The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 240

..-l,rrovua and &lilvov<ra, may be classed with whioh regards it e.a referring to the Gentile .,..,.,,,._1,, IIw, llpn {3X,,ro, in J ohu ix. 25, ex- Church as contrasted with the Jewish, ia pressing the normal state m hitherto knolDn, plainly a mi11oonception of its import: the though just now subjected to a ohange. rejoicing mother of the prophet, as well RB Break forth and ory, thou that travailest not the supernal ~er~sn.l_em _of the apostle, (~ijfov Kal {36710-ov ,;, obK C:,l,{vovtra); break knows of no d1stmction 1n her believing forth and Ehout, t1um that traT1ail.est not. But offspring, between Jew Elnd Gentile, com- the Hebrew has "break forth into singing" prising both alike. •.nstead of " break forth and shout; " and so Ver. 28.-Now we, brethren, a.a Ise.e.o in Isa. :tlix. 13 ; the word for "singing" was, are the ohildren of promise (-1,µeis 61 denoting unarticulated cries of joy, as in Ps. 6.lieX,pol, Ko.Tc 'lO'a<Ut, bra-y-y•Xlar .,-l,cva iuµ,; xxx. 5, and often. The Hebrew word for [or, {,µeir lil . . • io-Te']); now we (or, now " break forth " appears to mean " scream ye), brethren, after the manner of Isaac, a,·e (for joy)," as in Isa. :xii. 6, etc. For the chil,dren of prom,·se. In the Greek text it is desolate hath many more children than she uncertain whether we should rea.d -/iµ•ir ... which bath an husband (Hn ,ro"-"-a .,-d .,."""" iuµIP or OµE'is ••• i u-rl, " we are O or "ye are.'' .,-;;, ~pf,µov µa"-"-ov 'fl .,-ijs lxooo-71s 'TOV llvlipa); The only difference is that "ye are'' would for more are the chil,dren of the deEoT.ate than more directly thrust upon the attention of of her which hath th.e husband. The word the Galatians the conclusion, which- " we " desola.te " represents the same Hebrew are " would express in a more general form. participle in 2 Sam. xiii. 20, where the " After the manner of Jenae ; " 1eaT<1 as in Septua.gint has XT/P•oou<ra, widowed. It Eph. iv. 24, Tov Kti'TC Eleov ICT.,,6,,,.,-a: 1 Pet. points in the present case to the solitary i. 15, KaT!l .,-/iv 1<aXfra11.,-a : Lam. i. 12, aud unhappy condition of a woman "for- Septuagint,•A"-'Y•• Ka.,-o. TO ll"-'Y•s µov. The saken by her husband" (comp. Isa. liv. 6). apostle is viewing Isaac as in the manner On the other hand, the words, ..-;,s ;xooo-11s of his being brought into being, the type, .,-/iv livlipa, render the one Hebrew word to which the children of the mystic free- be'ulah, the passive participle of the verb woman were in after ages to be assimilated. ba'al, cohabit with. Compare the use of In both cases the children are born or this verb in Dent. xx:i.v. l (" married her," begotten through 11, promise which God of Authorized Version; uvvo11C'1"71 a,J.,.ji, Septua- his own free grace bath given, and which, gint); Dent. xxi. 13, "and be her husband." by e.n accepting faith, is appropriated e.n.d The words, therefore, denote her that had made effectual. Thus Isaac was bom (see her husband living with her as such; "bath," ver. 23 and Rom. ix. 8, 9). The children as John iv. 18; 1 Cor. v. 1; vii. 2. "The of the supernal Jerusalem are begotten husband" is conceived of as belonging both through the gospel, which in effect is a to her and of right to the "desolate one." promise -of adoption through Christ to be Perhaps .,-011 llvlipa may be rendered "her children of God held out to all who will husband." In the prophet's view, the accept it. Obviously the cases differ in "woman which had her husband" was the this-that in one it was the faith of the visible Israel, possessing the temple and parents which me.de the promise effectual; the other tokens of the Lord's dwelling in in the other, the faith of those who in her midst ; the " desolate one" was the consequence of believing become ohildren. spiritual or the ideal Israel to be mani- But none the less is it true that the result fested in the future ; for the present out is due to an announcement proceeding out of sight and seemingly in abeyance; but of God's own free grace-" Not of works thereafter to be quickened into fertility by but of him that calleth" (Rom. ix. 7-13; the inhabitation of the Lord (for he in the comp. John i. 12, 13; 1 Cor. iv. 15; Jae. i. prophet's vision, ver. 5, is the Husband), 18; 1 Pet. i. 23). The "promi~e" is not reTealed in his first suffering then glorified the parent of the children; this, in the Servant a11 portrayed in the foregoing pro- imagery now present to the apostle's mind, phesying. So exactly do these two images is in the antitypal case the mystic Free- correspond with " the Jerusalem that now wome.n. The genitive "of promise" is a is" and "the Jerusalem that is above," of genitive of qualification, pointing here to the apostle's imagery, that his use of the the means through which the children are prophet's words is plainly no mere accommo- begotten. Compare a somewhat •similarly clation to his purpose of language which loose use of the genitive in Rom. ix. 8, "Not WIIB in reality alien to the subject, but is the children of the flesh ... but the children the citation of a passage regarded by him of the promise." The ca.se of bo.ptized BB strictly predictive, and therefore proba- infants is not in the -apostle's view. ti'fe of the truth of his representation. Ver. 29.-But aa then he that waa hom The view of this prophecy of leaiah found after the flesh perseouted him that was born in Clemens Rome.nus, Ep. ii., 'Ad Cor.,' after the Spirit (6.>.l\' tJ,0'1r•p TOu 6 1<aTa § 2, and in Justiu Martyr, 'Apo!.? p. 88, CJ"(l.plCa -y•vv116••· i3(o,,ce -rbv l<aTa IlVEvµa). OJI. IV. 1-31.] TUE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 207