Kinderen naar de ordening van Izak. Continuïteit van Gods verbond belicht door een intertextuele exegese van Galaten 3 en 4

Samenvatting

In Galatians 4 Paul stresses the opposition between a present Jerusalem, which is in
slavery, and the community of Christ. At first sight this Pauline emphasis seems to
imply a sharp antithesis between the New Testament community and Israel. This article
examines the implied antithesis to ask two questions: is the implied antithesis intended,
or is the apostle arguing for a deeper continuity with the divine covenant as well.
To answer these questions this article examines Galatians 3 and 4 in relationship to the
context in which it was written and then focuses on the passage about Hagar and Sarah.
It is argued that Paul’s use of the Old Testament (Gen. 10, 16, 21; Is. 54) offers a deep
insight into the continuity of God’s saving intervention in the lives of the barren Sarah,
of the barren people in exile, and of those who are saved in Paul’s days, just in the same
way as Isaac was. The article also shows how many intertextual relations between the
citations in Galatians 4 illuminate the continuity of God’s promises to Israel.