefore "as a result of", so NIV, but the preposition followed by a genitive usually means "through" or "by means of", "by the agency of", so "by the power of God's promise", Knox.

atina pro. "these things" - which things. This longer form is used instead of the simple plural relative pronoun; an example of Pauline style. "These things" = all that has been said about the Hagar Sarah story so far.

estin allhgoroumena (allhgorew) pres. pas. part. "may be taken figuratively" - are allegorized. A periphrastic present, possibly serving to emphasize duration. Paul announces that he is going to treat the Hagar-Sarah story as an allegory, spiritualizing the story and applying its truths to the life of his present readers, using an inductive method of exposition, rather than deductive. Paul's Biblical theology will control the exposition such that it is more typology (the identification of theological correspondence) rather than allegory, even so, it is hard to know to what extent he thought his conclusions properly derive from the text. "Interpret allegorically", Longenecker.

gar "for" - An explanatory "for", as used in the NIV, is unlikely. A continuative sense is more likely and so left untranslated.

auJtai pro. "the [women]" - these. Demonstrative pronoun singling out "the women."

eisin "represent" - are. The sense of the verb to-be here is something like "represents", or "stands for", both terms being used in the bulk of translations. "Signifies", Bruce.

diaqhkai (h) "covenants" - The two women represent two agreements between God and humanity, one represents the Sinai agreement. The primary function of the Mosaic law is to expose sin and thus enact the curse of divine judgment. By doing this, the Sinai covenant refers back to the Abrahamic covenant and the facilitation of the promise on the basis of the faithfulness of God appropriated through faith, apart from law. The law, of itself, only enslaves and thus submission to the law for blessing gives birth "to offspring destined for slavery", Cassirer. "Agreements with God."

men "-" - indeed [from Mont Sinai bringing forth to slavery]. Again, Paul is possibly agreeing, at this point, with the general thrust of his opponents' exposition of this passage.

gennwsa (gennaw) pres. part. "bears [children]" - bringing forth, bearing. The participle is adjectival modifying the "one from Mount Sinai". Possibly referring to Hagar, but more likely to the "one covenant" whose children end up as slaves, as do the children of Hagar.

The shorter reading, "Sinai is a mountain in Arabia and represents ....", REB, is not widely accepted. There are also textual variants regarding the opening of the verse, either a connective, "now, but, and" or a causal "for, because."

estin "stands for" - is. The literal translation "Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia", NRSV, makes no sense, so it is likely that the verb to-be again takes a meaning like "stands for, represents", as NIV, or better, "serves as a type". Paul is simply making the point that Hagar represents the Sinai covenant encapsulated in the Law of Moses, which agreement was made at Mount Sinai. "Corresponds", Bruce.

sustoicei (sustoicew) pres. "corresponds" - stands in the same line. Note the military sense of soldiers standing in the same line. "Represents", even "a figure of", so possibly "tells us something about the present Jerusalem (the children of the law, the people of the Sinai covenant)."

gar "for" - because. Causal.

douleuei (douleuw) pres. "she is in slavery" - she is in bondage. The subject is probably Jerusalem, although Hagar is possible.

meta + gen. "with [her children]" - with. The present earthly Jerusalem and her children, that is, all who adhere to the law as the means of facilitating the Abrahamic promise - "life" = new life in Christ.

de "but" - but. Adversative.

hJ anw Ierousalhm "the Jerusalem that is above" - the above Jerusalem. Different descriptors are possible: "the heavenly Jerusalem", Barclay; "the Jerusalem on high", Moffatt; "Jerusalem in heaven", CEV. The crucial issue is to understand what this image represents. "The community of the new covenant", Bruce, certainly fits with the heavenly assembly image of the eschatological Zion, which image is dominant in both Jewish and Christian writings, although Paul steers clear of the obvious parallel, "the now Jerusalem" with the "Jerusalem to come."

hJtiV pro. "she" - The longer compound personal pronoun is again a feature of Pauline style.

hJmwn "our [mother]" - The textual variant, "mother of us all", seeks to underline the inclusiveness of "our", the mother of all believers, but is probably not original. The simple "our" makes the point well enough.

