Galatians 4:25-27
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Paul is making a powerful connection: Hagar, the slave woman, isn't just an ancestor in a story, but represents Mount Sinai itself. This allegorical link highlights that the Law given at Sinai, like Hagar, represents a state of bondage, directly corresponding to the enslaved condition of the present-day Jerusalem and its people.
Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is continuing his allegorical explanation of Abraham's sons, contrasting the child of the free woman (Sarah) with the child of the slave woman (Hagar). He's arguing that those who rely on the Law are like Ishmael, born of Hagar and in slavery, while believers in Christ are like Isaac, born of Sarah and free. Here, Paul directly links Hagar to Mount Sinai, the place where the Law was given, and then connects this to the present-day Jerusalem and its people who are still bound by that same Law.
Paul makes a surprising connection between Hagar, Abraham's slave wife, and Mount Sinai, the place where the Law was given. What's the link?
Paul allegorically identifies Hagar with Mount Sinai in Arabia.
The Woman and the Mountain
While the exact textual reading is debated among scholars, the core idea Paul conveys is that Hagar represents Mount Sinai. Some suggest the Arabic word for 'rock' (Hagar) sounded similar to Sinai, or that Hagar's descendants inhabited the region around Sinai. Regardless of the linguistic nuance, the purpose is clear: to connect the physical location where the Law was given with the concept of Hagar.
Sinai's Legacy
Mount Sinai represents the Old Covenant, a system based on God's Law. This law, while holy and from God, brought a sense of bondage and slavery because it revealed sin without providing the ultimate solution found in Christ. Just as Hagar was a slave and her offspring lived in a state of servitude, the covenant from Sinai leads to a state of spiritual slavery for those who try to earn righteousness through it.
Paul doesn't just point to the past; he connects this bondage to a specific, tangible place that his audience would know well. What does that reveal?
Paul explicitly links the 'present Jerusalem' with Hagar and Mount Sinai.
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A City of Bondage
The 'Jerusalem which now is' refers to the earthly city and, by extension, the entire Jewish religious system that was operating at the time. This system, Paul argues, was still characterized by the same bondage associated with the Law given at Sinai.
More Than Just a Place
This wasn't just about geographical location or a specific political state. It represented a spiritual reality: people trying to live righteously by adhering to rules and rituals, believing they could earn God's favor. This 'bondage' included not only being subject to the Mosaic Law but also the oppressive burden of trying to perfectly keep it, a task impossible without divine intervention.
Contrast with Heaven
This earthly Jerusalem is directly contrasted with the 'Jerusalem which is above' (mentioned in the next verse), representing freedom found in God's grace through Christ. The present Jerusalem, trapped in its legalistic framework, mirrors the condition of Hagar and her children.
Understand the original words
Ierousalēm anō · Greek Proper Noun
In a theological context, this refers to the heavenly reality, the city of God, or the community of believers in covenant with God, contrasting with the earthly city of Jerusalem. It represents the spiritual kingdom and the heavenly citizenship of those who are in Christ.
eleutheros · Greek Adjective
The quality or state of not being under bondage, slavery, or the burden of the Mosaic Law; in Christ, it signifies liberation from sin, death, and legalistic constraints, enabling service to God.
steira · Greek Adjective
Refers to one who is physically unable to have children, often used in Scripture as a symbol of human helplessness and the necessity of divine intervention to bring about God's purpose.
teknon · Greek Noun
A chosen people or believers in a new covenant relationship who are established by divine promise rather than human effort or natural descent.
