Psalm 87 and Gal

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Psalm 87 as a Reappraisal of the

Zion Tradition and Its Reception

in Galatians 4:26

CHRISTL M. MAIER

Philipps-Universitt

D35032 Marburg, Germany

THE ZION TRADITION IS one of the fundamental traditions of the Hebrew Bibletraceable in Psalms, Lamentations, and many prophetic books. Among a variety of

Zion texts, Psalm 87 (86 LXX) offers a highly unique portrait of Zion. In this inter

pretation ofPsalm 87,1 seek to illumine this distinctiveness and to explore the

psalm's reception in the LXX and the NT, pointing to a connection that has so far

been overlooked by scholars. In Galatians 4, Paul argues that both Jews and Gen

tiles may be sons ofAbraham, and in this context he refers to the "Jerusalem

above" as "our mother" (v. 26). My thesis is that Paul's idea of Jerusalem being a

mother also to Gentiles rests on Psalm 86 LXX.

I. Psalm 87 as a Zion Song

Upon reading various scholarly interpretations ofPsalm 87, one may well

conclude that its poet might have been confused. There is hardly any scholar who

does notfindfault with the order of verses, the line of argumentation, or the abrupt

style ofthis psalm. Artur Weiser finds the psalm's thoughts unconnected and

This article is a revised version ofa paper delivered at the IOSOT conference in Leiden,

A 4 20 04 d h SBL l i i S A i N b 21 20 04 1 ld lik


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assumes a disarrangement oftext in the course ofcopying.1 Richard J. Clifford

sees the problem of understanding emerging from the psalm's "elliptical logic." In

1987, Theodor Booij listed sixteen different reconstructions, following which John J.

Schmitt commented, "This psalm could win a prize for the greatest number ofdifferent rearrangements proposed by scholars."

2Only the latest commentaries set

out to interpret the given text, among them the commentary on Psalms 51-100 of

Frank-Lothar Hossfeld and Erich Zenger published in German in 2000 and recently

also in English.3 The MT of Psalm 87 conveys some unusual features, and its LXX

version provides several variant readings. Therefore, I present my own annotated

translation first, followed by a short structural analysis that aims at explaining why

the psalm has caused difficulties in understanding (A). Next I explore the psalm's

similarities to Psalms 46 and 48 (B) as well as its uniqueness among Zion texts (Q.

Having established Psalm 87 as a Zion song with a peculiar topic, I interpret the

psalm's female personification of Zion and its interpretation in the LXX (II). Last,

I explore Paul's use of Psalm 86 LXX in his letter to the Galatians (III).

A. Translation and Structure of Psalm 87

1 A psalm of the sons of Korah. A song.

His foundation4 on holy mountains 2 Yhwh loves,

the gates of Zion more than all dwellings of Jacob.3 Glorious things5 are told about you, O City of God. Selah.

41 mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know me,

1Artur Weiser, The Psalms: A Commentary (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1962) 579.

Similar evaluations are offered by Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen (5th ed.; Gttingen: Vandenhoeck

& Ruprecht, 1968) 378; Klaus Seybold, Die Psalmen (HAT 15; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1996) 341;

Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51-100 (WBC 20; Dallas: Word, 1990) 387.2

Richard J. Clifford, Psalms 73-150 (Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries; Nashville:Abingdon, 2003) 81; Theodor Booij, "Some Observations on Psalm LXXXVII," VT37(1987) 16-

25, esp. 16 . 2; John J. Schmitt, "Psalm 87: Zion, the CityofGod's Love," inThe Psalms andOtherStudieson the OldTestamentPresentedto Joseph I. Hunt(ed. Jack C. Knight and LawrencSinclair; Nashotah, WI: Nashotah House Seminary, 1990) 34-44, esp. 41 n. 21.

3Frank-LotharHossfeld and Erich Zenger, Psalmen 51-100 (HTKAT; Freiburg: Herder,

2000); Eng. trans. Psalms 2: A Commentary on Ps 51-100(trans. Linda Maloney; Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005).

4The feminine form 10'' ("foundation") is unique; the masculine noun is used in Ezek 13:14;

Ps 137:7; Lam 4:11. The masculine suffix refers to the subject ofthe sentence, Yhwh. Forthe cho

sen line distinction, see the discussion below.5The plural m"DD3 ("glorious things") serves as the object ofthe pual singular participle

"Q3 ("it is told") The incongruence between the forms is a minor problem as the feminine plural


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PSALM 87 AND GALATIANS 4:26 475

Philistia, too, and Tyre, with6Ethiopia,

"This one7was born there."

5 And ofZion it shall be said,

"Each one8

was born in her and he who will establish her is the Most High."6 Yhwh will record in the document

9ofthe nations,

"This one was born there." Selah.7 And they sing

10while

11dancing, "All my springs

12are in you."

