American Standard Version
Galatians 4:24
24Which things contain an allegory: for these women are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar.
Galatians 4:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
- New International Version (NIV)These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.
- New King James Version (NKJV)which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—
Context of Galatians 4:24
22For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman. 23Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise. Which things contain an allegory: for these women are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. 25Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children. 26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother.
Read all of Galatians 4Galatians 4:24 word by word
ἅτινά ἐστιν ἀλληγορούμενα· αὗται γάρ εἰσιν δύο διαθῆκαι, μία μὲν ἀπὸ ὄρους Σινᾶ εἰς δουλείαν γεννῶσα ἥτις ἐστὶν Ἁγάρ.Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Galatians 4:24
- Ezekiel 20:49Then said I, Ah Lord Jehovah! they say of me, Is he not a speaker of parables?
- Hosea 11:10They shall walk after Jehovah, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west.
- Matthew 13:35that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.
- 1 Corinthians 10:11Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come.
- Hebrews 11:19accounting that God is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back.
- Galatians 4:25Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children.
- Luke 22:19And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ.
- Galatians 3:15Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto.
- Hebrews 7:22by so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a better covenant.
- Hebrews 8:6But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.
- Hebrews 9:15And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
- Hebrews 10:15And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us; for after he hath said,
- Hebrews 12:24and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel.
- Hebrews 13:20Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, even our Lord Jesus,
- Galatians 5:1For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.
Commentaries on Galatians 4:24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Which things are an allegory - They are to be understood spiritually; more being intended in the account than meets the eye. Allegory, from , another, and , or , to speak, signifies a thing that is a representative of another, where the literal sense is the representative of a spiritual meaning; or, as the glossary expresses it, ̔ , · "where the thing is to be understood differently in the interpretation than it appears in the reading." Allegories are…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24Which things - The different accounts of Ishmael and Isaac. Are an allegory - May be regarded allegorically, or as illustrating great principles in regard to the condition of slaves and freemen; and may therefore be used to illustrate the effect of servitude to the Law of Moses compared with the freedom of the gospel. He does not mean to say that the historical record of Moses was not true, or was merely allegorical; nor does he mean to say that Moses…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-27Verses 21-27 The difference between believers who rested in Christ only, and those who trusted in the law, is explained by the histories of Isaac and Ishmael. These things are an allegory, wherein, beside the literal and historical sense of the words, the Spirit of God points out something further. Hagar and Sarah were apt emblems of the two different dispensations of the covenant. The heavenly Jerusalem, the true church from above, represented by Sarah…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24serve as illustrations (literally are being allegorized): In allegorical writing, every character and event symbolizes a deeper meaning. Allegorical interpretations often ignore the text's historical meaning and create imaginative meanings. Here, however, Paul understood the story in its historical context and saw it as history. But he interpreted the story's characters as symbols of the current situation. Paul's opponents were also using allegorical…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. are an allegory--rather, "are allegorical," that is, have another besides the literal meaning. these are the two covenants--"these [women] are (that is, mean; omit 'the' with all the oldest manuscripts) two covenants." As among the Jews the bondage of the mother determined that of the child, the children of the free covenant of promise, answering to Sarah, are free; the children of the legal covenant of bondage are not so. one from--that is, taking…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 4:24
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Galatians 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries