The Figure of Hagar in Ancient Judaism and Galatians

In this study, Ryan Heinsch considers Paul's portrayal of Hagar in Gal 4:21-31 and argues that Paul stands in continuity with ancient Judaism in that he portrays Hagar and her descendants as non-Jews. As a result, the author demonstrates that the passage in Galatians is an allegory Paul develops about the experience of gentiles in general and the once pagan Galatian gentiles in particular.

To date, scholarly study of the allegory of Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4:21-31 has not paid adequate attention to the way Paul's use of the story - chiefly in relation to the figure of Hagar - can be located within streams of ancient Jewish tradition. In this study, Ryan Heinsch fills this scholarly gap by considering Paul's allegorical portrayal of the figure of Hagar in Galatians 4:21-31 within the context of ancient Judaism. The author argues that Paul stands in continuity with - rather than against - ancient Judaism in that he, like other Jews in antiquity, portrays Hagar and her descendants as non-Jews. As a result, the author demonstrates further that Galatians 4:21-31 is not to be read as a polemic against Jews, Jewish Christ-followers, or the continuing validity of the Jewish law (as is common among interpreters), but rather, that Galatians 4:21-31 is an allegory Paul develops about the experience of gentiles in general and the once pagan Galatian gentiles in particular.

Autorentext
Born 1985; 2008 BA, Moody Bible Institute; 2014 MDiv, Moody Theological Seminary, Michigan; 2019 PhD, University of Aberdeen; currently adjunct professor at Moody Theological Seminary, and Bible faculty at Southwest Christian High School (Chaska, MN).

Inhalt
Part One: Introductory Matters
Chapter 1: Echoes of Supersessionism and the Figure of Hagar in Galatians 4:21-31
Chapter 2: Comparative Methodology and Reading Paul

Part Two: The Portrayal of Hagar in Ancient Judaism
Chapter 3: The Portrayal of Hagar in the LXX of Genesis
Chapter 4: The Portrayal of Hagar in the Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period

Part Three: The Portrayal of Hagar in Galatians
Chapter 5: Again, and Again, and Again: Framing the Portrayal of Hagar in Galatians
Chapter 6: "One Bears Children Away from Mount Sinai: Examining the Portrayal of Hagar in Galatians
Chapter 7: "To Be Sure, Sinai is a Mountain in Arabia: The Text of Galatians 4:25a