13

Some scholars subdivide the psalm into w. 1-3 and 4-7,14

yet the paragraphmarkerselah (rf?0) suggests a further division of w. 4-6 and v. 7. Verses 1-3 praisethe intimate and exclusive love of Israel's god forthe city ofZion. Verse lb seemsto be incomplete, for it provides neithera verb nor a nominal clause. Some commentators assume a loss of halfa line at this point, eitherinserting portions of v. 5here or placing v. 2 ahead ofv. lb.

15Disregarding the masoretic verse division,

however, the sentence "Yhwh loves" ( 3) in v. 2a continues v. lb without disruption.

16Thus, the expression "his foundation on holymountains" serves as the

6 The LXX and Vg read "and the people" (DJn). The MT's reading, "with" (ay), is the lectio

dificilior and thus to be preferred.7 The LXX reads "these are born there," with referring to the nations mentioned before.

Although this variant smooths the transition from plural to singular, it corroborates the universalis-tic perspective of the Hebrewtext.

8 For the distributive meaning of this expression, see GKC 123c and the discussion in sec

tion II below.9 Many Hebrewmanuscripts and the ancient versions attest the original "in the document"

(35?), whereas the MT offers an infinitive construct, "when writing" (Tirp?).1 0 The Greek translator inserted "those who sing" (,")) from v. 7 into v. 6 and read it as

"rulers" (.), a common variant, as the consonants VJand fr are not distinguished in unvocalizedHebrew. The Hebrewparticiples are used as predicates in a durative sense and denote actions of an

indefinite subject; see Joiion and Muraoka, Grammar, 155f and Gen 39:22; Exod 5:16; Jer 33:5;

38:23.11 For the temporal interpretation ofD, see Booij ("Some Observations," 21), who refers to Gen

38:29; 40:10. "Those who dance" (D^n) is a shortened form ofa pilpel plural participle of Vin ("togo around, dance"); see HALOT, 297. Whereas the Hebrewverb is rarelyused, the Greek transla

tor chose thefrequentative, which equals the Hebrew"be glad, to rejoice" ().12 Instead of "my springs" (37), the Greek translator read "dwelling" fWt), as in Ps 84(83):7,

probably thinking of the common idea of God's dwelling in Zion. Since this is the lectio facilior, the

MT is to be preferred. The singular suffix takes up the individualistic perspective of v. 5.13

The feminine suffix in the Hebrew text refers to Zion, as in w. 3 and 5.14

See James L. Mays, Psalms (IBC; Louisville: John Knox, 1994) 281; Konrad Schaefer,

Psalms (Berit Olam; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2001) 213.15

Weiser, Psalms, 579: w. lb, 5b, 2-3, 6,4, 5a, 7; Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalms 60-150: A

C (Mi li A b 1989) 185 l 2 lb 5b 7 3 6 4b/6b 4 5 i il l


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object ofYhwh's love, and its initial position may indicate emphasis (see also w . 3

and 5). As v. 2b provides "the gates ofZion" (]VX57) as an object parallel to "his

foundation" (''), the statement 3does double duty.

As Booij and Mark S. Smith have proposed, w. 3-7 are concentrically structured owing to a threefold address to female Zion in w. 3, 5, and 7 as well as a

threefold birth proclamation in w. 4,5, and 6.17

Thus, the pivot ofthe psalm is v. 5.

The parallel wording ofthe birth proclamations confirms that the reference point

ofthe location "there" (D#) in w. 4 and 6 is female Zion, to which v. 5 clearly

refers.

The psalm concentrates on the city from different perspectives by alternating

the speakers, but the transition between the different voices is not always indicated

by introductory formulas. In w. lb-3 the poet or the Korahites mentioned in theheading may be speaking. In v. 4 Yhwh is speaking, as indicated by the first per

son suffix in "those who know me" ( ^TV) and the attribution ofthe birth procla

mation to Yhwh in v. 6. In w. 5-6 the people's voice confirms this divine

proclamation by citing Yhwh's core sentence (v. 6b), namely, that he considers the

nations adhering to him as born in Zion. In v. 7 the poet or the Korahites describe

the activities of the celebrating people and quote(s) their song. Thus, the psalm

may be understood as a chorus of voices that announce a dramatic event.

B. The Relation ofPsalm 87 to Psalms 46 and 48

With regard to the position ofPsalm 87 in its present context, Norbert Lohfink

and Erich Zenger have argued that the compositional sequence and contents of

Psalms 84-85, 87-88 are aligned with the first group ofKorah psalms, 42^19.18

The use ofthe following key words in Psalm 87 closely links this text to Psalms

46-48: The expression "foundation on holymountains" in v. lb is reminiscent of

Ps 48:2-3, where the holymountain ofGod is mentioned parallel to Mount Zion.

The uncommon plural "holymountains" may reflect the experience that Jerusalemhas spread across several hills.

