Galatians 4:24

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 slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent, while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise. These things may be treated as an allegory, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. 25Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Galatians 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Which thingsὅστιςhostis hētis ho6ti · who/whichG3748
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• an allegoryἀλληγορέωallēgoreo · to use an analogyG238
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• theδιαθήκηdiathēkē · covenantG1242
• twoδύοduo · twoG1417
• the oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• ·μένmen · on the other handG3303
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the mountὄροςoros · mountainG3735
• SinaiΣινᾶSina · (Mount) SinaiG4614
• which genderethγεννάωgennaō · to begetG1080
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519
• bondageδουλείαdouleia · slaveryG1397
• AgarἌγαρAgar · HagarG28
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588

Cross-references for Galatians 4:24

• Ezekiel 20:49Then I said, “O sovereign Lord! They are saying of me, ‘Does he not simply speak in eloquent figures of speech?’”
• Hosea 11:10He will roar like a lion, and they will follow the Lord; when he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.
• Matthew 13:35This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:11These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
• Hebrews 11:19and he reasoned that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense he received him back from there.
• Galatians 4:25Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
• Luke 22:19Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
• Galatians 3:15Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life: When a covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it.
• Hebrews 7:22accordingly Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
• Hebrews 8:6But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises.
• Hebrews 9:15And so he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant.
• Hebrews 10:15And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying,
• Hebrews 12:24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.
• Hebrews 13:20Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ,
• Galatians 5:1For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.

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

• Abraham
• Allegory
• Hagar
• Justification
• Parables
• Sinai

In the dictionaries

• Sinai
• Sinai, or Sinai
• Sinai, Horeb
• Allegory
• Doubt
• Flesh
• Hagar
• Observe
• Sarah
• Zealously

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