RSV ~ Galatians 4 Notes
Gal 4:1-7 | ISB Notes
Paul reads the history of Israel as the story of a minor who has grown to maturity and is ready to receive his inheritance. During the Exodus, Israel was a rebellious son (Ex 4:22) whom Yahweh placed under the guardianship of the Mosaic Law (Gal 3:24) and the servile discipline of covenant curses (3:13). The coming of Christ marks the appointed time when the curses and ceremonies of the Mosaic Law are finally set aside and Israel can receive the full inheritance of sonship through the Spirit (Rom 8:14-15; CCC 1972).
Gal 4:3 | ISB Notes
elemental spirits: The Greek word is simply “elements”, which can denote (1) the first principles of education (Heb 5:12), (2) the physical elements of the world (2 Pet 3:10), (3) the heavenly bodies and luminaries, which were deified by the pagans (cf. Deut 4:19), or (4) the spirits that control the cosmic elements and were likewise worshiped by the pagans (cf. Wis 13:2). Each of these has connections with the religious culture of the Hellenistic world. In this context, however, life under the elements is connected with life under the Law (Gal 3:23-25). The point is not that Judaism is no different from paganism, but that both constitute a state of bondage under cosmic forces from which Christ has freed us (4:4-5, 8-9; Col 2:8, 20). Perhaps the Torah is classified with the elements because it teaches rudimentary principles of religion; its legal observances make use of physical substances; its cultic calendar follows the movements of the sun and moon; and the Law is mediated by angelic spirits (Gal 3:19), who, according to Jewish tradition, also stand in charge of the physical elements and seasonal cycles of the world (Jubilees 2, 2).
Gal 4:4 | ISB Notes
the time had fully come: History reached a climax with the birth and death of the Messiah (Mk 1:15; Eph 1:10). This was the predetermined date “set” by God the Father to confer the blessing of divine sonship upon both Israel and the Gentiles (Gal 4:2; CCC 422, 484).
born of woman: Emphasizes that Jesus shared in the human condition (Job 14:1; Mt 11:11). Giving birth and flesh to the Son of God makes Mary the Mother of God (CCC 495, 723). See note on Lk 1:43.
born under the law: Emphasizes Jesus’ link with Judaism and his messianic mission to rescue Israel from the slavery of the Law and its covenant curses (3:13; CCC 580).
Gal 4:6 | ISB Notes
sent the Spirit: As the Father sent the Son to redeem all nations from sin (4:4), he likewise sent the Spirit to renew them for a life of sanctity. The joint mission of the Son and Spirit is to bring blessing to the whole human family and unify them in the divine family of God (CCC 689).
into our hearts: The Spirit fills us with God’s presence and love (Rom 5:5; 2 Cor 1:22). His divine assistance enables us to live righteously as sons and daughters of the Father (Rom 8:4; 1 Jn 3:7; CCC 1265-66, 1695). Abba!: Aramaic for “Father!” It bespeaks a new level of intimacy with the Father that Jesus opened (Mk 14:36) for the children of God (Rom 8:15) (CCC 683, 2766).
Gal 4:8-11 | ISB Notes
Paul’s personal appeal to the Galatians. Having refuted the logic of the Judaizers in 3:1-4:7, he now urges readers to repudiate their propaganda. The pastoral tone of this section reveals the depth of Paul’s affection for the Galatians and indicates how earnestly he wants to restore them to spiritual health.
Gal 4:8 | ISB Notes
you did not know God: The Galatians were once pagans, ignorant of the God of Israel (Ps 79:6; 1 Thess 4:5). In accepting the gospel, they turned away from lifeless idols to be known and loved by the living God (Gal 4:9; 1 Thess 1:9).
Gal 4:10 | ISB Notes
days … months … seasons … years: Refers to the liturgical calendar of Israel, which was regulated by the cycles of the sun and moon (Gen 1:14). Apparently the Judaizers persuaded some of the Galatians to begin celebrating the weekly (Sabbath, Ex 20:8-11), monthly (New Moon, Num 28:11-15), seasonal (Passover, Pentecost, etc., Deut 16:1-17), and yearly (New Years, see note on Lev 23:24) festivals of the Old Covenant (Col 2:16).