19That God loves the gates of Zion (v. 2) is an

extraordinary rendering of the more familiar notion that God elected Zion as

dwelling place (Pss 46:5; 48:1-3). The expression "city of God" (DTftxn TJ7) is

17 Booij ("Some Observations," 19-21) does so rather implicitly, but divides the psalm intothree strophes (w. lb-2, 3-5, 6-7). Mark S. Smith ("The Structure of Psalm LXXXVII," VT3S

[1988] 357-58) calls vv. 3-7 a "concentric pentacolon" (p. 357). See also Hossfeld and Zenger,Psalms 2, 382.

18 Norbert Lohfnk and Erich Zenger, The God of Israel andthe Nations: Studies in Isaiah andthe Psalms (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000) 127-38; see also Hossfeld and Zenger, Psalms

2 385 87


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used exclusively in v. 3 and Pss 46:5; 48:2,9. The idea that God establishes the city

(v. 5) is attested also in Ps 48:9. The divine epithet "the most high"(yfry) in v. 5

occurs also in Pss 46:5 and 47:3, although it is not exclusive to the Zion songs.

Last, the springs mentioned in v. 7 may refer to the image of God's city abundantwith water in Ps 46:5.20 Since Psalm 87 presents an anthology of motifs related to

Zion and links expressions found in Psalms 46-48, it presupposes the other Zion

songs.

All Zion songs draw a visionary image ofJerusalem that cannot be equated

with its topography or its political status: Psalm 46 praises the city embraced by a

river and protected from its enemies by the presence ofits God. Psalm 48 paral

lels the city and Mount Zion as sheltered not only by its elevation but by divine

power. The underlying idea is that the nations' unavailing military assault on Zionwill be replaced by their pilgrimage to the sacred space. Like Psalms 46 and 48,

Psalm 87 is a typical Zion song praising the city's importance. Contrary to Psalms

46 and 48, however, Psalm 87 reverses the point of view: Not Zion's salvation but

the salvation of the nations through Zion is at stakethe springs thus represent the

sources of life found in Zion.21

C. Zion s Significance in Psalm 87

While referring to God's love forZion, Psalm 87 offers a new statement in theZion tradition by depicting foreign peoples not as pilgrims to Zion but as children

of this city. Verse 5 mentions peoples surrounding Jerusalem: Rahab is a symbolic

name for Egypt, as in Isa 30:7.22 The city of Babylon appears as Daughter Zion's

constant adversaryfromthe east in the Book of Isaiah and personifies the inhabi

tants ofthe city. Philistia denotes the southwestern shoreline and its inhabitants

(Pss 60:10; 83:8). The city of Tyre represents the Phoenician nation of merchants

to the north (Isa 23:8; Ezek 27:3), while Kush denotes the Ethiopian people living

south of Egypt (Ps 68:32; Ezek 29:10). Given the geographical location of thesepeoples, Zion turns out to have a central position.

Yet the threefold proclamation that these foreign nations are born in Zion is

at the same time offensive and unheeded. It seems to be offensive to many schol

ars,fromBernhard Duhm in 1899 to John A. Emerton in 2001, who take the ones

born in Zion to be either Israelites dispersed among the nations or proselytes.23

20 Even closer in terminology is Ps 84:7, where springs are said to emerge in a dry valley

when the pilgrims to Zion pass through it.

21 See Hossfeld and Zenger, Psalms 2, 386.22 It is the name also of the primeval chaos creature that Yhwh defeated (Ps 89:11 ; Job 26:10).23 B h d D h i l (K H d C Al T 14


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Emerton, for example, argues that the location "there" (D#) in w. 4 and 6 refersto the foreign names in v. 4, which he interprets as foreign countries.24 As arguedabove, the reference point ofDttf in w. 4 and 6 is female Zion. Emerton overlooks

that each nation in v. 4 appears as a single figure even though it represents a collective and thus can be indicated bythe singular demonstrative pronoun . In hisview, the psalm differentiates between those born in foreign countries and thoseborn in Zion, the cityofYhwh. He fails, however, to explain why Zion is praisedso highlyand how v. 7 relates to the rest of the psalm.25

Like most scholars who favor a particularistic interpretation, Emerton beginswith the fact that the foreign nations are actually notborn in Zion. Yet Yhwh'smentioning and recording of names are to be understood as performative acts,

meaning that God proclaims each nation to be born in Zion.26

This motif in v. 6picks up the idea of a heavenly book in which the life and fate ofa people or ofsingle persons are written down, an idea widelyattested in the Assyrian and Babylonian empires.27 The recording ofnames may be related historicallyto the list ofthe members of the postexilic community mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah, especially as the term "document" (2) in Ps 87:6 is also used in Ezra 2:62 and Neh7:64. Thus, Psalm 87 offers a universalistic perspective that exceeds the idea thatZion is the center of foreign pilgrims, namely, the vision ofthe nations livingpeacefully together as fellow citizens ofIsrael because of their common origin.

This vision may rightly be called "a postexilic new version of the preexilic Ziontheology."28

281; Clifford, Psalms 73-150, 82. Hossfeld andZenger(Psalms 2, 379-81) cite long passages thatexemplify the particularistic position.

2 4Emerton, "Problem," 193.

