Galatians 4:25

Galatians 4:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
• New International Version (NIV)Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
• New King James Version (NKJV)for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—

Context of Galatians 4:25

23The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. 24These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 26But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!”

Galatians 4:25 word by word

τὸ δὲ Ἁγὰρ Σινᾶ ὄρος ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ Ἀραβίᾳ, συστοιχεῖ δὲ τῇ νῦν Ἰερουσαλήμ, δουλεύει γὰρ μετὰ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• thisὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• AgarἌγαρAgar · HagarG28
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• mountὄροςoros · mountainG3735
• SinaiΣινᾶSina · (Mount) SinaiG4614
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• ArabiaἈραβίαArabia · ArabiaG688
• andδέde · thenG1161
• answereth toσυστοιχέωsustoicheō · to correspond toG4960
• JerusalemἹερουσαλήμHierousalēm · JerusalemG2419
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• is in bondageδουλεύωdouleuō · be a slaveG1398
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043

Cross-references for Galatians 4:25

• Galatians 4:24These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.
• Deuteronomy 33:2“The Lord came from Mount Sinai and dawned upon us from Mount Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran and came from Meribah-kadesh with flaming fire at his right hand.
• Judges 5:5The mountains quaked in the presence of the Lord, the God of Mount Sinai— in the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.
• Psalms 68:8the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain before you, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
• Hebrews 12:18You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.
• Galatians 1:17Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.
• Acts 1:11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
• Matthew 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.
• Luke 13:34“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.
• Luke 19:44They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

Commentaries on Galatians 4:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia - . This is the common reading; but it is read differently in some of the most respectable MSS., versions, and fathers; thus: ͅ , for this Sinai is a mountain of Arabia; the word , Agar, being omitted. This reading is supported by CFG, some others, the Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, and one copy of the Itala; by Epiphanius, Damascenus, Ambrosiaster, Jerome, Augustine, Hilary, Sedulius, and Bede; and the word is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25For this Agar is Mount Sinai - This Hagar well represents the Law given on Mount Sinai. No one can believe that Paul meant to say that Hagar was literally Mount Sinai. A great deal of perplexity has been felt in regard to this passage, and Bentley proposed to cancel it altogether as an interpolation. But there is no good authority for this. Several manuscripts and versions read it, “For this Sinai is a mountain in Arabia;” others, “to this Hagar Jerusalem…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. 25Both Hagar and Mount Sinai were symbols of Jerusalem. They represented Judaism during Paul's time. Judaism continued to trust in the law and in being Abraham's descendants for their status before God (see John 8:31–59). They rejected Jesus as Messiah and remained bound to the law (Galatians 3:23–24; 4:1–3). Mount Sinai in Arabia: Traditionally, Mount Sinai is located in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. However, some suggest that in Arabia means Mount Sinai…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. Translate, "For this word, Hagar, is (imports) Mount Sinai in Arabia (that is, among the Arabians--in the Arabian tongue)." So Chrysostom explains. Haraut, the traveller, says that to this day the Arabians call Sinai, "Hadschar," that is, Hagar, meaning a rock or stone. Hagar twice fled into the desert of Arabia (Ge 16:1-16; 21:9-21): from her the mountain and city took its name, and the people were called Hagarenes. Sinai, with its rugged rocks, far…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 4:25

• Abraham
• Hagar
• Justification
• Parables
• Sinai

In the dictionaries

• Arabia
• Jerusalem
• Sinai
• Sinai, or Sinai
• Arabia, Arabian
• Sinai, Horeb
• Doubt
• Flesh
• Observe
• Sarah

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