Paul allegorically connects Hagar's banishment and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai in Arabia to the 'present Jerusalem' and its adherence to the Law, contrasting them with the freedom found in the heavenly Jerusalem through Christ.
c. 1840 BC
Hagar and Ishmael's Banishment
Hagar, Sarah's maidservant, and her son Ishmael are sent away from Abraham's household into the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. This event marks the origin of the people associated with Hagar.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
The Exodus and the Law on Sinai
The Israelites, led by Moses, depart from Egypt and receive the Law from God at Mount Sinai in Arabia. This event establishes the Mosaic Covenant and the legalistic system.
c. 700 BC - 1st Century AD
Jerusalem as Center of Jewish Law
Jerusalem becomes the focal point for Jewish religious life and the administration of the Law given at Sinai. This period sees the city increasingly associated with a system bound by legalistic observance.
c. AD 60-65
Paul Writes Galatians
The Apostle Paul writes his letter to the churches in Galatia, likely from Ephesus or Corinth, to address the contentious issue of gentile believers needing to follow the Mosaic Law.
This passage describes Hagar bearing Ishmael, the son born according to the flesh, who is used in the allegory to represent those born under the Old Covenant and subject to its bondage.
Genesis 21:9-10Here, Isaac, the son born by promise, is seen mocking Ishmael. This directly parallels Paul's argument that the children of the free woman (born by promise) are persecuted by those born under the law (represented by Hagar's lineage).
Exodus 19:16-20This passage describes the dramatic and fearsome giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, with thunder, lightning, and smoke, illustrating the terrifying bondage and awe that the Law, like Hagar, represents.
Romans 9:30-33Paul explains that Israel pursued righteousness not by faith, but by the works of the law, stumbling over Christ. This highlights the 'bondage' of those trying to earn salvation through law, mirroring the allegory of Hagar and present-day Jerusalem.
Hebrews 12:18-21The author vividly contrasts the experience of believers with the terrifying event at Mount Sinai, emphasizing its connection to fear and bondage, which directly aligns with Paul's depiction of the 'Jerusalem which now is'.
cambridgeGalatians 4:25: "For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children."
25 . The reading, the construction and the meaning of the first clause of this verse are uncertain, and have afforded matter for considerable discussion. The genuineness of the word ‘Hagar’ is doubtful. If it is retained, the sense will be, ‘For (or, as some copies read, ‘now’) this term Hagar is the name by which Mount Sinai is called in Arabia’, it therefore…
vincentGalatians 4:25: "For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children."
For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia (τὸ δὲ Ἅγαρ Σινὰ ὄρος ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ Ἁραβίᾳ)The sentence is not parenthetical. This covenant is the Hagar of that allegorical history which is explained by the resemblance of her name to the Arabic name of Sinai. The Greek order is not ὄρος Σινὰ, as Galatians 4:24, but Σινὰ ὄρος, in order to bring into j…
Paul is making a powerful connection: Hagar, the slave woman, isn't just an ancestor in a story, but represents Mount Sinai itself. This allegorical link highlights that the Law given at Sinai, like Hagar, represents a state of bondage, directly corresponding to the enslaved condition of the present-day Jerusalem and its people.
Paul is continuing his allegorical explanation of Abraham's sons, contrasting the child of the free woman (Sarah) with the child of the slave woman (Hagar). He's arguing that those who rely on the Law are like Ishmael, born of Hagar and in slavery, while believers in Christ are like Isaac, born of Sarah and free. Here, Paul directly links Hagar to Mount Sinai, the place where the Law was given, and then connects this to the present-day Jerusalem and its people who are still bound by that same Law.
Paul is continuing his allegorical explanation of Abraham's sons, contrasting the child of the free woman (Sarah) with the child of the slave woman (Hagar). He's arguing that those who rely on the Law are like Ishmael, born of Hagar and in slavery, while believers in Christ are like Isaac, born of Sarah and free. Here, Paul directly links Hagar to Mount Sinai, the place where the Law was given, and then connects this to the present-day Jerusalem and its people who are still bound by that same Law.
"Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear…" — Paul is making a powerful connection: Hagar, the slave woman, isn't just an ancestor in a story, but represents Mount Sinai itself. This allegorical link highlights that the Law given at Sinai, like…
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Last reviewed October 2026