2 5With regard to v. 7, Emerton ("Problem," 197-98) favors an emendationfirstproposed by

Hugo Gressmann, which has been incorporated into the text-critical apparatus ofBHSad loc. andreads "all ofthem praise you (= Zion)."

2 6Note the imperfect verb forms in w. 4,5, and6. See Schaefer, Psalms, 213-14; Tate, Psalms

51-100, 390. Tate refers to an interesting parallel showing the ideologyofthe Assyrian empire. Therefrain common in Neo-Assyrian inscriptions about conquered people, "I counted them among the

Assyrians," declares those peoples to belong to the Assyrian king's royal realm. ForTate, however,the concept ofbeing "born" in Zion expresses spiritual kinship only(p. 389).

2 7 Cf. Luke 10:20; Heb 12:23-24; Rev 3:5. The tradition is traced by Shalom M. Paul, "Heavenly Tablets and the Book of Life," in The Gaster Festschrift(special issue JANES(CU) 5 [1973];ed. David Marcus; New York: Ancient NearEastern Society of Columbia University, 1974) 345-53.

See also Leo Koep, Dashimmlische Buch in Antike undChristentum: Eine religionsgeschichtlicUntersuchungzuraltchristlichen Bildersprache (Theophaneia 8; Bonn: P. Hanstein, 1952).

2 8H f ld dZ P l 2 382 Th t th t P l 87 d ifi ll


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ILZion as Mother of the Nations

The female portrait of Zion in Psalm 87 can be compared to the West Semitictradition, in which cities are grammatically feminine and hold titles such as "mis

tress" or "virgin" that generate a female personification. Such a metaphorical use

offemale roles helps to express the various relationships among the city, its ruler,

and its inhabitants.29 The city might be conquered like a daughter and embraced

like a royal bride by its ruler. It offers shelter and food to its inhabitants like a

mother. Writing in the postexilic period, the poet ofPsalm 87 is certainly familiar

with the prophetic metaphor of "Daughter Zion." This metaphor was used earlier

in Isa 1:8 and Jer 4:31, where the city is menaced by destruction, as well as in

Lamentations, which describes her suffering in detail. Although only Isa 50:1explicitly uses the title "mother," both the Isaian and Jeremian traditions charac

terize the female city as a mother bereft of her children (Jer 10:20; Isa 49:21; cf.Lam 1:20). Isaiah 54:1-3 even proclaims the end of her miserywith the message

of Jerusalem's restored motherhood, a text cited in Paul's letter to the Galatians:

Sing, O barren one who did not bear!Burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor!For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her

that is married, says Yhwh. (Isa 54:1)

Although Psalm 87 does not personify the city as clearly as does Isaiah 54,

the psalm belongs to a tradition that portrays Jerusalem as woman and mother.

Similarly, 2 Sam 20:19 names the cityAbel ofBeth-Maacah "a city and a mother

in Israel" (see NKJV), applying a title that is translated "a polis and a metropolis"

in the LXX. The term "a mother city" () is used also in the LXX ver

sion ofIsa 1:26.30 In this perspective, the LXX renders the implicit female imagery

of the Hebrewtext explicit by calling Zion "mother" in Ps 87(86):5:

2 9 See Christi Maier, "Tochter Zion im Jeremiabuch: Eine literarische Personifikation mitaltorientalischem Hintergrund," in Prophtie in Israel: Beitrge des Symposiums, "Das Alte Testa

ment und die Kultur der Moderne " anllich des 100. Geburtstags Gerhard von Rads (1901-1971)

Heidelberg, 18.-21. Oktober 2001 (ed. Irmtraud Fischer, Konrad Schmid, and Hugh G. M.

Williamson; Mnster: LIT, 2003) 157-67.30 In the LXX, the title is conferred on Gibeon (Josh 10:2), Kiriath-arba (Josh

14:15; 21:11), and Hebron (Josh 15:13), and is used without Hebrew equivalent in Esth 9:19. SeeAnna Maria Schwemer, "Himmlische Stadt und himmlisches Brgerrecht bei Paulus (Gal 4,26 und

Phil 3,20)," inLa cit de Dieu/Die Stadt Gottes (ed. Martin Hengel, Siegfried Mittmann, and Anna

Maria Schwemer; WUNT 129; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2000) 195-243. Schwemer argues that


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, , "Mother Zion" will a man say31

, because32 a man was born in her, , and the Most High himselffounded33 her.

Some scholars even correct the Hebrew text of Ps 87:5 according to theLXX.