The quote, Isaiah 54:1, promises that Jerusalem, now desolate due to the Babylonian exile, will be restored and will outshine the old Jerusalem.

gar "for [it is written]" - because. Confirming the truth of v26, namely that believers, the children of grace, the heavenly Jerusalem, are the children of promise (Sarah's children), and that even now the heavenly Jerusalem is being realized and is outshining the present Jerusalem (the children of law).

thV erhmou (oV) "the desolate woman" - "The deserted wife", REB.

de "now" - Here functioning as a connective, "so", not adversative "but." "So", in the sense of "so here is the point that I have been making in v21-27."

uJmeiV "you" - you. Variant "we" is probably not original. Paul is reinforcing the fact that believers, many of whom are now Gentiles, are the children of promise, are Sarah's children, and are therefore the inheritor's of Abraham's promised blessings. "You Gentiles."

adelfoi (oV) "brothers" - Used of fellow believers.

epaggeliaV (a) gen. "promise" - Emphatic, due to the position of the word in the sentence. The genitive may be causal, "you were born because of this promise", CEV; "as a result of his promise", TEV; even instrumental, "we are children born by promise", Phillips. "Children who owe their existence to God's Promise", Ridderbos.

alla "-" - but. Unlikely to be adversative or transitional, "and", Longenecker, probably contrastive, "but", REB, etc.

wJsper tote ..... ouJtwV nun "at that time ....... it is the same now" - as then ...... so now. A temporal conditional sentence where Paul draws another correspondence from the Sarah-Hagar story, namely, the harassment of the child of promise by the natural born child, ie. believers by Judaizers.

ediwken (diwkw) imperf. "persecuted" - was harassing, pursuing. "Made trouble for the child who was born because of the Spirit", CEV.

kata pneuma "[son born] by the power of the Spirit" - according to spirit. Possibly just the human spirit is intended, "the spiritual son", Phillips, but more likely the Holy Spirit, even though there is no article. The language switch from "promise" to "Spirit" indicates, certainly in Paul's mind, that the agent of the promise, both the giving of it and its realization, is the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 21:10

alla "but" - Adversative. "Yet", Phillips.

ekbale (ballw) imp. "get rid of" - cast out. Possibly a strong "drive out", Barclay, or a lighter "send away", TEV, even lighter still, "separate from / disengage." Either, "drive out" nomism, or "drive out" the judaizers ("be thrown out of the Christian assemblies in Galatia", Garlington, so Martyn, Dunn, etc.), possibly "exclude", Betz.

gar "for" - because.

klhronomhsei (klhronomew) fut. "will never share in the inheritance" - will not inherit. The children of promise ("born as a result of the action of the Spirit", Barclay) should disengage from the natural born children because the natural born will never receive what God has promised.

Leaving aside the analogy, the sense is: "Who then are Abraham's true children and heirs of the promise made to Abraham and his descendents? Those who, by faith, rest on God's promise of life."

dio "therefore" - Introducing a conclusion to 4:21-30 (so Lightfoot, although Bruce suggests 2:14 on), a conclusion which probably includes this verse and the next. "So then", TEV.

esmen (eimi) "we" - Paul now includes himself in the children of the free woman.

"Christ has set us free so that we should put our freedom to its proper use. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be caught once again in the yoke of slavery", Cassirer.

th/ eleuqeria/ dat. "for the freedom" - to, by, with, for the freedom. Up till recent times the dative was usually treated as instrumental, "with freedom Christ has set us free", Bruce. Bruce argues that the freedom is "the freedom" of the gospel of liberty, so, "by the liberating power of the gospel Christ has liberated us." On the other hand, some modern commentators have taken the dative as one of goal, destiny or purpose, so "for freedom ..", as NIV. cf. Moule IB, or dative "of place whither", Smyth, so "to bring us into the realm of freedom", Martyn. However we read the dative the point of the exhortation is clear enough; "whatever you do, never surrender the freedom Christ has won for you!", Hunter. The Galatian believers are to "protect and preserve their liberty given by faith from the danger of falling back into the slavery of the law", Dumbrell.

hleuqerwsen (eleuqerow) aor. "set [us] free" - freed, released. "The freedom that Christ has won for us", Phillips.

hJmaV pro. "us" - Again Paul is inclusive.

sthkete (sthkw) imp. "stand firm" - stand fast. In the sense of "stand your ground"; "hold onto your freedom", CEV.

mh enecesqe (enecw) + dat. pas. imp. "do not let .... be burdened" - do not be ensnared, entangled / be subject to, be burdened by. "Don't let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery", Phillips.

palin "again" - again [by a yoke of slavery be held]. Martyn suggests that the yoke is "the universal state of human affirs" and that if the Galatian believers return to law-obedience to progress the Abrahamic promises they will find themselves back "again" where they came from, enslaved to the "beggarly rudiments" (basic principles of the world), 4:9. Paul happily equates the "rudiments" of pagan ethics with the Torah, such that the end of a Jew under the law, or a pagan under his cult, is the same end, slavery and death. It is clear from Paul's argument in Galatians that a believer is liberated from submission to the law as a means of progressing their Christian life such that they may access God's promised blessings. In Christ we are set free to experience the fullness of God's blessings and this apart from the law.

Galatians Introduction.

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