Gal 4:12 | ISB Notes
become as I am: Imitating Paul in this context means putting aside the ritual ordinances of the Mosaic Law to “live like a Gentile and not like a Jew” (2:14).
Gal 4:13 | ISB Notes
a bodily ailment: The infirmity is not specified, but Paul’s comments in 4:15 and 6:11 suggest it may have been a visual handicap.
Gal 4:19 | ISB Notes
in travail: Paul describes himself as a mother who begot Christ in the lives of the Galatians (cf. 2:20). His labor pains continue as he groans to see his sons and daughters turning back to bondage (CCC 526, 562).
Gal 4:22 | ISB Notes
two sons: Abraham’s oldest son, Ishmael, was born of his concubine, Hagar (Gen 16:15), while his younger son, Isaac, was born of his wife, Sarah (Gen 21:1-3). Hagar was Sarah’s personal slave (Gen 16:1).
Gal 4:23 | ISB Notes
through promise: The birth of Isaac was the result of God’s promise and miraculous intervention, since Sarah was barren and elderly at the time (Gen 15:2-4; 17:15-19). Ishmael was conceived by purely natural means, that is, according to the flesh (Gen 16:3-4).
Gal 4:24-31 | ISB Notes
The mothers of Isaac and Ishmael represent two distinct covenants and thus two ages of salvation history. The slave woman, Hagar, is linked with Mount Sinai, where the Torah was given to Israel; the essence of this covenant was practiced and promoted in Jerusalem. The free woman, Sarah, is symbolic of the heavenly Jerusalem above, where the saints worship God in the freedom of the New Covenant (Heb 12:2223) without the burdensome yoke of the Mosaic Law (Gal 5:1). A contrast is thus set up between the Judaizers and the Galatians: the former are sons of the earthly Jerusalem, who are born into religious slavery through the Law (like Ishmael, from Hagar), while the latter are sons of the heavenly Jerusalem (CCC 757), who are born into freedom and blessedness through the gospel (like Isaac, from Sarah). See note on Gal 3:15-18.
Gal 4:24 | ISB Notes
this is an allegory: An example of spiritual exegesis, which expounds the prophetic meaning of OT persons, places, events, and institutions in light of the New Covenant. Whereas literal exegesis interprets the words of the Bible, spiritual exegesis interprets the realities and events of the Bible described by its words (CCC 115-17).
• The author of Holy Scripture is God, who can signify his meaning, not only by words, as even man can do, but also by things. The first signification whereby words signify things belongs to the historical or literal sense. The signification whereby things signified by words also have their own signification is the spiritual sense, which is based on the literal and presupposes it (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, 1, 10).
Gal 4:25 | ISB Notes
in Arabia: Paul naturally links Hagar with Arabia, since the descendants of her son, Ishmael (Arabs), dwelt in this desert region.
Gal 4:27 | ISB Notes
Rejoice, O barren one: A citation from the Greek version of Is 54:1.
• Isaiah compares Jerusalem, destroyed and desolate after the Exile (586 B.C.), to a barren woman made fruitful by God and to a tent that will spread out to make the nations her children (Is 54:2-3). Historically, the text is an allusion to the matriarch Sarah, who was barren but miraculously gave birth to Isaac. Prophetically, it points to the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the mother city made fruitful by God to bear children from all nations through the gospel.
Gal 4:28 | ISB Notes
children of promise: Paul concludes that those in Christ (3:27) share the Abrahamic blessings that were promised to come through Isaac to the world (3:14). See note on Gal 3:16.
Gal 4:29 | ISB Notes
persecuted: Paul follows a Jewish tradition that interprets the “playing” of Abraham’s sons in Gen 21:9 as a power struggle between the boys, with the older Ishmael taunting the younger Isaac. The current harassment by the Judaizers links them with Hagar and the Ishmaelites, whose descendants were among the traditional enemies of the covenant people (1 Chron 5:10; Ps 83:5-6).
Gal 4:30 | ISB Notes
Cast out the slave: A citation from Gen 21:10.
• This is the moment when Ishmael is expelled from Abraham’s family and disqualified from being a rightful heir. It refutes the logic of the Judaizers that circumcision is the sign that entitles one to a share in the blessings of Abraham. In effect, Paul is reminding them that Ishmael and Isaac were both circumcised, yet Ishmael was disinherited and Isaac alone received his father’s blessing. .