34 Theyprobablyfollow a suggestion in the critical apparatus of KitteFs edition of the Hebrew text.35 The targum and the later Greek translations ofAquila,

Symmachus, and Theodotion, however, support the shorter Hebrewtext. Althoughthe LXX reading has a creative edge, it emerges at this point from a misreading of

the Hebrew consonantal text. The translator did not recognize the Hebrewdistrib-utive expression "each man" (ttf'W tJTX) and therefore connected tZhXI to the following clause.36 What remains in the first Hebrew clause reads "to Zion will a

man say," and the translator added the title "mother"a supplement that fits verywell both the context of the psalm and the tradition the translator might haveknown. Any of those nations listed earlier, who are proclaimed to be born in

Jerusalem, may thus call Zion "mother." If the LXX reading were original, the

omission of the title mother in the Hebrew text would be hard to explain. Thisinterpretation of the LXX reading contrasts with Joachim Schaper's thesis that the

Greek is "a deliberate interpretative interference" that is connected to a messianicunderstanding of.37

The idea that Zion is the mother of the nations is unheeded in the rest of the

3 1 The LXX reads the Hebrew consonantal form as the common "he will say" ("loC), not

as the niphal form "he will be called" (HOC?), as the masoretes do. The distributive expression "each

man" (IZ RItf) is thus torn apart.3 2 The is explicative or epexegetical, giving a reason for the first statement.3 3 The Greek translator rendered the Hebrew imperfect as an aorist that refers to the past.3 4 See Briggs and Briggs, Psalms, 2. 240; Kraus, Psalms 60-150, 184; Helen Schngel-

Straumann, "Mutter Zion im Alten Testament," in Theologie zwischen Zeiten undKontinenten:

Festschrift Elisabeth Gssmann (ed. Theodor Schneider and Helen Schngel-Straumann; Freiburg:Herder, 1993) 19-30, here 21.

35 Both the second and third editions ofBHKpropose that the MT is a haplography ofORtf'R. The suggestion does not appear in BHS.

3 6 For the distributive meaning, see GKC 123c and the detailed comments ofEmerton, "Problem," 195-96.

3 7 See Joachim Schaper, Eschatology in the Greek Psalter(WUNT 2/76; Tbingen: Mohr

Siebeck, 1995) 99. Schaper holds that the Greek translator added the title Mother in light ofIsa

66:7-11, a text that portrays Zion as a mother of many children in an eschatological context. He fur

ther posits that at the time ofthe Psalter's translation into Greek, the term had already

acquired a messianic meaning and therefore Ps 86:5 might have been rendered in this light (pp. 100-101). Although Isaiah 66 may indeed have been on the translator's mind, a possible messianic mean

i f i G 49 10 LXX d N 24 17 LXX d t h l t i t t th l


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Hebrew Bible because it disregards all boundaries between Israel and the nationsand denies any prerequisite for joining with Israel in its faith in Yhwh. DepictingZion as the ultimate place ofGod's election and proclaiming the foreign nations

to be children ofJerusalem, Psalm 87 exceeds all expectations of salvation.

III. The Jerusalem "Above" as Motherofthe Nations

(Galatians 4:26)

The idea that foreign nations have a heritage in Zion is essential to Paul'sargumentation in Gal 4:26 that the Jerusalem "above" is "ourmother." AlthoughPs 86:5 LXX is mentioned as a parallel to in v. 26 in both the 26th and 27th

editions ofthe Nestle-Aland Greektext, commentators on Galatians hardly takeanynotice ofit.38

Only a few referbriefly to a possible relation.39

Since the uni-versalistic idea ofthe city's motherhood in relation to non-Jewish people occurssolelyin Ps 86:5 LXX and Gal 4:26,1 hold that the Greekversion ofthe psalm hasinfluenced Paul to understand Jerusalem in a particularway.

In his letterto the Galatian congregations, Paul argues against otherJewish-Christian missionaries who claim that Christians ofGentile origin should be circumcised and observe the Jewish law. Paul is infuriated about the matter, as thetone of his letterand the harsh address in Gal 3:1 clearlyindicate. He discusses who

can be called a child of Abraham and an heirto the promise. He argues that thepromise to Abraham was founded on his faith and had been given prior to theannouncement ofthe law (Gal 3:17). Therefore, those who are justified by theirfaith and not by following the law are heirs to the promise (Gal 3:9-10). Paul'sconcept of justification is founded on the Christ-event, mediated through baptism

3 8 The parallel is not treated at all by Heinrich Schlier, Der Brief an die Galater(KEK 7; 4th

ed.; Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1965); Joachim Rohde, Der Brief des Paulus an die

Galater (THKNT 9; 3rd ed.; Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1973); Donald Guthrie, Galatians(NCB; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973); Hans Dieter Betz, Galatians: A Commentary on Paul s Let

ter to the Churches in Galatia (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979); Jrgen Becker, Hans

Conzelmann, and Gerhard Friedrich, Die Briefe an die Galater, Epheser, Philipper, Thessalonicher

und Philemon (NTD 8; 3rd ed.; Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1985); Dieter Lhrmann,

Galatians: A Continental Commentary (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992); J. Louis Martyn, Galatians:

A new translation with introduction and commentary (AB 33 A; New York: Doubleday, 1997).39

Franz Muner (Der Galaterbrief [HTKNT 9; Freiburg: Herder, 1974] 327 n. 54) refers to

Kraus 's reading of the MT according to the LXX (see n. 34 above). Frank J. Matera (Galatians

[SacPag 9; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992] 170) assumes that Paul dissentsfromhis oppo

nents who claim Jerusalem as their mother. James D. G. Dunn (A Commentary on the Epistle to theGalatians [BNTC; London: A. & C. Black, 1993] 254) mentions Ps 86:5 LXX as one witness among

(A di G l


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(Gal 3:26-28), and it is a concept of freedom, especially freedomfromthe Jewishlaw (Gal 5:1).

