GALATIANS 4:25-27 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.”
NSB* - Paul is comparing Jerusalem, the center of Jewish life, to Mount Sinai, the birthplace of the Law Of Moses.
Hagar; Hagar, the servant of Sarah, concubine of Abraham, however the KJV uses Agar not Hagar as it is translated in the New King James Version. The Greek word for the name Hagar is Ἇγαρ Agar. Strong's G28.
Mount Sinai; a mountain or rather a mountainous region in the peninsula of Arabia Petraea, made famous by the giving of the Mosaic law Literal: Sinai = "thorny". The Greek word for Sinai is Σινᾱ Sina. Strong's G4614
Arabia; a well known peninsula of Asia lying towards Africa, and bounded by Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, the Gulf of Arabia, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean Literal: Arabia = "desert or barren". The Greek word for Arabia is Ἀραβία Arabia. This comes from the Hebrew word ערב ערב ‛ărâb ‛ărab. The definition of the Hebrew word is 1. steppe-dwellers a. the people inhabiting the country east and south of Canaan, the nomadic desert Bedouins. Strong's G688, H6152.
Corresponds; The King James version uses "answereth", the Greek word for that συστοιχέω sustoicheō means to file together (as soldiers in ranks), i.e. (figuratively) to correspond to. Thayer expands - 1) to stand or march in the same row (file) with 1a) of soldiers 1b) to stand over against, be parallel with 1c) to answer to, resemble 1c1) so once of a type in the OT which answers to the antitype in the NT Strong's G4960.
Jerusalem; (Aramaic form), Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine: hence Judaism, and allegorically, Christendom, the Christian Church. The Greek word is Ἱερουσαλήμ Hierousalēm, but it is of Hebrew origin ירוּשׁלים ירוּשׁלם ye rûshâlaim ye rûshâlayim. 1. the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split. Strong's G2419, H3389.
Bondage; See this study under "slave".
Children; See this study under "children". I will expand here as Thayer states - 1) offspring, children 1a) child 1a) a male child, a son 1b) metaph. 1b1) the name transferred to that intimate and reciprocal relationship formed between men by the bonds of love, friendship, trust, just as between parents and children 1b2) in affectiona.
Moving to verse 26.
Galatians 4:26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
NSB* - The Jerusalem above represents the Jewish hope of heaven finally coming to earth (see Revelation 21:22) since "us all" obviously refers to those who are free through faith in Christ (v.7). Paul was strongly implying that the question at hand was not allegiance to Jerusalem, but allegiance to which Jerusalem- the new or the old? Would Galatians follow the shortsighted present Jerusalem and its legalism or the liberty of the heavenly Jerusalem?
Notes reference in context; Revelation 9:27 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Mother; figuratively of "the heavenly and spiritual Jerusalem," which is "free" (not bound by law imposed externally, as under the Law of Moses), "which is our mother" (RV), i.e., of Christians, the metropolis, mother-city, used allegorically, just as the capital of a country is "the seat of its government, the center of its activities, and the place where the national characteristics are most fully expressed;" The Greek word used here is μήτηρ meter. Vine's (def 2), Strong's G3384.
Moving to verse 27.
Galatians 4:27 For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.”
NSB* - Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 using the prophesied restoration of Israel from judgment and exile to illustrate how the later-born children of promise would eventually outnumber the earlier offspring.
Rejoice; Dobson denotes - I cheer, am glad, make merry I cheer, make glad; generally mid. or pass: I am glad, make merry, revel, feast. The Greek word for rejoice is εὐφραίνω euphrainō. Strong's G2165.
Barren; basically just means "sterile" or infertility. Thayer expands - Thayer: 1) hard, stiff 1a) of men and animals 2) barren 2a) of woman who does not conceive. The Greek word used here is στείρος steiros. Strong's G4723.
Bear; to experience the pains of parturition (literally or figuratively). ie - I am in travail, suffer birth-pangs. The Greek word is ὠδίνω ōdinō. Strong's G5605.
Desolate; Derivation: of uncertain affinity; lonesome, i.e. (by implication) waste. Dobson defines it as deserted, desolate, a desert as an adj: deserted, desolate, waste; hence: the desert, to the east and south of Palestine; of a person: deserted, abandoned, desolate. The Greek word is ἔρημος erēmos. Strong's G2048.
Takeaway- The idea here is that we are not to live in the old and instead the new which is life in Jesus Christ and His grace. We also get a glimpse here that God is not done with Israel or Jerusalem and we would be wise to not try and pre-judge how God will handle modern Israel or Jews in general regarding eternity or their position here on the land.
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