Hagar And Paul’s Covenant Thought

Abstract

The subject of this chapter is the reinterpretation of the story of Hagar and Ishmael in gnostic Christianity. The chapter discusses the allegory of Hagar and Sarah in Gal 4:21–5:1, and the way that Paul connects the barren Sarah with the New Jerusalem of Isa 54:1. Next, it describes how early Christian writers re-interpreted this prophecy in the light of the numerical dominance of the Gentiles in the early Christian movement, and then in the light of the growth of the church in relation to the misfortunes of the Jewish people. The chapter shows how gnostic Christians, and in particular the author of the Gospel of Philip, offered an allegorical reading of Isa 54:1 from the perspective of Paul's Letter to the Galatians. It concludes with Irenaeus' reaction to their interpretation of mainstream Christians as children of the slave woman. Keywords:children; gnostic Christianity; Hagar; Paul; Sarah; slave woman