In the last part of his argumentation, in Gal 4:21-31, Paul directly addresses

those "who desire to be subject to the law" (4:21)obviously the othermissionaries and those Galatians who follow them. In an allegoryon the story ofSarah andHagar(Genesis 16; 21), Paul compares the two sons of Abraham with regard to thestatus oftheir mothers.

40Paul connects the son ofthe slave Hagar born "accord

ing to the flesh" ( ) to the covenant on Mount Sinai and the currentJerusalem (v. 25) whence the competing missionaries have come (cf. Gal 2:12).The other son, born of the free woman, is "born through the promise" (*), and Paul aligns herwith the "Jerusalem above," which he calls "our

mother" (v. 26). By quoting Isa 54:1from

the LXX, Paul justifies the motherhoodofthe infertile woman and refers to Sarah's initial infertility (Gen 11:30).

The association of Sarah, whose name is not explicitly mentioned in Galatians 4, with Jerusalem (as initially barren women who become mothers) may be

based on liturgical and midrashic traditions that relate Genesis 16 to Isaiah 54.41

Paul may have in mind the topic of barrenness in the Book of Isaiah and theprophetic proclamation of Jerusalem as a mother-city (Isa 1:26 LXX), using Isaiahas an intertext.

42Yet Paul's conclusion that the Christians, especiallythe Galatians

ofGentile origin, are children ofthe free woman and do not have to observe the

law, offers a new element in that he includes non-Jewish people.Paul's argument is obviouslyoffensive to his Jewish adversaries, who would

never see themselves aligned with the slave Hagar, but as children of Abrahamand Sarah (cf. John 8:33) and heirs ofthe Sinai covenant.

43Although Mary C.

4 0There is an ongoing debate whether Paul's interpretation is typological orallegorical. Most

scholars argue for a blend ofboth; see Betz, Galatians, 241; Ulrich Luz, "Deralte und derneueBund bei Paulus und im Hebrerbrief," EvT21 (1967) 318-36, esp. 320; Peter Sllner, Jerusalem,

die hochgebaute Stadt: Eschatologisches und himmlisches Jerusalem im Frhjudentum undfrhen Christentum (Tbingen: A. Francke, 1998) 149-53. Vouga (Galater, 114-15) considers w. 24-

27 to be allegory and w. 28-30 to be situational typology. Dietrich-Alex Koch (Die Schrift als Zeuge

des Evangeliums: Untersuchungen zur Verwendung und zum Verstndnis der Schrift bei Pau

[BHT 69; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1986] 209-11) assesses the interpretation of Scripture in Gal

4:21-31 as pure allegory. Charles K. Barrett ("The Allegory of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar in the

Argument of Galatians," in Rechtfertigung: Festschrift fr Ernst Ksemann zum 70. Geburtstag

[ed. Johannes Friedrich et al.; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1976] 1-16) argues in detail that Gal 4:24-

25 is a kemin homerargument, that is, "in the manner of a string of pearls," and the citation of Isa

54:1 a gezera shavah "(conclusion on) similar terminology."

41 See MaryC. Callaway, Sing, O Barren One: A Study in Comparative Midrash (SBLDS 91Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986) 111-12.

42S K H J b "J l O M h M l i d I li i G l i


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Callaway argues that the depiction of Hagar as related to the "wrong" people isquite conventional and attested in the midrashim, she asserts that the equation ofHagar with Mount Sinai is Paul's own invention.

44Looking into Jewish interpre

tations of the story of Sarahand Hagar that are contemporary with Paul, Richard N.Longenecker finds "no evidence that his [Paul's] particular allegorical treatmentofit was following any Jewish prototype, particularly in the identification he makesbetween Hagar, Ishmael, Mt. Sinai, and the present city of Jerusalem, and in thecontrast he sets out between 'the Jerusalem that is above' vis--vis Mt. Sinai andthe present city of Jerusalem."45 There are, however, attempts to establish a tradition as the source of Paul's equation. Hartmut Gese argues that Paul refers to alocal Jewish tradition that aligned the city of Hegra in Arabia with Hagar arid Mount

Sinai and that Paul uses the connection in his letter.46

According to Graham I.Davies's thorough philological analysis, this thesis is highly improbable on theground ofthe etymology of Hegra/Hagar and because it is doubtful whether theGalatians would have understood this association of names at all.47 Susan M.Elliott suggests that Paul's equation of Hagar, Mount Sinai, the law, and circumcision refers to the religious world of the Galatians, namely, the veneration of anAnatolian mother ofthe gods who resides on a mountain and whose priests aresaid to castrate themselves and be called her slaves.

48Although this thesis tries to

take the context of Paul's audience seriously, I find no indication in Paul's letterto support Elliott's claim that the Galatians are attracted to circumcision as a ritual functionally similar to castration.

49It is Paul who in Gal 5:12 polemically

relates circumcising to "cutting off."50 Yet this rhetorical argument against cir-

4 4 Mary C. Callaway, "The Mistress and the Maid: Midrashic Traditions Behind Galatians

4:21-31," Radical Religion 2 (1975) 94-101, here 98.45 Richard N. Longenecker, Galatians (WBC 41; Waco: Word, 1990) 206.46 See Hartmut Gese, " ," in idem, Vom Sinai zum

Zion: Gesammelte Aufstze zur alttestamentlichen Theologie (BEvT 64; Munich: Kaiser, 1974) 49-

62, esp. 61. Gese thinks that Paul came to know this local tradition while traveling through Arabia,

which he mentions in Gal 1:17.47 Gese's article was written in 1967 and was criticized in detail by Graham I. Davies, "Hagar,

El-Hegra and the Location of Mount Sinai with an Additional Note on Reqem," VT22 (1972) 152-

63. Gese's thesis is reaffirmed by Ernst Axel Knauf ("Die Arabienreise des Apostels Paulus," in

Paulus zwischen Damaskus und Antiochien: Die unbekannten Jahre des Apostels [ed. Martin Hengel

and Anna Maria Schwemer; WUNT 108; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1998] 465-71) and by Lhrmann

(Galatians, 90), who does not directly refer to Gese. Knauf, Hengel, Schwemer, and Lhrmann

ignore Davies's valuable critique.48 Susan M. Elliott, "Choose Your Mother, Choose Your Master: Galatians 4:21-31 in the

Shadow of the Anatolian Mother of the Gods," JBL 118 (1999) 661-83, esp. 671-75. The article is


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cumcision would not work ifthe Galatians endorsed castration as a positive signofattachment to a deity. Given the importance ofthe Anatolian context, Elliottshould explain why Paul connects Hagarto a mountain in Arabia.

51

In my view, Paul correlates Hagar and Sinai allegorically in ordertostrengthen his own argument, and his point of reference is the equation of"slave"

with "being subject to the law."52

The fact that Paul mentions neitherSarah's namenoranother covenant shows that he chooses from the storyofSarah and Hagaronly those elements thatfithis main point, namely, to differentiate between beinga son of Abraham and * , which is his topic throughoutchaps. 3 and 4.

53

A detailed discussion ofPaul's use ofScripture is beyond the scope ofthis

article; the subject here is the distinction between "the present Jerusalem" ( ) and "the Jerusalem above" ( ), which lies at theheart of Paul's argument. The idea of a new or renewed Jerusalem to replace thecurrent one is present alreadyin Isaiah 54, where the prophet announces a rebuilding ofthe city with precious stones (w. 11-17; cf. Tobit 13). InIsaiah 65 the promise of a new and joyful Jerusalem parallels the promise that God will create a newheaven and a new earth (Isa 65:17-25). The idea of Jerusalem being purified andnewlyclothed is further elaborated in Jewish-Hellenistic writings such as Baruch 5and Psalms ofSolomon 11; 17; as well as in texts found at Qumran.

54It is proba

ble that Paul knows ofthe distinction between the contemporary cityand an escha-tological orheavenly one that occurs in apocalyptic writings such as 1 Enoch

LXX; Mark9:43,45; John 8:10,26; Acts 27:32), is less explicit than the JvASTrendering of "to cas

trate." In Phil 3:2 Paul uses the term ("mutilation") to denigrate circumcision.5 1 Elliott calls the location of the mountain in Arabia an "incidental detail" ("Choose Your

Mother," 678 n. 59). See also the incisive and critical reviewof her monograph by Dale B. Martin

in CBQ66 (2004) 647-49.5 2 The verb in v. 26 is a hapax legomenon in the NT. It is a militaryterm meaning

"to stand in the same rankor line." The noun is used in Greek philosophyto denote a series ofthings

or ideas (LSJ, 1735). Inasmuch as Gal 4:24 introduces an allegory, the verb in v. 26 denotes not

localitybut correspondence of ideas.5 3

See also Elizabeth A. Castelli, "Allegories ofHagar: Reading Galatians 4.21-31 with Post

modern Feminist Eyes," in The New Literary Criticism and the New Testament(ed. Elizabeth

Struthers Malbon and Edgar V. McKnight; JSNTSup 109; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press,

1994) 228-46. Castellirightlypoints out that allegoryas a rhetorical trope is inherently dualistic and

reduces the force ofthe allusion. She also offers a postmodern reassessment ofallegory as a tool of

interpretation.5 4 See AdelaYarbro Collins, "The Dream ofa New Jerusalem at Qumran," in The Bible and

the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Jubilee Publication, vol. 3, Qumran and Christian Origins(ed. James H.


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29:28-38; 4 Esdr 10:27,54; 2Apoc. Bar. 4:1-7.55

In these texts, however, the heavenly Jerusalem is a future entitythat will replace the present city, and a line isdrawn between God's chosen ones and "the others" within Israel, not between

Israel andGentiles. Moreover, Paul is thefirstwriterto use the expression , which lateroccurs in 2Enoch 55:2 and Par. Jer. 5:34.

56Hisuse ofthis

term differs from notions ofthe "new" or "heavenly" Jerusalem in Heb 12:22;13:14; and Rev 3:12; 21:9-22:5.

57As Paul contrasts a temporal perspective, "the

present Jerusalem," with a local one, "the Jerusalem above," he does not designatea sequence of cities but expresses their simultaneity. ForPaul, "the Jerusalemabove" is not a future realitybut a present entitythat represents a people differentfrom the one that actuallylives in the city.

58Paul could use maternal imagery for

Jerusalem, since the idea ofmotherhood is alreadypart of his argument in the passage and in his quotationfromIsa 54:1. What he derives exclusivelyfromPsalm 87is the idea that Jerusalem maybe called "mother" of foreigners as well as of Israel.He does this in orderto declare his fellow Christians ofGentile origin to be citizens ofa Jerusalem that is still "above" but alreadya reality of faith. He claims thatthese Gentiles are children ofthe promise given to Abraham, even without any

biological connection to the Jewish people and without acknowledging the law,which the missionariesfromthe present Jerusalem urge them to follow.

5 5 For an overview, see John J. Collins, Jerusalem and the Temple in Jewish Apocalyptic Lit

erature of the Second Temple Period (Jerusalem: Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies,

1998). He dates theAnimal Apocalypse in IEnoch 85-90 to the Maccabean period (p. 9) and refersto the Qumran material, esp. HQTa and 4Q554 2 ii.14-16, as witness to a distinction between the

current and the heavenlytemple and cityprior to Paul (pp. 16-24). 4 Esdras and2Apoc. Bar. are to

be dated after 70 CE.5 6 The expression appears in onlyone manuscript (P) of2 Enoch; see Christfried Bttrich, Das

slavische Henochbuch (JSHRZ 5/7; Gtersloh: Mohn, 1995) 980. Bttrich is the only scholar who

dates 2 Enoch before 70 CE. Others argue for a dating into the fourth century CE. or even later.

Paralipomena Jeremiou 5:34 reads '. See Christian Wolff, "Irdisches undhimmlisches Jerusalem: Die Heilshoffhung in den Paralipomena Jeremiae," ZNW%2(1991) 147-58,

esp. 149; Jens Herzer, Die Paralipomena Jeremiae: Studien zu Tradition und Redaktion einer Hag-gada desfrhen Judentums (TSAJ 43; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1994) 109-10. Both scholars

interpret the Jerusalem "above" as analogous to the heavenly Jerusalem mentioned in other Jewish-

Hellenistic writings. The only other occurrence of the expression is in Hippolytus Haer. 5.7.39,

where the context is gnostic; see Betz, Galatians, 247.57

Compare the identification made in Betz, Galatians, 246-47; Longenecker, Galatians, 214;

Muner, Galaterbrief, 316 n. 50. Betz thinks that Paul's readers are familiar with "this famous

Jewish concept" (Galatians, 246). He identifies the expression ' with all other

references to a new or heavenlyJerusalem and even interprets Jerusalem as being prexistent. Betz's

argument for a tradition prior to Paul is flawed, however, as the assumed parallels are either to be


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486 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 69 ,2007

With this theological concept Paul does not totally deny the significance of the

present Jerusalem. The Christian community of Jerusalem remains the point of

reference for Paul's mission, as his efforts toward an agreement at the so-called

apostolic council (Gal 2:1-10; Acts 15) and his collection of money for Jerusalemshow (Rom 15:26, 31; 1 Cor 16:1; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:1, 12). He claims that he brought

the gospel from Jerusalem to the nations (Rom 15:19-20) and that there will be a

"deliverer from Zion" (cf. Rom 11:26). In this process, Paul assigns the Jewish

people an important role in God's history of salvation (Romans 9-11). Thus, in

Galatians 4, Paul does not dismiss Israel in general, but he tries to persuade the

Galatians to dismiss Jewish missionaries who question the validity ofthe gospel

of Jesus Christ for the nations that are not bound by the law.

In sum, Gal 4:26 is one example of a highly sophisticated exegesis that isbased on an idea unique in the Hebrew Bible. The vision of Psalm 87 that God

grants the nations citizenship in Jerusalem may be a Utopian political concept. Its

reception in the LXX and Galatians 4, however, shows that Paul's idea of God's

people consisting of Jews and Gentiles alike has a root in Scripture. It is therefore

no coincidence that this Zion song today is used in Christian communities as a

baptismal psalm.59


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Psalm 87 and Gal